The headlines of the leading newspapers on 12 March 2025:
NATIONAL:
# Business Day:
Reports the minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, says that the minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, will table the budget today and any disagreements between cabinet members will be dealt with afterward.
# And the Netwerk24 website:
Reports, a well-known former banker from Somerset West, 54-year-old Jacques Pretorius, has been arrested in connection with the murder of his wife Sheri-Ann almost three and a half years ago. It was initially suspected that she committed suicide.
Secondly, the website writes president Cyril Ramaphosa says he is disappointed in AfriForum and Solidarity about their visit to the White House. He says they acted unpatriotically.
And finally, the page gives details about the bus accident on the R21 near Kempton Park yesterday morning in which 16 people died and 40 were injured.
GAUTENG:
# The Star & Pretoria News:
Writes Ramaphosa has defended his talks with controversial South African-born billionaire Elon Musk. He confirmed he met Musk in the US and they held discussions about investments. The president says the government meets with diverse figures in the diplomatic field.
# Sowetan:
Reports there were three accidents in 24 hours in Gauteng in which 22 people died. The paper writes the minister of Transport, Barbara Creecy will urgently meet with the Gauteng authorities about road safety.
# And The Citizen:
Looks at a scenario according to which president Donald Trump applies tariffs on South Africa and whether China will help the country under such circumstances.
WESTERN CAPE:
# Die Burger:
Has the same lead as Netwerk24 about the arrest of Jacques Pretorius.
Then it is reported that the minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, said in Parliament that the pressure on the education budget has not yet led to any teachers being fired.
And finally, the paper writes the Weather Service has warned Capetonians to prepare themselves for a Southeasterly of 50 to 70 kilometres per hour.
EASTERN CAPE:
# The Herald in Gqeberha:
Reports Nelson Mandela Bay is losing its war on water leaks, with repair rates dropping from about four-thousand in June to a mere 400 in January. There are more than a hundred-thousand leaks in the city.
And secondly, the paper writes the iconic Richly House in Gqeberha, which housed a bar and a club, was destroyed in a fire on Tuesday morning.
KWAZULU-NATAL:
# The Witness in Pietermaritzburg:
Writes the police have raided a school in Pietermaritzburg.
And reports about a huge investment in technology to be made in KwaZulu-Natal.
And finally from NAMIBIA:
# Republikein in Windhoek:
Reports information about retired civil servants staying in state property for free, tender documents that regularly disappear from the ministry of Works and Transport and officials who conspire with tenderers to win tenders is contained in a report by the standing committee on Public Accounts.
And secondly, the paper writes that there is chaos at the Nakop border post with South Africa. A Namibian transport company confirmed yesterday afternoon that their trucks had been waiting for hours in a 30 km long queue at the border post to be allowed through.