The Weekend Wrap
What happens next in the Budget process, a takedown of Pagad, and why winter makes you more vulnerable to colds — all in this weekend’s wrap.
VAT hike reversal — what happens next in the Budget process?
Budget 3.0 is in the works — more than two months after Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s first attempt at a Budget was supposed to have been tabled.
By Victoria O’Regan
Petitions, statements and condemnation: Cape Town’s draft budget controversy explained
As the deadline looms for public comment on the City of Cape Town’s 2025/2026 draft budget, several questions have been raised over the proposed levies and increases. Daily Maverick explains what’s going on.
By Suné Payne
Analysis — has the South African Reserve Bank gone rogue?
A form of ‘Trump derangement’ seems to have infected the South African Reserve Bank – at least when it comes to dealing with Steinhoff.
By Sam Sole for amaBhungane
The Weekend Wrap
What happens next in the Budget process, a takedown of Pagad, and why winter makes you more vulnerable to colds — all in this weekend’s wrap.

VAT hike reversal — what happens next in the Budget process?
Budget 3.0 is in the works — more than two months after Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s first attempt at a Budget was supposed to have been tabled.
By Victoria O’Regan

Petitions, statements and condemnation: Cape Town’s draft budget controversy explained
As the deadline looms for public comment on the City of Cape Town’s 2025/2026 draft budget, several questions have been raised over the proposed levies and increases. Daily Maverick explains what’s going on.
By Suné Payne
Analysis — has the South African Reserve Bank gone rogue?
A form of ‘Trump derangement’ seems to have infected the South African Reserve Bank – at least when it comes to dealing with Steinhoff.
By Sam Sole for amaBhungane By Pieter-Louis Myburgh for Scorpio


The grotesque consumerism, greed and social impunity of those with extreme wealth
Donald Trump is trying to make the richest country that has ever existed even richer. The United States is so rich that one state, California, would be the fourth-richest country in the world, if it were a country.
By Mark Tomlinson
Cape Town’s accusation collision – JP Smith, gang boss accused Ralph Stanfield and the cops
A raid on Cape Town’s city offices, a high-stakes investigation, and political accusations. Is it a criminal probe or a political attack? At the heart: murders with suspected ties to the notorious 28s gang. Daily Maverick's Caryn Dolley explains.
Reporting by: Caryn Dolley
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbjGkfgKaxU&t=155s
The 2025 Masters Tournament — a lesson in self-leadership
It wasn’t just about golf — it was about resilience, redemption and the weight of long-held dreams.
By Bryan Hattingh
The takedown of a terror group destabilising SA’s new democracy
David Africa describes in a tell-all book how Pagad, the violent vigilante group, was taken down.
By Marianne Thamm

Antibiotic resistance is putting South Africa’s newborns at risk
Experts say bacterial infections are responsible for more infant deaths than is generally recognised, and things may get worse as more of the bugs become resistant to commonly used antibiotics. Spotlight asked local experts about this growing threat to newborns.
By Sue Segar
Revitalising Braamfontein: A vision for a safe, vibrant, and walkable urban oasis
Precinct manager Kelvin Tshabalala is not only a man with a plan, but one who can make it happen.
By Bridget Hilton-Barber
Why winter makes you more vulnerable to colds – a public health nurse explains the science behind the season
Cold and flu viruses often circulate more in the fall and winter, but there are some time-tested strategies for avoiding them, such as vaccines, handwashing and staying active.
By Libby Richards
From beaches to baboons, Shark Spotters brings holistic approach to human-wildlife conflict management
For more than two decades, Shark Spotters has watched Cape Town’s ocean from above. Now, Shark Spotters, led by Sarah Waries, is looking to the mountains and suburbs of the southern Peninsula as it leads a new holistic approach to managing some of the city’s most controversial residents — baboons.
By Kristin Engel

Daily Mini Crossword Quickie
A new age for the Victorian village on the edge of the universe
The widening of the N1 at Matjiesfontein is evidence of space-age change coming to the old Victorian village. Life on ‘the other side of the tracks’ may never be the same again. Meanwhile, the lamb chops across the road are as good as ever.
By Tony Jackman
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