HERE’S WHAT’S HAPPENING IN SOUTH AFRICA TODAY

Sat 14 March 2026:

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

◼️ GNU splits on Bozell: The Government of National Unity has suffered another ruction, this time based around the Department of International Relations and Cooperation’s decision to démarche US ambassador to South Africa, Brent Bozell, over comments made at a conference this week. At least two other parties in the GNU, the DA and FF+, have criticised the department’s handling of the situation.
https://www.news24.com/politics/gnu-clashes-over-us-ambassador-bozell-demarche-as-da-slams-dircos-megaphone-diplomacy-20260313-1261

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◼️ Lesufi responds to Gauteng government data breach claims: The Gauteng provincial government has launched an investigation into allegations of a suspected breach of government information. The breach is said to include 3 673 556 individual files, totalling 3.8 TB of data. It’s on the market for $25 000. In November last year, the Information Regulator raised deep concern about the number of compromise incidents occurring in the country.
https://www.citizen.co.za/news/panyaza-lesufi-responds-gauteng-government-data-breach-claims/

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◼️ Big changes for debit orders in SA: Businesses that face higher payment risks, such as credit providers or companies selling goods on hire purchase, have already widely adopted DebiCheck. “When you’re providing a loan or goods that are repaid over time, the added cost of ensuring your collections are non-disputable is easily justified,” Brand said. However, the new 60-day dispute window could put pressure on companies that still rely on traditional debit-order systems.
https://businesstech.co.za/news/banking/853776/big-changes-for-debit-orders-in-south-africa-next-month/

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◼️ The impact of self-checkout on jobs and consumer experience: The South African retail sector employs more than three million people, according to Statistics South Africa, making it one of the largest sources of formal and informal work. Most of the jobs are at the lower end of the wage scale – and easily replaceable by robots. In an environment where unemployment is officially 31.4% and probably closer to 40% in reality, unions have strongly opposed tills that do away with staff.
https://iol.co.za/business/2026-03-14-retails-tech-takeover–the-impact-of-self-checkout-on-jobs-and-consumer-experience/

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◼️ SA Post Office on the verge of collapse: The development comes shortly after the tabling of the government’s 2026 Budget, which lacked any provision for a R3.8-billion bailout that the BRPs have insisted they needed to keep the entity on its feet. Instead, the Post Office was allocated roughly R1.79 billion over the next three financial years from the department to fulfil its universal service obligations.
https://mybroadband.co.za/news/government/633374-post-office-on-the-verge-of-collapse.html

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