
What South Africans think of municipalities
Reports have highlighted that a significant number of elected councillors struggle with basic literacy and comprehension
MONDAY, 02 MARCH 2026, 00:52

Reports have highlighted that a significant number of elected councillors struggle with basic literacy and comprehension

South Africa has been given a narrow window to turn the ship around. Whether this Budget becomes a footnote or a foundation depends on what happens next — in Cabinet, in the SOEs, in municipalities and in the daily grind of governance

On paper, Godongwana presented a credible framework that marks a turning point for South Africa

The projected economic growth trajectory remains insufficient to address structural unemployment

Hunger in the country persists not because the system is failing but because it is functioning according to a set of rules that reward scale, concentration and profit

They have stressed the need for skilled oversight and preventive maintenance

These prosecutions mark a rising pattern: as elections approach across Africa, the distance between digital civic space and state power grows
Homeowners in Cape Town should by now have received their updated municipal valuation, which has knock-on effects for multiple aspects of their monthly bills. Here’s what to know if you’re unhappy with the result.
A freshwater ecologist explains why the mountain is less a postcard and more a slow-leaking, bug-monitored water machine.
Forty-seven years after his father, a vegetable farmer, was shot in the back and head by MK operatives after offering them a lift near the Botswana border, Jacob Gabriël Cilliers van der Merwe tells the Khampepe Commission that his father’s body has yet to be found and that no one was prosecuted for his murder despite police reports pointing to his killers.
Dancer and choreographer Thamsanqa ‘Thami’ Tshabalala has made history as the first dance-based practitioner to be awarded the Barney Simon Residency, allowing him to develop an original work that explores the African queer body, culture and belonging.
ActionSA councillor Mandla Nyaqela defects to the DA, bringing over 50 members with him and branding his former party as a ‘cult’ under tyrannical leadership.
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.

Stop blaming “mjolo” and toxic relatives. Look at the (wo)man in the mirror and take responsibility for your relationships, advises broadcaster and coach in her debut book.
The testimony of Linda Gxasheka, the suspended head of human resources at the City of Ekurhuleni, points to systemic governance failures within the metro.
As Nelson Mandela Bay confronts new service delivery mandates, questions arise about the metro’s capacity to meet strict response times amid ageing infrastructure, accountability challenges and an awful track record.
As gang violence grips Nelson Mandela Bay, multimillion-rand crime-fighting technology, including gunshot detection systems, sits unused, raising concerns about the city’s effectiveness in ensuring safety.