Happy Wednesday everyone, and welcome to the first day of July, which also means new fuel prices kicked in this morning.
Wednesday, 01 July 2026
Ramaphosa reshuffles the cabinet, DA positions included
Ramaphosa has gone and moved the furniture again, reshuffling seven portfolios that include agriculture, environment, trade and social development, all of which were DA-held positions. From what I can tell this was largely done at the DA’s request, which is an interesting dynamic in itself. The coalition keeps doing this awkward dance where nobody publicly admits there’s tension but the minister list still changes. Whether any of this makes the government work better for ordinary people, I genuinely don’t know.
Eskom planning a multi-day power outage somewhere in Gauteng this July
The details are still coming in but Eskom has confirmed a planned multi-day electricity interruption in Gauteng this month, and that phrase alone should have every Pretoria and Joburg household double-checking their candles and inverter batteries. We’ve had a good run of stable power lately so this is a bit of a gut punch, especially in the middle of winter. Keep an eye on your municipal communications for timing and areas.
Constitutional Court dismisses the rand manipulation case against the big four banks
The ConCourt has unanimously, and that word carries real weight, dismissed the Competition Commission’s appeal against Absa, FirstRand, Nedbank and Standard Bank over allegations they colluded to fix the rand exchange rate. The banks are obviously relieved. I’ll be honest, a lot of South Africans are going to feel like the outcome here was predictable, and not in a good way. Whether the case was weak on merit or not, these things always sting a little.
Bafana players can’t escape SARS either
Our boys earn FIFA prize money on the world stage and then SARS shows up like clockwork. The amount the taxman is apparently going to take from the players’ prize money is quite significant, and honestly it’s a very South African story. You work hard, you achieve something great, you still pay your taxes like everyone else. Can’t really argue with the principle, even if the numbers sting a little.
Fuel prices are down from today as well, so July is starting with at least one small win for the wallet.
What do you all reckon about the cabinet reshuffle, does moving DA ministers around actually change anything on the ground, or is this just coalition politics keeping everyone busy?
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