The headlines of the leading newspapers on 16 April 2025:
NATIONAL:
# Business Day:
Reports the Reserve Bank has warned of a contraction of almost 0.7-percent in the gross domestic product if the preferential trade agreement with the US is scrapped along with the introduction of tariffs. This warning puts more pressure on president Cyril Ramaphosa to repair ties with the US.
# And the Netwerk24 website:
Reports comments by South Africa’s US envoy, Mcebisi Jonas, could land him in trouble. He referred to president Donald Trump as a racist and homophobe in 2020.
Secondly, the website writes the first snow of the year has fallen in Lesotho and the coming winter can no longer be postponed.
And finally, there is news about an opinion poll by the Institute for Race Relations that indicates that the DA is now more popular than the ANC.
GAUTENG:
# The Star & Pretoria News:
Reports the Gauteng police’s anti-kidnapping task force rescued two businessmen in a swift and coordinated operation hours after they were hijacked and kidnapped in Midrand on Monday. The rapid response was also expedited by the deployment of more police officers in and around Johannesburg.
# Sowetan:
Reports an NSFAS beneficiary studying engineering survives by gardening, while another student relies on food donated by community members. The paper writes students on TVET campuses are struggling because the fund has failed to pay allowances for food and housing since the start of the academic year.
# And The Citizen:
Writes a local hospital has allegedly refused a liver transplant to a Zimbabwean girl because she could not produce the correct documentation.
WESTERN CAPE:
# Die Burger:
Reports the Bougas brothers, Anthonie and John, are allegedly threatening people who owe them money with violence. In one incident, armed debt collectors were allegedly sent to a person’s home.
And secondly, the paper writes the person who was shot dead on the Walter Sisulu campus is not, according to the police, a student or employee of the university. The wife of the residence manager who allegedly shot the person was admitted to hospital after being assaulted by protesters.
EASTERN CAPE:
# The Herald in Gqeberha:
Reports after two weeks of anticipation, Ramaphosa’s visit to Nelson Mandela Bay was disappointing. He met behind closed doors, went for a boat ride and did not answer questions from the media.
And secondly, the paper writes the residence manager of Walter Sisulu University who allegedly shot a person had to be rescued by the police along with his family after the incident.
KWAZULU-NATAL:
# The Witness in Pietermaritzburg:
Writes Lesotho has agreed to grant a license to Elon Musk to operate his satellite internet service, Starlink, in the country. The service is available in at least 20 countries on the continent, but not in South Africa.
And secondly, the KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Roads, Xolile Nqatha, is reported to say they are ready to fix the province’s road network.
And finally from NAMIBIA:
# Republikein in Windhoek:
Reports communities along the Kavango River are on alert for possible flooding. While the river could still rise by almost seven metres, it is already receding in the north.
And secondly, the paper writes rappers are ready to rap and hip-hop in Rehoboth.