RC 260818Cape TalkJohn Maytham
Tuesday, 18 August 2026
Student unrest at CPUT and the collapse of NSFAS dominated a show that also weighed a Meta lawsuit, road safety on bikes, and South Africa’s unused state land.
- 17:01
More than 500 CPUT students marched to Parliament as the university shut campuses and residences after protests over historical debt, the new admissions fee and a building fire at Bellville.
- 17:03
The Public Protector found NSFAS left 40,000 eligible students unfunded despite a R3 billion injection, and another 40,000 were improperly funded at a cost of about R5.1 billion.
- 15:22
A US case by 30 states is trying to force Meta to end features like infinite scroll, autoplay and like counts; the legal argument is that the platforms knowingly push harmful content to young users.
- 15:46
Ross Tucker said bicycle helmets are tested for impacts around 19.5 km/h, but better materials could improve protection; Tarling’s death showed race-mismanagement, not helmet design, was the fatal factor.
- 16:12
Peter Bruce argued the state’s roughly 2.5 million hectares of bought farmland should be handed over as freehold to poor South Africans, saying the land is sitting idle and could be used or sold by owners.