The headlines of the leading newspapers on 04 April 2025:
NATIONAL:
# Business Day:
Reports South African shares took a hit as the prospect of the unravelling of the government of national unity, coupled with rising global trade tensions, wiped out almost a trillion-rand in value. The all-share index fell 4.5-percent, its biggest one-day drop since 2020.
# Mail & Guardian on Friday:
Writes there are no winners in the budget fiasco. The ANC is busy with secret deals, the DA is going to court, the government of national unity is at breaking point, America is putting further economic pressure on and ordinary South Africans are struggling.
# And the Netwerk24 website:
Reports the DA has not yet decided on its continued participation in the government of national unity. The party’s federal council has already met on the issue and the meetings will continue. The website writes the ANC Youth League says the DA’s ministers should be kicked out.
Then the site writes Hugo Ferreira, who raped and murdered his baby daughter Caithlyn, has been sentenced to two life sentences.
And finally, there is news about the good rainfall in the Free State and Northern Cape in recent days. In some cases, record rainfall was recorded.
GAUTENG:
# The Star & Pretoria News:
Writes the O.R. Tambo International Airport is now allegedly involved in a scandal of the Airports Company of South Africa. It concerns millions of rand that were allegedly wasted through irregular procurement processes.
# Sowetan:
Reports that the taxi war in Katlehong has already claimed dozens of lives in the past month. The police have confirmed that they are investigating the murders in the area, but the community is in mourning for the victims, some as young as 17 years old.
# And The Citizen:
Speculates on what will happen after president Donald Trump’s tariffs come into effect. Does South Africa have plans to avert the loss of 100-thousand jobs?
WESTERN CAPE:
# Die Burger:
Also leads with the report on the DA’s future in the government of national unity.
And secondly, the paper reports the N2 at Knysna was closed when a truck carrying explosives overturned, claiming the lives of the driver and a passenger.
EASTERN CAPE:
# The Herald in Gqeberha:
Reports the US tariffs that are wreaking havoc on global supply chains also pose a threat to South Africa’s automotive and agricultural industries and will have a huge impact in the Eastern Cape.
And secondly, the paper writes the Nelson Mandela Bay Budget and Treasury Committee has rejected a National Treasury directive that requires the poverty grant to be reduced.
KWAZULU-NATAL:
# The Witness in Pietermaritzburg:
Writes the DA has reached its Damascus moment in the GNU.
And reports about the day clinic that has opened at the Pietermaritzburg Mediclinic.
And finally from NAMIBIA:
# Republikein in Windhoek:
Reports residents of the Havana informal settlement say the construction of a district hospital in the suburb was a mere election stunt. There has been no progress ten months after the groundbreaking ceremony.
Then the paper writes the mother of a boy who has been missing for four years says the grief is unbearable.
And finally, it is reported that the family of a one-year-old toddler who was stabbed to death by his mother say they are struggling to come to terms with his death.