HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENING IN SOUTH AFRICA TODAY

Mon 17 August 2026:

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

◼️ Here’s what R100 could buy you in 2000 vs today: Concerningly, food inflation has beaten inflation in many categories. For example, cooking oil has seen a 703.9% price increase since 2000, far exceeding the inflation rate. Similarly, staples like bread and milk have risen by 589% and 611%, respectively, underscoring the disproportionate burden on South African households. Food prices are rising faster than overall inflation due to several reasons.
Read more here:
https://businesstech.co.za/news/lifestyle/870197/heres-what-r100-could-buy-you-in-2000-vs-today/

————-
◼️ AfriForum hits Julius Malema with R500,000 fine and 18 months prison sentence contempt of court application: This, Kriel explained, happened despite a court order obtained by AfriForum in 2017 that prohibits them from making any such calls. This order prohibits the EFF and Malema from inciting, encouraging, ordering, or recruiting any person to enter land without the necessary permission. Since then, the EFF and Malema have made several unsuccessful attempts to have the order set aside.
Read more here:
https://newsday.co.za/south-africa/25359/afriforum-hits-julius-malema-with-r500000-fine-and-18-months-prison-sentence-contempt-of-court-application/

————-
◼️ No final outcome in French probe into Nathi Mthethwa’s death: “The investigation into the death of the late South African Ambassador to the French Republic was conducted by the French authorities, as the incident occurred within their jurisdiction. ”At this stage, no final outcome has been communicated in respect of the investigation,” Cachalia said. Mthethwa, 58, was found dead after falling from the 22nd floor of the Hyatt Regency hotel in Paris on September 30, 2025.
Read more here:
https://iol.co.za/news/politics/2026-08-17-no-final-outcome-in-french-probe-into-nathi-mthethwas-death-cachalia-says/

————-
◼️ Dam levels trail last year’s figures as super El Niño threatens SA’s water supply: South Africa faces a high probability of a strong El Niño developing this summer, raising the risk of water restrictions, rising costs and strained supply as key dams already sit below where they stood a year ago. The event carries the risk of agricultural strain and higher food inflation heading into 2027, though full dam levels from previous wet seasons offer the country a buffer going into the new season.
Read more here:
https://www.citizen.co.za/news/dam-levels-trail-last-years-figures-as-super-el-nino-threatens-south-africas-water-supply/

————-
◼️South Africans who insert their banking card into an automated teller machine (ATM) or card machine could actually be inserting their card into a skimming device. Card skimmers are devices used by criminals and are placed over areas where one would typically insert their bank card, such as an ATM or point-of-sale card machine. Some tactics also involve capturing the customer’s bank card PIN by placing a fake keypad over the original one, or by installing a hidden camera that records the buttons cardholders push.
Read more here:
https://mybroadband.co.za/news/banking/662007-spotting-bank-card-skimmers-at-atms-and-restaurants-in-south-africa.html

__________________________________________________________________________

FOLLOW INDEPENDENT PRESS:

WhatsApp CHANNEL
https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaAtNxX8fewmiFmN7N22