IDT bribe sting one year on, Madlanga revelations and women’s sport boom

IDT hush money docket: 387 days, one video, no arrests

By Daily Maverick. The former chief executive of a state entity that spends upwards of R4-billion a year, and her then spokesperson, put R60,000 in a Dior shopping bag on a table in front of a Daily Maverick journalist. We filmed it, published it and laid charges. More than a year later, the docket still isn’t trial-ready. Read more.

Matlala’s ties to tenderpreneur opens new Tembisa Hospital procurement trail

By Vincent Cruywagen. Organised crime-accused Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala’s ties to Hangwani Morgan Maumela have come under scrutiny at the Madlanga Commission, while Matlala also appeared to be a conduit for payments between Maumela and the late alleged ‘Big Five’ boss Jothan Msibi. Read more.

Is Johannesburg too big to fail — or are we just pretending it isn't?

By Jillian Green. When suburbs are forced to build ‘shadow municipalities’ to sustain security, water and power service delivery, City leadership has failed – The Gathering: Cities Edition probes whether metros can be saved. Read more.

Deadly flash flood in Nepal, and more from around the world

By Daily Maverick Photo Team. Moving, tragic, surprising, inspiring, terrifying, shocking ... A selection of recent images from our planet. Read more.

Removing the Simon’s Town baboons: The wealth we cannot buy back

By Luana Pasanisi. Our biodiversity is wealth. Our functioning habitat is wealth. The continued presence of wild populations within an increasingly human-dominated landscape is wealth. If that is true, we are choosing to make ourselves poorer. Read more.

Will first generic weight loss drug in SA kill the black market?

By Tanya Pampalone, Mia Malan and Anna-Maria van Niekerk. South Africa’s first generic semaglutide injection arrived in August, with many more expected. More competition should push down the price of blockbuster GLP-1 drugs – but will they become cheap enough to stamp out a booming black market and reach the public-sector patients who need them? Read more.

Hemp dreams — young South African pioneers create a new industry against all odds

By Diana Neille. South African startup Green Route is reimagining hemp as a commercial textile powerhouse, breeding local seeds to boost manufacturing and create sustainable jobs. Read more.

Gqeberha ice cream startup eyes major supermarket deal ahead of R1m pitch

By Andisa Bonani. Gqeberha ice cream maker Thando Volontiya caught Shoprite Checkers’ eye after his GQ Creamery ice cream generated a buzz on social media. On Thursday, he’ll pitch for a R1m prize in the Standard Bank Kasi SME National Pitch Challenge. Read more.

How women’s sport is becoming one of sport’s biggest growth drivers

By Annemieke Thomaidis. The mainstreaming of women’s sport is predicted as a major growth driver of the future of the sport’s economy, requiring sustained investment and structural support rather than being viewed as a fleeting trend. Read more.

How a Lenasia community garden helps unemployed families put food on the table

By Lerato Kodisang. What began in 2022 as a backyard project by retrenched worker Mannini Ntlaba has grown into a one-hectare community garden in Meriting, Lenasia South, run by about 40 volunteers and producing spinach, cabbage, tomatoes, maize, peppers – and even pigs. Read more.

Tomato bredie — the story, the history, and a tweak or two

By Tony Jackman. Tomato bredie is a worthy classic of South African cuisine and is not made nearly as often as it deserves to be. Given the full C Louis Leipoldt treatment, it is a fine dish that will charm the most discerning palate. Over time, my version – based loosely on Leipoldt’s – has evolved. Here’s the latest update. Read more.