HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENING IN SOUTH AFRICA TODAY

Fri 17 October 2025:

Here’s what’s happening in South Africa today:

◼️ ‘He hasn’t paid anything’: The Presidency is fighting to get former president Jacob Zuma to pay back R29 million in taxpayer funds that he spent on his corruption trial costs. However, the office does not believe that Zuma will ever pay, given that R6.2 million that has already been ordered by the courts to be paid back has been ignored. The Presidency’s legal team said it must be put on record that Zuma has paid nothing.
https://www.news24.com/southafrica/crime-and-courts/he-hasnt-paid-anything-presidency-counsel-airs-zuma-debts-in-r289m-legal-fees-fight-20251016-1261

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◼️ Sounding the alarm on SA’s child hunger crisis: The paradox is that South Africa wastes 10 million tonnes of food annually. This is equivalent to 30 billion meals. It is enough to feed all 20 million food-insecure people for a year. Yet, bureaucratic hurdles and laws that discourage food donation persist.
https://independentpress.cc/sounding-the-alarm-on-south-africas-child-hunger-crisis/2025/10/17/

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◼️ Warning to anyone with outstanding traffic fines: Amid this confusion, criminals started exploiting the mixed messaging by sending out fake SMSes, WhatsApp messages, and cloned websites that mimic official municipal and traffic fine platforms. According to Fines SA, there has been a noticeable spike in complaints from motorists who were tricked into paying these non-existent fines.
https://businesstech.co.za/news/government/839811/warning-to-anyone-with-outstanding-traffic-fines-in-south-africa/

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◼️ Bad news about Starlink launch in SA: In an apparent attempt to speed up the process, SpaceX has also approached the Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition directly with an initial EEIP offer to provide 5,000 schools with free Internet worth R500 million. It recently also outlined a plan to invest R2 billion in local telecoms infrastructure and to partner with local Internet service providers to support its rollout at schools.
https://mybroadband.co.za/news/broadband/614152-bad-news-about-starlink-launch-in-south-africa.html

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◼️ Social media an increasing cybersecurity risk for businesses: According to research by forex broker analysts at BrokerChooser, South Africans are among the most exposed to high-risk and fraudulent financial ads online. A single click on one of these can introduce malware, trigger phishing attacks or compromise sensitive information, and this can rapidly escalate into a company-wide vulnerability.
https://iol.co.za/business/advice/2025-10-14-social-media-an-increasing-cybersecurity-risk-for-businesses-as-data-breaches-now-average-r41m/

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