Morning Newspaper Report

The headlines of the leading newspapers on 14 January 2026:

NATIONAL:

# Business Day:

Reports Capitec is approaching a 500-billion-rand valuation and will now also start focusing on business banking. The commercial bank has grown by more than 200-percent in the past two years and is now second only to FirstRand.

# And the Netwerk24 website:

Reports the DA praised the minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, for the progress made under her leadership. However, BOSA accused the DA of hypocrisy and said the party was not fulfilling its role as opposition.

Then the website writes the chairperson of the US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Jim Risch, says America must act more strongly against South Africa. He referred to the BRICS naval exercise involving Russia and Iran, among others.

And finally, there is news about South Africa, which has also now been removed from the EU’s grey list.

GAUTENG:

# The Star:

Writes township schools did not lag in matric results and proved that learners in townships also emerged as achievers.

And secondly, the paper reports residents of Johannesburg are dissatisfied with City Power’s new solar tariffs.

# Sowetan:

Reports a Free State teacher has achieved a 100-percent pass rate in science for nine consecutive years through dedication. And the paper writes a change in attitude among teachers at a school in Soweto has increased the pass rate from 47-percent to 81.9-percent in two years.

# And The Citizen:

Writes in fact, less than 60-percent of learners registered in Grade 1 passed matric this year. There are calls for the government to pay attention to the education system, particularly in mathematics and science, where South Africa is falling short.

WESTERN CAPE:

# Die Burger:

Reports universities will have to turn away thousands of matriculants. There are approximately 100-thousand school leavers for whom there is no place at universities. According to experts, universities have room for approximately nine-thousand first-year students annually, but the institutions have already received hundreds of thousands of applications.

And secondly, the paper writes 21 fishermen were rescued after their boat caught fire about one nautical mile from Noordhoek in Gqeberha. Environmental experts are now concerned about the pollution risk posed by the vessel.

EASTERN CAPE:

# The Herald in Gqeberha:

Reports how two schools in Gqeberha achieved top performance.

And secondly, the paper writes about the ups and downs of the matriculants when their results were announced.

KWAZULU-NATAL:

# The Witness in Pietermaritzburg:

Again has several reports on the matric results, and readers are introduced to the top achievers in Pietermaritzburg.

And secondly, the paper writes security at the Tala Game Reserve has been tightened after the attack on two young women.

And finally from NAMIBIA:

# Republikein in Windhoek:

Reports that many dissatisfied election officials have now turned to the office of the ombud to intervene with their compensation.

And secondly, the paper reports the 2025 matric results of the National Senior Secondary Certificate, Ordinary Level and National Senior Secondary Certificate, Advanced Supplementary Level show significant shifts in performance by regions and schools compared to 2024.