The village of uMhlwazi, which sits among the rolling mountains of uMhlumayo in KwaZulu-Natal’s uThukela district, feels forgotten. With barely any services and almost entirely cut off from the rest of the predominantly rural district, daily life in the impoverished village is marked by isolation and hardship. The Mail & Guardian witnessed first-hand the struggles faced by residents trying simply to move in and out of the community. After more than three hours on a heavily potholed tar road that ends halfway, the journey continued along a punishing gravel route leading to the village. uMhlwazi lies roughly three hours from the seat of the Alfred Duma local municipality, headquartered in the town of Ladysmith, known to locals as eMnambithi. Running through the middle of the village is the Indaka River, both a lifeline and a danger to residents. With no water infrastructure, villagers rely on the river as their only source of water, sharing it with livestock. But locals say the river has also claimed six lives over the years, earning it the grim nickname: “the river of death”. Community leader Khanyisani Sibisi initially appeared reluctant to speak to the M&G. “Nizohlekisa ngosizi lwethu,” he said angrily. “You’re here to make a mockery of our struggles. People are perishing here.” Village elder Mboniseni Mazibuko later explained the source of Sibisi’s frustration. “Please pardon him. He lost his younger brother in these waters,” Mazibuko said, pointing at the river. “Government officials have come here and made a lot of promises. People are angry.” Pupils not only walk kilometres to reach Mandlakhe High School, the only secondary school serving several surrounding villages but must also risk crossing the Indaka River, which residents say is infested with crocodiles. The community has never had a bridge connecting it to the other side. Local councillor Bongani Nicholas Madondo said the provincial department of transport must take responsibility for the community’s ongoing suffering. “Government officials and the department of transport have visited this area several times and made many promises,” Madondo said. “The first was former KwaZulu-Natal transport MEC Willies Mchunu, who presided over a sod-turning ceremony and promised a bridge would be built. Nothing came from that. The current education MEC, Sipho Hlomuka, also conducted a sod-turning ceremony in 2023.” Madondo said residents remained traumatised by repeated drownings, including the death of 36-year-old Lungeleni Shabalala. Shabalala had travelled to Ladysmith, the nearest town serving the surrounding villages, to buy household items when she drowned while attempting to cross the river, he said. Her body was recovered the following afternoon. “Two learners have also died in similar incidents,” said Madondo. “Parents sometimes keep their children at home during rainy days because they fear for their safety. The situation is catastrophic.” He said the lack of a bridge also stripped grieving families of dignity during funerals. “During burials, families are forced to carry coffins across the river,” he said. “It completely takes away their dignity.” Mncedisi Maphisa, chairperson of the transport portfolio committee in the KwaZulu-Natal legislature, described the situation as “a travesty of justice”. “We will seek answers about what happened to the funds meant for the construction of this much-needed bridge,” Maphisa said. “If there are people who must be held accountable, heads will roll.” In the nearby village of Mbondwane, about 15km away, residents described similar hardship. The only bridge serving the community was damaged during floods, forcing parents to carry children on their backs across dangerous sections so they can reach Mnyanda Primary School. Villagers also told the M&G that there are no nearby clinics and that poor cellphone reception leaves them isolated.  “We are shut off from the world because there’s no network in our village,” said resident Sphelele Gumede. “We have to climb the mountains just to make calls or receive important ones.” uMhlumayo falls under the traditional leadership of eMangweni. KwaZulu-Natal transport department spokesperson Ndabezinhle Sibiya said he was uncertain about the status of the bridge project. “I will have to check with the engineers regarding the status of the bridge,” he said.

A court case that most South Africans probably scrolled past this month deserves a lot more attention than it got. On 30 April 2026, the Western Cape High Court ruled that Cape Town’s fixed charges for citywide cleaning, water and sanitation were unlawful and unconstitutional.  The South African Property Owners Association (Sapoa) brought the case and won. The city has since decided not to appeal, which tells you everything you need to know about the strength of its legal position. The issue was that Cape Town had structured the fixed service charges so that the amount you paid was calculated based on your property’s value. The more expensive your property, the more you paid for cleaning and basic water, regardless of how much water you used or how much rubbish you generated.  The court found that linking a service charge to property value converts it into a property tax in disguise. Municipalities don’t have the legal authority to introduce new property taxes. That power sits with the national government. What looked like a service charge was, legally speaking, an unlawful levy. The city is scrambling to rework a budget that depended on roughly R2 billion in revenue from those charges. A new draft budget goes out for public comment on 27 May 2026. Sapoa has said citywide cleaning should be funded through property rates, the mechanism that exists for broad-based municipal expenditure. The city appears to agree. Why does this matter beyond the Western Cape? The ruling is a mirror being held up to every municipality in the country. Municipalities have a problem and it is one that few are willing to talk about honestly. They are over-reliant on a small group of people to fund their budgets — property owners. Property taxes and rates make up a disproportionate share of municipal income in most of our major cities.  When you add surcharges and service fees that get stacked on top of rate bills, a significant portion of what municipalities collect comes from the same pool of ratepayers. That is not a sustainable funding model and it creates a political temptation that is almost impossible to resist. To put it another way, if you need more money, you look at property owners because they’re paying, their properties are registered and they’re relatively easy to bill. Cape Town’s value-linked charges were a version of that temptation. Instead of going through the proper legislative process to increase rates, which requires alignment with the national framework and public consultation, the city found a creative workaround.  Link the service charge to property value, collect more from higher-value properties and achieve the revenue outcome without technically calling it a rate increase. The court said no. Here is what the data tells us about the broader problem. According to research compiled from the National Treasury’s local government data, property rates as a share of municipal operating revenue have climbed steadily over the past decade. In the metros, rates income has in many cases grown faster than inflation — and significantly faster than the property values being taxed.  The City of Cape Town’s budget shows rates income growing at compound rates that have consistently outpaced CPI. The same pattern holds in Johannesburg, Tshwane and eThekwini, where property rate increases have run between 8% and 12% annually, even during periods when inflation was at 4% or 5%. For property owners, this is not an abstract policy conversation. It lands on your doorstep in the form of a municipal account that seems to grow faster than almost anything else in your cost of living. Being a property owner in South Africa in 2025 is sometimes not as glamorous as it looks. The romanticised version of buying a property, building wealth, collecting rent and retiring comfortably has become something different. The costs of owning, maintaining and managing property have escalated dramatically while the income from that property has often not kept pace. Think about what goes into owning a property. You start with transfer duty on acquisition, which applies at a graduated rate to purchases above R1.1 million, plus conveyancing fees, bond registration costs and potentially an estate agent commission.  That’s before you’ve switched on a light. Then come the monthly costs of the bond, levies if you’re in a complex, property rates, building insurance, maintenance and repairs.  If you’re a landlord, add vacancy periods, property management fees if you use an agent, the cost of tenant disputes and the risk of a non-paying tenant you cannot remove quickly because the Rental Housing Tribunal moves at its own pace. As for the effectiveness of the Prevention of Illegal Eviction from and Unlawful Occupation of Land Act 19 of 1998, let me save the rant for another article. Rates alone have become a material line item. A property valued at R3m in Cape Town can attract a monthly rates bill of R2 500 to R3 500 or more, depending on the category and the valuation cycle. The number was lower five years ago.  In Johannesburg, where property values in many areas have gone flat or backwards in real terms, rates bills have kept climbing. You are paying more for a municipal service in a city where the roads are worse, the water infrastructure is under pressure and load shedding, while recently improved, has cost property owners significantly in generator investments and electricity surcharges. The cumulative effect on affordability is real and underestimated. When first-time buyers do the maths on whether they can afford a property, they typically look at the bond repayment and maybe the levy. Rates often get underestimated. The cost of maintenance, which, for an average freestanding house, is roughly 1% of the property value a year almost never features in the calculation.  The true cost of owning property is considerably higher than the headline price suggests. Municipalities raising their rates above inflation year after year are making that calculation worse. None of this is an argument against municipalities collecting revenue. They need it. Roads, water reticulation, waste removal and electricity infrastructure cost money and property owners benefit from them. A well-run city with reliable services and maintained infrastructure is the most important driver of property value. I have made this argument in this column before: the reason Cape Town properties appreciate the way they do is not just the mountain and the ocean. It is the fact that the city’s lights stay on, the sewage system mostly works and the streets get cleaned. That is worth paying for. But paying for it and being exploited are two different things. When a municipality creates a charge that is linked to the value of your asset and not to your usage, not to the cost of the service but to how much your property is worth, it has crossed from taxation into something that looks more like a wealth levy applied to an illiquid asset.  You cannot sell 10% of your house to pay your rates and you cannot easily liquidate equity. You are being asked to fund the municipality based on a notional value, while the municipality often fails to justify how the number translates into service delivery. Sapoa is engaging Mangaung Metropolitan Municipality on the same issue. Other municipalities had better take note because the precedent is set. The lesson is not complicated. Property rates and proper service levies are legitimate. They are the clean, constitutionally sound way to fund shared municipal services. Sapoa has said it supports the mechanism.  What is not legitimate is using property values as a proxy for ability to pay, packaging it as a service charge to avoid legislative scrutiny and then running a R2bn hole in your budget when a court calls it out. Municipalities need to do the hard work of broadening their revenue bases rather than returning to the same well. They need to improve billing and collection rates and be transparent to ratepayers about how their money is being spent.  Property owners are carrying more than their fair share of an increasingly heavy load. They are not an inexhaustible revenue source.  As this court case has reminded us all, they are not without legal recourse either.

Bafana Bafana's World Cup preparations hit a snag as a visa blunder delays their departure for the tournament, prompting Minister Gayton McKenzie to demand accountability from SAFA.

Cederberg Municipality is on the brink of eliminating a staggering R47 million Eskom debt, thanks to a significant second R14.9 million write-off from National Treasury, paving the way for financial recovery.

Operation Shanela II has dealt a crushing blow to drug traffickers in Limpopo, with police seizing dagga worth R11 million and arresting three suspects in a late‑night interception. The successful operation was conducted by members of Hoedspruit Saps in collaboration with Farm Watch members between Saturday evening, 30 May 2026, and the early hours of Sunday, 31 May 2026. Drug trafficking Police spokesperson Colonel Malesela Ledwaba said the three suspects were linked to drug trafficking activities. “Acting on information regarding the movement of a large quantity of drugs through the area, operational members intercepted a Toyota Quantum taxi and a Hyundai sedan along the R527 near Snake Park at about 21:15 on Saturday night.” Ledwaba said a search of the vehicles led to the discovery of 130 bags of dagga. “Preliminary investigations indicate that the consignment originated from Eswatini and was being transported through Limpopo for distribution elsewhere in the country. Three suspects, aged between 34 and 35, were immediately arrested on charges of dealing in dagga. “The operation further yielded additional arrests, including three suspects for urinating in public and one suspect for the use of dagga,” Ledwaba said. Patrols Ledwaba added that operational teams also conducted patrols in three villages, ten farms, an airport, four banking institutions, and six ATMs as part of ongoing crime-prevention and visibility operations. The Provincial Commissioner of Police in Limpopo, Lieutenant General Thembi Hadebe, praised the collaborative efforts of SAPS members and Farm Watch, saying the success highlights the importance of partnerships in safeguarding communities and disrupting criminal activities. “This seizure has prevented a substantial quantity of illicit drugs from reaching communities and demonstrates the effectiveness of joint operations. “Criminals must know that law enforcement remains determined to disrupt drug trafficking networks and protect our communities from the harmful effects of drugs,” said Hadebe. Court The suspects are expected to appear before the Hoedspruit Magistrate’s Court on Monday, 01 June 2026. The police investigations are continuing.

Gauteng residents have been urged to double their blankets ahead of a cold front expected to hit the province this week. Temperatures in Gauteng are expected to drop to the freezing mark as the cold weather grips most parts of the country. Cold front The cold weather is a stark reminder that winter is in full swing, signalling that South Africans should keep warm. “Breaking: early forecast suggests cold snap in Gauteng from Thursday,” said Gauteng Weather in a post on social media. Freezing Gauteng Weather has forecast the mercury for Johannesburg on Friday to drop to 0°C, reaching a high of 14°C. Pretoria is forecast to have a temperature of 2°C, with a high of 15°C. As the weather in Gauteng gets colder, emergency services are on high alert to handle any incidents that may occur. Heating devices The drop in temperatures means that residents throughout the City of Johannesburg will be forced to use all sorts of heating devices to try to warm themselves. This can make them vulnerable to fire incidents at home if heating devices are used unsafely or unattended. Residents have been urged to use all heating devices safely, including heaters, braziers, paraffin stoves and candles, and not to leave them unattended while in use to prevent fire incidents at home during the extremely cold weather. For any life-threatening emergencies, residents are urged to call the Emergency Services Call Centre on 011 375 5911. Rest of SA Meanwhile, the South African Weather Services (Saws) has warned that very cold, wet and windy conditions are expected over the central and eastern interior of the Western Cape, the southern parts of the Namakwa District in the Northern Cape, and parts of the Eastern Cape from Wednesday, 03 June to Thursday, 04 June. Cloudy conditions with fog patches are also expected in several provinces.

Millions of caregivers can collect from 4 June as SASSA opens the payment cycle for Child Support, Foster Care, and Care Dependency grants. Caregivers and guardians across South Africa have just days to go before this month’s children’s grant payments become available, with SASSA confirming that the payment window opens on Thursday, 4 June. Which SASSA grants are included? The children’s grants category covers the Child Support Grant, the Foster Care Grant, and the Care Dependency Grant. Together these grants reach millions of households, providing a vital financial lifeline for vulnerable children. Payments are made via SASSA cards at retail outlets, post offices, and ATMs, or directly into linked bank accounts. SASSA urges beneficiaries not to rush to collection points on the very first day. Spreading visits across the week reduces congestion and improves safety for elderly caregivers and young children. Retailers and ATMs in township areas typically see the heaviest traffic early in the morning on opening day e-Life Certification: Complete it from Home SASSA reminds beneficiaries that life certification no longer requires a trip to a SASSA office. The e-Life Certification platform, accessible through the Online Services Portal, allows caregivers to verify their status digitally using the electronic Know Your Client (eKYC) biometric system. Beneficiaries who have access to a smartphone or computer are encouraged to use this self-service option before collecting this month’s payment. Win R2 000 in the South African SASSA grant survey If you receive a SASSA grant and want to share your story, we want to hear from you. Take part in our survey and stand a chance to win R2 000. Your responses help us tell the stories that matter.

The June 2026 SASSA payment cycle begins tomorrow, with Older Persons’ Grant recipients set to receive their funds from Tuesday, 2 June. This includes the Old Age Grant and the Grant-in-Aid for older persons who require full-time care. As is customary, SASSA prioritises older persons at the start of each payment cycle. Recipients may access their funds via their SASSA Visa cards at any SASSA-approved merchant, post office, or ATM from Tuesday morning. Beneficiaries with bank accounts linked to their grants will also see deposits processed from the same date. Safety tips for grant day SASSA and community safety organisations consistently advise older grant recipients to take precautions on payment days. Beneficiaries are encouraged to go to collection points with a trusted family member, avoid carrying large amounts of cash, and be alert to strangers offeringunsolicited help at ATMs. Reporting suspicious activity to store security or local law enforcement remains important for personal safety. Don’t forget e-Life Certification Older grant recipients are among those most affected by the annual life certification requirement. SASSA has introduced the e-Life Certification platform specifically to reduce the burden on elderly beneficiaries, who previously had to travel to a SASSA branch in person. The platform uses secure biometric verification through the eKYC system and is available via the Online Services Portal. Completing certification online before collecting this month’s payment will help prevent any disruption to future grant payments. Win R2 000 in the South African SASSA grant survey If you receive a SASSA grant and want to share your story, we want to hear from you. Take part in our survey and stand a chance to win R2 000. Your responses help us tell the stories that matter.

Telkom has guided to a 45-55% earnings jump when it reports this week, but base effects complicate the picture.

Microsoft and Dell are expected to lead the launch as Nvidia muscles into a space dominated by Intel and AMD.