Inside NSFAS boss spending spree, Madlanga Commission drama and a baby saved by blood donation

Inside NSFAS boss Mathebula’s R110,000-plus spending

By Siyabonga Goni. While tertiary students across South Africa demand an increase in food allowances and an accommodation cap, the upper echelon of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) appears to be operating on a vastly different budget, including eyebrow-raising spending on hotels. Read more.

‘It’s going to be a shitshow’ — Andrea Johnson allegedly advises witness to flee

By Vincent Cruywagen. Former Idac boss Andrea Johnson resigned due to her disastrous testimony at the Madlanga Commission, but she’ll have to provide more evidence after one of her employees made damning allegations against her on Thursday. Read more.

SA’s second-most powerful politician flexes his muscles — with Ramaphosa’s backing

By Stephen Grootes. As Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana prepares to reveal his new board for the Public Investment Corporation (PIC), it is clear he is now in a position to direct events. His actions at the PIC and in dealing with municipalities show he can make decisions, secure in the knowledge that he has presidential backing. Read more.

Judge challenges witness on alleged millions paid to Mapisa-Nqakula

By Nonkululeko Njilo. After a day of contradictions, coded conversations and relentless questioning, the defence kept returning to one issue at the heart of the case: what was the money allegedly for? Read more.

Ambassador Roelf Meyer details plans for mending fractured SA-US relationship

By Peter Fabricius. The veteran negotiator arrives in Washington to take up his post with a daunting brief: rebuild trust, expand trade, encourage investment and find common ground on America’s five demands. Read more.

Suspended CEO is challenging the PIC board despite the R900m question

By Lindsey Schutters. Once touted as the ‘turnaround specialist’, Patrick Dlamini, embattled and currently suspended Public Investment Corporation CEO, is now seeking to overturn the board decision because it removed him without proper notice. Read more.

Migrant exodus exposes the hidden truth behind SA’s unemployment paradox

By Ruben Pretorius. When thousands of migrant workers fled South African farms, a long-debated paradox was put to the test: why eight million unemployed locals aren’t filling the vacant agricultural jobs. Read more.

Little Maverick’s life saving journey

By Riaan Marais. Baby Eli Theron was born three months early, weighing as much as a loaf of bread. Eight blood transfusions later, he’s a healthy, happy one-year-old – thanks to donors in Nelson Mandela Bay. Read more.

The Republic of Gamkapoort: Where dams burp and Fox calls the shots

By Julienne Du Toit. Meet Fox, the water bailiff of Gamkapoort Dam, who recounts his adventurous life and experiences in the Klein Karoo, from an encounter with a mysterious green object to misadventures with sluice gates. Read more.

A bright young talent blooms at the foot of Helshoogte

By Tony Jackman. At Arum, in the premises of the once legendary Boschendal restaurant, chef Travis Finch is flexing some very creative muscle. Co-owner Peter Tempelhoff invited me into the restaurant’s inner sanctum – the kitchen – to meet him. Read more.