Dada Morero recorded planning big pre-election spending — ‘We are 50 days away’

Joburg Mayor Dada Morero has denied wanting to spend the City’s limited budget on infrastructure projects that look good ahead of the elections to ‘control the political narrative’.

Uphill battle for Sibiya as State lays ‘very strong’ case in rape, trafficking scandal

Senior cop Shadrack Sibiya is fighting to stay out of jail over charges including rape, trafficking and sexual grooming of a child while, at the same time, taking on two disciplinary processes that could cost him his job with the police.

Joburg election posters — the good, the bad and the embarrassing

With so much of Johannesburg falling apart, it is astounding how few of the parties contesting for votes there focus on local issues in their election posters. The posters reveal how many of them cannot articulate a message that will resonate with voters in the major battleground of this election.

Online schools are growing faster than South Africa’s rules

South Africa’s online schools offer pupils a route to the National Senior Certificate, but the sector has no dedicated regulatory framework. As the government works on new rules, Umalusi has introduced interim requirements to protect the credibility of matric.

For whom the bell tolls — NMB’s oldest church mourns stolen 200-year-old relic

A 200-year-old mission bell has been stolen from Bethelsdorp’s Van der Kemp Memorial Church – and residents fear it could be lost to scrap dealers.

Navigating ballots, candidates, and wards: Your guide to the 2026 local government elections

The countdown to the 2026 local government elections is on. Still unsure about how voting works, who is contesting your ward or what will be on your ballot? This guide has you covered.

Starlink still no closer to SA market access, despite proposed new telecom law

There are two vital updates happening in South Africa’s electronic communications laws and regulations, and neither of them makes it easier for SpaceX to bring Starlink into the country.

Watch – Hidden camera records March and March supporter demanding ID at Durban clinic

XenoBarometer tracks the anti-immigrant movement and its impact. We aim to surface underreported stories, paying close attention to potential rights abuses, emerging patterns in anti-immigrant mobilisation and failures in the government’s response.

Sky postmortem reveals grim final hours of SAPS arson detection dog

The postmortem report on police dog Sky, a female Belgian Shepherd trained to detect arson accelerants, paints a grim picture of the service dog’s final hours and raises fresh questions about how she was left in such a condition.

Who’d believe

‘Not South African enough’ — how police allegedly target citizens and migrants across Joburg

Johannesburg police are accused of using xenophobic profiling against both foreign nationals and naturalised South African citizens.

Make or break the gig economy — contracts, terminations, reasonable expectations and workplace miscommunication

A Labour Appeal Court ruling highlights how poor communication between managers and employees can turn a contract renewal into a legal dispute. As workplaces become more flexible and less personal, clear communication about job security matters more than ever.

Two SA women, two very different diagnosis and treatment journeys

In the first article of a new Daily Maverick and Spotlight special series on cancer in South Africa, Biénne Huisman speaks to rugby referee Aimee Barrett-Theron and cancer warrior Joyce Witbooi, who helps women navigate Cape Town’s public health system. The series will aim to among others unpack the cancer data, access to treatment, and screening and try to understand just what the cancer burden in South Africa is.

JSC under the gun — mountain of interviews, judicial ethics crisis on October agenda

Besides interviewing 44 candidates for 22 vacancies at 11 superior courts across the country, the Judicial Service Commission must pass reforms to its interviews and ethics processes, and also decide the fate of two judges facing allegations of bribery.

Struggling SA medical students endure Cuba misery — US embargo blamed

One toilet for 13 students. Days without water. No oversight visit since 2022. Inside the SA health department’s medical training programme in Cuba.

R182m NHI spin deal is a warning of what’s to come

If R182m meant for an already buckling health system can be poured into PR with so few checks, imagine the risks when the NHI becomes the country’s single, centralised purchaser of healthcare.

Freedom Front Plus’ apartheid killers should not be elected councillors nor mayoral candidates

The Freedom Front plus should withdraw William Harrington’s mayoral candidature in Nelson Mandela Bay.

America was the arsenal of democracy; now it’s disarming the press

Independent journalism in the US faces serious economic, technological, legal and political pressure, particularly from the Trump administration’s lawsuits and efforts to intimidate news organisations. Weakening press freedom threatens the constitutional protections established by landmark Supreme Court cases and could undermine democracy both in America and globally.

Journalism and our chaotic world’s future

Journalism faces growing pressure from governments, powerful technology companies and its own crisis of trust, making control over information an increasingly important struggle for power. Its survival depends on rebuilding public trust through independent, transparent and accountable reporting while adapting to new technologies without abandoning its purpose.

South Africans find voice in data centre dialogue, demand more transparency

A civic engagement hosted in Cape Town’s St George’s Cathedral brought all the known data about data centres under one roof for concerned citizens to have an informed discussion.

Beautiful region, scary findings: CapeNature’s latest report card

The Western Cape’s environment is one of the most beautiful and biodiverse places on earth, and much of it is cared for – as best they can – by CapeNature. Each year they bring out a detailed report on human impact. It’s hard not to conclude that it would be a lot better without us.

If economic crimes in sport don’t matter, it doesn’t bode well when it does…

The Manchester City Football Club financial cheating scandal has rocked world soccer. Beyond the sport, it offers a window into corporate crimes and why they matter.

Baboons on your radar: What do you really know?

A deep-dive series examines Cape Town’s escalating baboon conflict from the perspectives of authorities, scientists, residents, conservationists and the baboons themselves.

R20 sugar saving highlights SA’s food affordability crisis as grants fall short

A R20 saving on value-brand sugar exposes how packaging and marketing can drive up food prices, while civil society urges the government to rethink grants and its nutrition policy.

Bafana’s seven-goal start gives pleased Pitso a solid platform to build on

Bafana Bafana began their quest to qualify for the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations under Pitso Mosimane with a 2-1 win over Guinea and a 5-0 drubbing of minnows Eritrea. The Bafana coach expressed his joy with the winning start to his second tenure in charge of the team, saying he would build on the foundation laid by predecessor Hugo Broos.

Airbnb bylaw doesn’t do enough to address Cape Town’s housing crisis

Only primary residences should be allowed on Airbnb.

False white genocide claims divide us and obscure the wider crime crisis

South Africa’s violent crime crisis must be understood within the country’s enduring inequalities and divided history, rather than through racialised narratives of white victimhood. South Africans must reject divisive foreign intervention and work together on crime, corruption, inequality and nation building.

Older persons are still carrying families, now we must help carry them

In South Africa, long after formal employment ends, many older people continue to raise children, manage homes, care for relatives and hold families together financially. While policy may describe older persons as dependents, the reality is that their labour has not stopped; it has simply changed.

Renewable energy was promised as a path to prosperity — what happened?

South Africa’s Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme has delivered infrastructure at scale, but its corporate, market-driven design prioritises private capital accumulation over community development.