In the Western Cape, all roads led to George in the Garden Route following tumultuous weeks in the region: a water crisis and a series of political defections which have rocked the George area in particular. Western Cape Premier Alan Winde delivered his State of the Province Address on Wednesday, which touched on political instability — including in nearby hung councils.

A controversial Vietnamese national was arrested trying to flee South Africa while on wildlife trafficking charges. Huy Bao Tran is linked to the ‘staged’ theft of 98 rhino horns and a vast global syndicate.

Just as many expected a retreat from wildlife reform, Mpumalanga has taken the opposite step – moving to shut down captive lion breeding and jolting an industry that believed the political winds were turning in its favour.

The Eastern Cape Department of Health is grappling with massive unpaid pharmaceutical bills of about R1-billion. While officials deny that their ability to provide medication to patients has collapsed, the suspension of 21 accounts with some of the country’s biggest pharmaceutical companies has led to vital medicine shortages, raising serious concerns about patient safety.

In a wide-ranging interview, Daily Maverick’s Ferial Haffajee sits down with Herman Mashaba, president of ActionSA and mayoral candidate for Johannesburg, to probe his plans for a city in crisis. From the deepening water shortages and collapsing infrastructure to his hardline stance on undocumented immigrants, Mashaba lays out an agenda rooted in enforcement and administrative overhaul.

The US has committed a $5.88-billion spending package to the global response to HIV, one year after severe Pepfar funding cuts rocked local and international health programmes. But what does this mean for South Africa?

Budget Review 2026 goes far beyond tax tables. From a new central fund for R88-billion in unclaimed benefits to the redesign of the SRD grant, an illicit trade crackdown, stablecoin rules, influencer tax scrutiny and AI oversight in finance, the policy pipeline is packed for the year ahead.

The Khampepe Commission into TRC prosecution delays has heard how investigator Andrew Leask linked security police to the 1983 kidnapping and prolonged, violent torture of student and uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) undercover courier Nokuthula Simelane.

Shaped by fire, spared by ice, perfected by innovation and deep time, fynbos is a living archive whose astounding complexity is one of earth’s living treasures.

South Africa’s taxman is in a process of discovery to work out who should be classified as an influencer. In the meantime, anyone monetising their social media following should declare that income.

Daily Maverick looked at what President Cyril Ramaphosa promised the country during his State of the Nation Address on 12 February 2026 and how the 2026 Budget lived up to those promises.

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