US President Donald Trump’s pick for ambassador to South Africa, conservative activist and writer Leo Brent Bozell III, has arrived in the country where he will seek to improve fraught ties between the two states. 

These are the key developments happening in South Africa today, 17 February 2026.

Two of South Africa’s top private schools, King David Victory Park and Mayfair Convent School, have officially shut down, with both campuses expected to be sold.

Mpact is set to shut its Springs cartonboard mill at the end of March 2026, citing cheaper imports and weak demand, though ongoing electricity and water disruptions also significantly undermined the plant’s viability.

Well-known attorney Willie Spies has officially entered the mayoral race for the City of Tshwane and returned to the Freedom Front Plus after 16 years.

More than a year after an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease began devastating South African herds, the country finally has the beginnings of a plan to tackle the disaster and stave off a food crisis.

An investigation by The Free Press has found that many of the Afrikaners who moved to the US as refugees are living in poor conditions.

Minister Angie Motshekga has recently announced a new board of directors for Denel after a recent forensic report exposed alleged renewed corruption at the state entity.

Award-winning economist Dawie Roodt said he was positive about President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address.

South Africa’s Deputy Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Bantu Holomisa, warned that people should not point a gun at soldiers.

These are the key developments happening in South Africa today, 16 February 2026.

Dr. Anthony Turton warned 18 years ago that South Africa is facing a water crisis, which can lead to public anger and social unrest. This is now playing out in real time.

Afriforum said President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement of a new National Water Crisis Committee to help address the water crisis is meaningless.

South Africa has experienced a steady and worrying decline in voter turnout since the dawn of democracy in 1994, despite a growing population and rising voter registration figures.

Loyiso Manga went from earning an Honours degree to struggling to find a job and working in a call centre. Now, he’s South Africa’s first successful black olive oil producer.

Freedom Front Plus leader, Dr. Corné Mulder, said President Cyril Ramaphosa, like his predecessor, Jacob Zuma, tries to tell a good story while the country collapses.

Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has slated Afrikaner commentator Willem Petzer for his view that the mayor’s policies are leading the city toward managed decline.

The Limpopo police are investigating cases of murder and inquest after a man allegedly shot and killed his wife in broad daylight, before taking his own life on 8 February 2026.