Innholdsfortegnelse for 2026-01-09 i Daily Voice

PRESIDENT Cyril Ramaphosa has downplayed fears that United States of America counterpart Donald Trump might invade South Africa. Addressing the media this week, Ramaphosa said that he is not worried about a supposed invasion. This comes after the US carried out a military operation in Venezuela, in which they bombed the capital Caracas and “captured” its leader Nicolas Maduro and his wife. It follows an assault on Islamic State terrorists on Nigerian soil on Christmas Day and Trump officials insisting that they won’t rule out military action to annex Greenland from Denmark. Tensions Tensions between Mzansi and the US have heated up over Trump’s unfounded claims of a white genocide in SA and his administration offering white Afrikaners refugee status. But Ramaphosa said: “I’m not worried about an invasion of…

AS SOUTH Africa’s unified school calendar gets underway on Wednesday, 14 January, parents say the cost of sending a child to school has reached breaking point — driven not only by uniforms and fees, but by increasingly long and expensive stationery lists. New analysis by Teneo Online School estimates that the minimum “entry fee” for a Grade 8 learner at a public, fee-paying high school has risen to R5 015.78 in 2026. This covers compulsory uniforms, stationery and specialist tools, but excludes school fees, transport and food. Uniform essentials, including a blazer, shirts, jersey and broek or skirt make up the biggest share at R2 714.90, followed by stationery packs costing R1 336.90. Skoolskoene, a school bag and items such as a scientific calculator push the total beyond R5…

Blame “Kids are not placed in schools and end up staying at home for a full year, and then the department shifts the blame to parents.” According to Cosatu, the persistence of placement failures points to a deeper lack of long-term planning. The union also raised concerns about inequality across the provincial schooling system, saying that the challenges of overcrowding remain mainly concentrated in Black and coloured working-class communities. De Bruyn added: “When we visit Model C schools in affluent areas, classrooms typically accommodate about 30 learners. But in black and coloured areas, you find classrooms with more than 60 learners in one classroom.” Cosatu said the full scale of the problem often only becomes visible after the academic year begins. According to the WCED, as of 15 December 2025,…