Berlinale award-winning documentary Tutu is a layered exposition of Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s core foundational values. (Photo: Bromberger Hoover Photography / Getty) As the ANC self-immolates, Zille and Mashaba seize race for Joburg’s future
/file/attachments/orphans/ED_597089_814376.jpg "ActionSA leader and Joburg's mayoral candidate, Herman Mashaba at the unveiling of the ActionSA Johannesburg mayoral candidate at Orlando Communal Hall on February 21, 2026 in Soweto, South Africa. The 2026 South African municipal elections will be held across South Africa, to elect councils for all district, metropolitan and local municipalities in each of the country's nine provinces. (Photo: Gallo Images / Fani Mahuntsi)")
By Ferial Haffajee. With the announcement on 21 February that ActionSA will field its president Herman Mashaba, the main race for Johannesburg’s mayor is now between him and the DA candidate, Helen Zille. Read more.
Roedean-King David row — children pay the price when adults talk past each other
/file/attachments/orphans/Pottertonisraelpalestine_972488.jpg "(Photo: iStock and Vecteezy)")
By Mark Potterton and Marc Loon. When a tennis match cancellation escalates into resignations, Roedean and King David schools highlight the urgent need for constructive dialogue amid cultural divides. Read more.
Fixing SOEs but only one crisis at a time
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Oped-Maserumule-StatecraftTW.jpeg "Transnet logo. (Photo: Gallo Images / Darren Stewart) | South African Airways aircraft at OR Tambo International Airport, Johannesburg. (Photo: Waldo Swiegers / Bloomberg via Getty Images) | Eskom power lines. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Kim Ludbrook)")
By Stephen Grootes. The problem facing SOEs has always been that real reform requires real political will. And often it takes a proper crisis to get that political will. Hence Eskom and Transnet. Read more.
SA’s unexpected link to the arrest of an elite US fighter pilot
/file/attachments/orphans/caryn-pilot_177543.jpg "Illutrative Image: Pilot Gerald Eddie Brown. (Photo: Wikimedia commons) | Plane. (Photo: Istock) | Chinese flag. (Image: Freepik) | (By Daniella Lee Ming Yesca)")
By Caryn Dolley. An American fighter pilot has been arrested in the US for allegedly providing services to the Chinese military without authorisation. The case is part of a broader geopolitical saga that has sucked in a South African flying academy, which has rejected US accusations that it is also working with China, thereby jeopardising American security. Read more.
Watch — What the Budget means for your wallet
/file/attachments/2988/headerReadinessReport-EP34-v2_746704.jpg "Enoch Godongwana | Redi Tlhabi (Illustrative image: Daily Maverick)")
By Redi Tlhabi. In this episode of The Readiness Report, Redi Tlhabi sits down with economist and director of Inani Strategies Xhanti Payi to unpack what the national budget really means for ordinary families. From food prices and interest rates to service delivery and the decision to hold back further VAT increases, the conversation cuts through the policy jargon to focus on our realities. Watch here.
Will the new $6bn US HIV package fix South Africa’s funding gap?
/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/0000154721.jpg "A boy is tested for HIV at the Right To Care Aids clinic in Johannesburg, which was funded by Pepfar. (Photo: Cornel van Heerden / Gallo Images / Foto24)")
By Tamsin Metelerkamp. The US has committed a $5.88-billion spending package to the global response to HIV, one year after severe Pepfar funding cuts rocked local and international health programmes. But what does this mean for South Africa? Read more.
Auctioning off public land amid Cape Town’s housing crisis and land scarcity: What gives?
/file/attachments/orphans/iStock-898667330_223907.jpg "The upcoming auction of 50 City of Cape Town-owned pieces of land on 26 February 2026 has created a public furore, attracted significant media attention, and is the subject of multiple attempts to prevent it from going ahead.
<br>(Photo: iStock)")
(Photo: iStock)
By Jens Horber. While land is scarce and the need for developing affordable housing is very high, the City must look for alternative sources of revenue, rather than selling off public assets that ultimately belong to all residents of Cape Town. Read more.
The fluid intelligence of Table Mountain’s rivers
/file/attachments/orphans/20260218_172147_474465.jpg "Mountain trickles are real rivers doing real work. (Photo: Don Pinnock)")
By Don Pinnock. A freshwater ecologist explains why the mountain is less a postcard and more a slow-leaking, bug-monitored water machine. Read more.
‘Killer Miller’ — The calm, calculated finisher who became SA’s T20 standard-bearer
/file/attachments/orphans/2260715430_836987.jpg "Tristan Stubbs of South Africa & David Miller of South Africa walks back to the pavilion after the end of their innings during the ICC Men's T20 World Cup India & Sri Lanka 2026 match between South Africa and Canada at Narendra Modi Stadium on February 09, 2026 in Ahmedabad, India. (Photo: Nikhil Patil / Getty Images)")
By Yanga Sibembe. The Proteas will face West Indies in their next Super Eights outing at the T20 World Cup, on Thursday. In that match, batter David Miller will once again be crucial. Read more.
Tutu at Berlinale reclaims ‘the Arch’ from myth and mystery
/file/attachments/2988/TheBerlinaleaward-winningdocumentaryTutuisalayeredexpositionofDesmondTutuscorefoundationalvalues_484173.jpg "Berlinale award-winning documentary Tutu is a layered exposition of Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s core foundational values. (Photo: Bromberger Hoover Photography / Getty)")
By Marianne Merten. Tutu, which made its global debut at the Berlinale, received a special mention in the documentary awards and won the peace film prize at the Berlin film festival that closed on Sunday, 22 February 2026. Read more.