Morning Newspaper Report

The headlines of the leading newspapers on 06 March 2026:

NATIONAL:

# Business Day:

Reports the High Court has ordered Finance minister Enoch Godongwana not to increase VAT in the next 24 months. The matter has been referred back to Parliament for further deliberation in terms of an order.

# Mail & Guardian on Fridays:

Leads with “IRAN WAR RATTLES SA”. The paper writes the conflict in the region is pushing global oil markets higher, with potential consequences for South Africa’s fuel prices, inflation and interest rates.

# And the Netwerk24 website:

Reports a former partner of forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan told the parliamentary ad hoc committee that the police had kidnapped her. Sarah Jane-Trent testified that she was locked in a police cell at the Kameeldrift police station in 2017 because she allegedly posed as an IPID officer.

Secondly, the website writes the ANC is very upset about the DA’s billboard. It depicts the Gauteng premier in the midst of the water crisis under a shower in a hotel. The ANC says it is in poor taste.

And finally, there is a report about the Western Cape premier Alan Winde who arrived in the legislature in cycling shorts and pink socks. There is currently no explanation for the action.

GAUTENG:

# The Star:

Writes the families of the 14 children who died in the Vaal accident are struggling to come to terms with the loss and grief.

Secondly, it is reported that kidnappings are increasing in Gauteng.

And finally, the paper writes Iran says the war has already claimed the lives of more than one-thousand-200 victims.

# Sowetan:

Reports the Zondo Commission has arrested its first major state capturer. Former ANC MP Vincent Smith has been sentenced to seven years in prison for fraud.

# And The Citizen:

Investigates the possibility that people would rather commit suicide than be trapped in South Africa’s weak health system.

WESTERN CAPE:

# Die Burger:

Reports a well-known farmer from the Bokkeveld has died in an accident between a bakkie and a truck.

And secondly, the paper writes foot-and-mouth vaccinations are now focused on Swartland farms.

EASTERN CAPE:

# The Herald in Gqeberha:

Reports the Nelson Mandela Bay metro’s decision to use 14-million-rand of the library’s budget for other projects is being seriously criticized.

And secondly, the paper writes about other budgetary problems that the metro also has to solve.

KWAZULU-NATAL:

# The Witness in Pietermaritzburg:

Writes the South African government is helping South Africans abroad by introducing new overseas facilities to speed up the processing of smart IDs and passports, reducing waiting times to five weeks.

And secondly, it is reported that the army has been deployed in certain areas to help with crime control.

And finally from NAMIBIA:

# Republikein in Windhoek:

Reports private specialists are unsure how and when their disciplines will be affected by Vision April 2026 and whether the services currently unavailable in the state sector will still be accessible to Psemas members.

And secondly, the paper writes the two Britons who died in a plane crash near Gobabeb in the Namib-Naukluft National Park on Wednesday afternoon had barely been in the country for a week when fate struck.