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Articles by Riaan Oberholzer
Millions' web safety rests on one volunteer, for free
For the millions of people who browse the web every day, the safety of the sites they visit rests on work most will never see. This week, that work was done largely by one man, in his spare time, for free. Ondřej Surý has spent more than 20 years voluntarily maintaining PHP software packages for two of the world’s most popular versions of Linux, Debian and Ubuntu. Linux is a free operating system similar to Windows, and it is often used on web servers.
Millions Lack Clean Water as Minister Urges Water Investment
For millions of people across Africa who still live without reliable access to clean water, the distance between political promises and functioning taps comes down to money. That was the message carried to New York this week by Water and Sanitation Minister Pemmy Majodina, who told a high-level panel that the continent’s development, climate resilience and economic growth all hinge on closing the water investment gap.
Fuel hikes hit pumps nationwide: petrol up R3.12 a litre
Petrol 93 rose by R3.12 a litre and petrol 95 by R3.33 in the latest round of South Africa’s fuel-price adjustments, with diesel up by between R2.84 and R3.24 a litre. Illuminating paraffin climbed by R3.58 at wholesale level, its maximum retail price rising by R4.77, while LPGas increased by 42c/kg nationally and 48c/kg in the Western Cape. The practical question now is whether government will adjust the pricing system itself rather than rely on temporary fixes.
Motsepe to Chair CAF Strategy Conference in Cabo Verde
CAF President Dr Patrice Motsepe will convene the confederation’s leadership on Cabo Verde’s Sal Island from 07 to 09 October 2026 for the CAF Strategy Conference, a three-day meeting designed to set African football’s strategic direction and examine how its institutions can deliver lasting development and sustainability for the game. Preparations in Santa Maria are complete.
Ransomware hits SA services hard, recovery bills top R17m
Ransomware encrypted data in nearly two-thirds of attacks on South African organisations over the past year, and victims spent an average of more than R17 million to recover. Those figures, drawn from Sophos’s State of Ransomware in South Africa 2026 report, point to a disruption that reaches well beyond IT departments: when systems go down, services stall, work stops and opportunities are lost.
Small firms power SA's quiet economic comeback
Economic recovery rarely announces itself in headline numbers first. It shows up in quieter places: a restaurant owner on Vilakazi Street ordering more stock, a funeral parlour in Mthatha hiring another staff member, a logistics operator in Tembisa adding a vehicle to its fleet. These decisions put money into circulation in communities long before gross domestic product figures or confidence indices register any change.
Africa's everyday services hinge on UN funding talks
Power supplies, farms, small businesses, trade routes: for millions of Africans, whether capital reaches the projects that shape daily life depends on conversations like the ones held in New York during the 81st United Nations General Assembly. United Bank for Africa (UBA) used its participation in UNGA‘26 to press exactly that case, placing the mobilization of finance for Africa’s development at the center of its engagements.
Seven victims confirmed in Ekurhuleni serial death probe; police expand investigation scop
EKURHULENI DEATH INVESTIGATION EXPANDS TO SEVEN BODIES AS POLICE REASSESS CASE CONNECTIONS Seven bodies. That is the revised count in the Ekurhuleni investigation into the deaths of multiple women, after police determined that a woman recovered from a river near Mall of Thembisa in Clayville on 7 September should be folded into the broader inquiry.
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