Morning Newspaper Report

The headlines of the leading newspapers on 19 January 2026:

NATIONAL:

# Business Day:

Reports Sasol shares fell sharply after JPMorgan downgraded it over a serious currency risk for the petroleum company.

# And the Netwerk24 website:

Reports eight-year-old Naledi Ramaisa’s body was found near her home in Matwabeng in Senekal after she went missing on Tuesday. A sixteen-year-old local boy was arrested after he allegedly beat her to death for allegedly stealing peaches.

Then the website writes the government on Sunday declared a national disaster in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape, and North West following the devastating floods and severe weather since November last year.

And finally there is news about a CapeNature firefighter who was injured while fighting a fire in Stettynskloof between Franschhoek and Du Toitskloof on Saturday.

GAUTENG:

# Sowetan:

Also reports about the national disaster that was declared to assist the provinces in dealing with the flood damage.

# And The Citizen:

Reports Iran’s continued participation in the BRICS naval exercise and the alleged disregard of president Cyril Ramaphosa’s directive on this matter are now being placed on the shoulders of the SANDF and the head of the Navy. An investigation has been launched into the incident, which has led to further diplomatic problems with the US.

WESTERN CAPE:

# Die Burger:

Reports the DA is demanding a fresh investigation be launched into the exorbitantly increased salary of the Secretary of Parliament, Xolile George. His salary now amounts to almost five-million-rand per year.

And secondly, the paper also writes about the national disaster that has been declared in five provinces.

EASTERN CAPE:

# The Herald in Gqeberha:

Reports the Good Year plant in Kariega is on the market, and the move has dashed the hopes of hundreds of employees that the tyre company will return to business.

And secondly, the paper writes about the dire conditions in the once very popular Happy Valley Playground in Gqeberha.

KWAZULU-NATAL:

# The Witness in Pietermaritzburg:

Writes South Africa wants to reduce the blood alcohol level for drinking and driving to zero in order to eliminate road deaths due to alcohol consumption.

And secondly, it is reported there are growing concerns about learners carrying knives.

And finally from NAMIBIA:

# Republikein in Windhoek:

Reports the education ministry says the long-standing confusion over so-called grade 11 qualifications and access to subsidised tertiary education must now come to an end.

And secondly, the paper writes efforts by Swapo and the United Nations to reassure former Namibian refugees that no funds were misused or withheld after their repatriation in 1989 appear to have so far failed.