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South Africans can breathe a little easier this week — the GNU survived the VAT drama, and Trump did a U-turn on tariffs… for now.

We also explore some of the stories that made us laugh — from Khanyi Mbau’s latest transformation to a throwback video of Katy Perry (who, by the way, is heading to space next week) and an ostrich that deserves reparations from Boris Johnson.

Speaking of world leaders, Ukraine’s president is visiting in two weeks. Cue the political party meltdowns and even a weird AI misinformation campaign. Honestly, he’s lucky he can travel — with the UK’s latest visa hikes, seeing Big Ben might require saving for 10,000 years.

And speaking of ancient things, a creature that went extinct 10,000 years ago has popped up in a US lab… but scientists aren’t exactly wagging their tails about what it’s being called.

Finally, a reminder: not everything you post should be posted — some posts come with consequences hotter than a Limpopo summer.

So, let’s dive into these stories and more in this week’s wrap, brought to you by Verashni Pillay and the explain.co.za team. 😄

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▁ ▂ ▄ ▅ ▆ ▇ █ 1. BIG STORY: GNU survives VAT showdown — but the price is going up 💸

It’s a relief, honestly. After a tense week of political brinkmanship, the Government of National Unity (GNU) hasn’t collapsed — and credit where it’s due: the ANC chose maturity, and President Cyril Ramaphosa stepped in with his trademark peacemaking touch. At a crunch National Working Committee meeting earlier this week, the ANC decided not to kick the DA out of the GNU despite the fallout from the budget vote. The DA, meanwhile, seems to be staying put, albeit fighting the VAT hike in court. 

Behind the scenes, business leaders begged both parties to keep the coalition intact, citing the economic stability it’s helped foster — from a stronger rand to improved investor confidence. For now, cooler heads have prevailed.

But that doesn’t mean South Africans are in the clear.

From 1 May, the price of just about everything will rise as the VAT rate increases from 15% to 15.5% despite not being finalised by Parliament. Parliament could theoretically vote it down — but it won’t because it’s in recess until May. And under SA tax law, VAT hikes take effect on the date announced in the Budget speech — no vote required.

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana says the increase will raise R13.5 billion for the 2025/26 financial year. Critics, however, argue that VAT is a regressive tax that hurts the poor most — especially during a cost-of-living crisis.

As we told you last week, the VAT increase passed in a budget not supported by the DA, nearly triggering a GNU split. ActionSA, which isn’t in the GNU, helped pass the budget in a parliamentary subcommittee — claiming it only did so on the condition that VAT and tax bracket creep would be reversed. But that condition isn’t legally binding. Herman Mashaba says ActionSA acted “responsibly” to avoid further deadlock. The jury is still out on that. 

Meanwhile, Ramaphosa is calling for a GNU ‘reset’, saying the real issue isn’t the DA but the lack of a proper coalition framework. He wants clearer rules of engagement. Meanwhile, Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula is holding one-on-one meetings with coalition partners. The ANC is hoping to stabilise the GNU ahead of parliament’s consideration of the Division of Revenue Bill and the Appropriations Bill in May and June, respectively

So yes — the price of groceries and basic goods will go up. But in a country desperate for political maturity, it’s encouraging that, for now at least, the grown-ups are still in the room.

Read our full story here.

▁ ▂ ▄ ▅ ▆ ▇ █ 2. ON THE LIGHTER SIDE: Khanyi, Katy, and a traumatised ostrich

The world may be spiralling, but at least the internet still knows how to entertain us. Here’s our pick of the most unhinged and hilarious reactions to the week’s biggest headlines.

Khanyi Mbau has done it again. South Africa’s reigning queen of reinvention shocked the internet this week with a new look that’s… all eyes, no lines, and not quite recognisable. Her latest photos, posted on Instagram, had the timeline spiralling — with some users calling it a “jump scare”.

In October last year, the actress and media personality revealed that she underwent blepharoplasty — saying she wanted to look “filtered and face-tuned in real-time.” This after years of changing up her appearance dramatically, including extreme skin bleaching. Now, she’s back in the headlines. Say what you will, but Khanyi knows how to break the internet. 💅🏾💻

We truly live in a simulation. Boris Johnson was pecked by an ostrich through an open car window while visiting a wildlife centre in Texas. And in a moment so bizarre, it barely needed the internet to meme it. But meme it they did.

The former UK Prime Minister was there with his family and made headlines after a particularly bold ostrich gave him a literal pecking order lesson.

X-users, naturally, were more concerned about the real victim here rather than the often unpopular politician: the ostrich. Is it okay?🐦‍⬛💥

Katy Perry is (controversially) heading to space with Jeff Bezos’s wife— but not before serving cyborg-chic on the red carpet.

An old video popped up on X from Paris Fashion Week last week, where Katy rocked a one-shouldered red velvet Balenciaga mini dress with a daringly short hemline — but it was the insane 91-meter train that really stole the show. It unspooled slowly from her limo behind her as she entered a building, like a dramatic mic drop. The train was printed with lyrics from her then-unreleased song Woman’s World. Too bad the song itself bombed. 

Reality may be broken, but at least our sense of humour isn’t. 😆

▁ ▂ ▄ ▅ ▆ ▇ █ BRIEFS:

3. Trump freezes tariffs (but not the outrage) 

‘Cause you’re hot, then you’re cold / You’re yes, then you’re no / You’re in, then you’re out / You’re up, then you’re down…” 🎶

Donald Trump seems to be taking inspiration from amateur astronaut Katy Perry’s hit song. First, he sent the global economy into cardiac arrest by announcing “reciprocal tariffs” on the rest of the world last week, which even the ordinarily sage The Economist called “barmy” (experts theorised the nonsense tariff formula may well have been generated by Chat GPT). 

Then, after a weekend playing a golf tournament during the worst losses in US stock market history and $10 trillion wiped from global stock value, he casually announced a 90-day freeze for most countries. This excluded China, whose tariffs he raised to 125% because of “a lack of respect” – the country had announced retaliatory tariffs of 84%. 

South Africa is now at the same baseline, 10%, as most other countries after Trump first hiked our tariffs to 30%. 

Trump’s backtracking came after White House staff insisted the initial tariffs were NOT negotiating tactics. But it looks like he was forced to backtrack after heavy pushback, including from within his own party and even his personal cheerleader, billionaire Elon Musk. Trump, of course, is framing the reversal as his plan all along, per the “Art of the Deal” – his famous book. He told donors on Tuesday: “They’re calling up, kissing my ass… dying to make a deal.” Charming. 

Here’s the thing, though: markets are like a VERY emotional toddler; they need stability. While Trump’s tariff reprieve may have momentarily calmed the US stock markets, trading partners and investors are quickly learning that the world’s once biggest proponent of free international trade is not to be trusted. Analysts at JPMorgan increased the risk of a recession by up to 80%, even after the tariff reprieves. 

For now, countries, including South Africa, have ninety days to “kiss ass”. 

In the US, though, many Americans weren’t kissing anything. Instead, they took to the streets. Over the weekend, more than 250,000 people joined “Hands Off” protests across all 50 states, with solidarity marches in London, Paris and Berlin. Organisers pegged numbers in the millions. Protesters called out Trump’s sweeping executive actions — from mass government job cuts to immigrant crackdowns — many of them architected by Musk’s controversial new Department of Government Efficiency.

Signs read: “Unplug Elon”, “Hands off Canada”, and “I can only write this because there used to be a Department of Education.”

Approval ratings are sliding. Most respected polls, albeit conducted before the latest reversals, put Trump at 45% and under – some of his lowest since returning to office.

Is there a silver lining? Perhaps the fact that Americans are borrowing a move from South Africa’s protest playbook. As the world watches the next 90 days tick down, one thing is clear — democracy may be bruised, but it’s not bowed.

4. “Zulu” parade in New Orleans: Cultural tribute or tone-deaf throwback?

South Africans on social media are melting down over a cultural parade in New Orleans that has gone viral for all the wrong reasons. 

Every year, as part of the New Orleans’s Mardi Gras celebrations, a group known as the ‘Krewe of Zulu’ takes to the streets in grass skirts, afro wigs, and – yes – full-blown blackface. 

Many Saffers stumbled upon clips online for the first time recently, horrified to see American participants gleefully smearing on shoe polish and throwing coconuts into crowds.

“Are these supposed to be Zulu people?!” said one South African on X. “Americans are so disrespectful.”

To which some Americans – with the subtlety of a vuvuzela at a book club – clapped back: “It’s blackface, but it’s Black people doing it. Y’all South Africans [don’t know what you’re talking about].”

But… the story is complicated. The Zulu parade was born in 1909 out of resistance – a response by working-class black New Orleanians to the all-white Carnival krewes of the time. By exaggerating racist imagery, they turned it into protest. “A safe way to mock the mockers,” historian Lawrence Powell explained.

Local critics, however, argue the parade’s modern look leans a little too hard on stereotypes that South Africans feel misrepresent actual Zulu culture.

On the other hand, some American users have turned the tables, saying South Africa’s own Kaapse Klopse (Cape Minstrels) has links to the problematic pre-slavery minstrel shows in the US.  But as sustainability platform Twyg reports, the Cape minstrels, which dates back to the 19th century as a form of cultural resistance by formerly enslaved people, have long avoided mimicking racist caricatures of black people. 

Needless to say, all this has resulted in a full-blown culture clash between two groups who share a connection to the continent but not always context. One local X user even joked (or did they?) that the Zulu Royal Family should sue New Orleans for defamation.

At the heart of it all is a very modern debate: how do we honour history without insulting the present? 

Read the full story here.

5. Zelensky’s big SA visit: Peace, protests and platinum rumours 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is jetting into Pretoria on 24 April for a state visit that’s got tongues wagging across the political spectrum – and not just because of his signature olive-green military outfits.

It’s the first time a Ukrainian head of state will visit South Africa, and it comes at a tense time in global politics: think the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, frosty US-SA relations, and South Africa’s famously “non-aligned” foreign policy.

Not even two years ago, South Africa was accused of being pro-Russia and anti-Ukraine – especially by the DA and US politicians. Remember the Lady R scandal? Some US legislators approached the White House to move the African Growth and Opportunity Act summit away from South Africa because of our supposed pro-Russia stance. The irony, of course, is that Trump and co are now cosying up to Russia and treating Ukraine poorly. 

So it’s nice that SA is staying the course. Zelensky and President Cyril Ramaphosa have been in talks since 2022, with SA even leading an African peace delegation to Kyiv and Moscow in 2023. Now, Zelensky’s trip is being billed as the next step in peace efforts. Ramaphosa says war won’t solve this crisis – only dialogue will.

But not everyone’s on board.

The South African Communist Party and the uMkhonto weSizwe Party are furious. They’re calling Zelensky a puppet of the West, which is to be expected given their radical, anti-Western views and deep affinity with Russia, drawing on the Soviet Union’s historic support for the anti-apartheid struggle. 

Adding fuel to the fire: a viral (but fake!) video claims Zelensky bought a 51% stake in Northam Platinum. It was made to look like an SABC broadcast, but both the public broadcaster and the mining company have slammed it as a total fabrication.

Obviously, Zelensky’s not here for the platinum. He’s here to drum up peace talk support and counter Russia’s growing influence in Africa. And SA? It gets to flex its diplomatic muscles on a global stage where the US has seemingly gone mad – even if walking this geopolitical tightrope means upsetting a few old friends.

Read our full story here.

6. The scientists who cried dire wolf?

On Monday, the world woke up to the news that Colossal Biosciences — yes, the same folks behind those woolly mice we told you about before — had pulled off something straight out of Game of Thrones: bringing the extinct dire wolf back to life. Or at least… something very close. 🐺🧬

The Texas-based biotech startup revealed three fuzzy pups named Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi — after Roman myth and Dothraki royalty (sorry, Jon Snow 👀). The trio were born via surrogate dogs and Colossal claims they are the world’s first de-extinct dire wolves, resurrected using ancient DNA and genetic tinkering.

How did they do it? Using preserved dire wolf DNA (from fossils), Colossal says it mapped the genome, edited it into a grey wolf — the dire wolf’s closest living relative — and produced the pups via three separate births.

Colossal’s chief science officer, Beth Shapiro, told Time: “We are an evolutionary force at this point.”

But not everyone’s buying it.

Paleogeneticist Dr Nic Rawlence told the BBC that ancient DNA is often too degraded to use meaningfully — it’s “like if you put fresh DNA in a 500-degree oven overnight.” He and others argue these aren’t dire wolves at all, but genetically modified grey wolves — clever branding, not true resurrection.

The public is split. Some are geeking out; others say this is science playing god while actual health crises go underfunded. And yes, there’ve been Jurassic Park comparisons — you know, the part before everything went sideways.

Still, Colossal isn’t stopping. They’re already working on reviving the woolly mammoth, dodo, and Tasmanian tiger — with fluffy ambition and high-budget bioengineering.

Whether these pups are ancient predators reborn or just glorified wolf 2.0s, they’ve captured the imagination of a world fascinated with what was — and what could be again.

Welcome back, little (maybe) ancient ones. 🐾

Read the full story here. 

7. UK visas just got pricier – and we’re not chuffed, mate

Thinking of popping over to the UK for a quick cuppa with King Charles? Well, you might want to rethink that plan. Travelling to the United Kingdom just got even more expensive for South African passport holders.

The UK government has hiked its visa fees by 10%, effective from yesterday – and it’s not pretty. A standard six-month tourist visa now costs over R3,100, while the 10-year long-stay option will set you back a whopping R26,000. That’s more than most people’s rent!

Why the hike? It’s part of the UK’s push to make its immigration system self-funding – in other words, get travellers to pay the full admin costs instead of UK taxpayers. The money will go towards better border control and faster processing – but critics say it could hurt families hoping to reunite or celebrate life events together.

To make it worse, UK fees are priced in pounds – which haven’t exactly been kind to the rand. And with Mzansi already dealing with potential tariff hikes and an incoming VAT increase, this news is tough.

Comparatively, South Africans pay around R3,500 for a 10-year US visa and under R2,000 for a Schengen visa (think France, Germany, Spain). Even Australia’s at around R2,400. So unless you’re planning multiple trips to London, the UK’s long-stay visa is a luxury few can afford.

The UK’s tourism industry, however, isn’t sweating it. They’re expecting over 43 million international visitors this year – up 5% from 2024.

So, unless you’re Meghan Markle’s long-lost cousin, you might want to skip Buckingham and hit up Emperors Palace this Easter instead. No visa required, and the chips come without mushy peas. Win-win.

Read our full story here.

8. Posting isn’t private — and it can land you in court 🧑🏽‍⚖️📱

Think before you tweet, type or WhatsApp — especially if you’re weighing in on sensitive topics. That’s the message behind this week’s national reckoning on social media conduct, sparked by the heartbreaking #JusticeForCwecwe case.

Seven-year-old Cwecwe’s story horrified the country — but while many used social media to demand justice, others used it to crack jokes and post harmful comments. One student at Sol Plaatje University made disturbing remarks in a WhatsApp group, prompting backlash, screenshots, and an internal university probe. Another user made an even more graphic Facebook post and is now under police investigation.

The Department of Justice has stepped in, warning against the “irresponsible and reckless” use of social media, especially in cases involving minors and violence.

So what are the rules? In SA, freedom of expression is protected under section 16 of the Constitution — but it comes with limits. As Media law lecturer Anathi Phela explains: “We’ve been given a spoon, but we’re told not to eat from a certain plate.”

With that said, these are the laws you should know:

🔹The Cybercrimes Act makes sending harmful or offensive messages a potential crime.

🔹The POPIA Act protects private information — sharing someone’s data without consent could land you in hot water.

🔹The Films and Publications Act regulates graphic content and aims to protect children online.

🔹And, of course, defamation law applies online, too — yes, even on WhatsApp.

There’s also precedent. Remember that cryptic tweet by Jackie Phamotse that led to a lawsuit from the Kumalos? Or the July 2021 riots and the charges against Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla for incitement?

So yes — you can be held accountable for what you post. The internet doesn’t forget. And increasingly, neither does the law.

Read our full story here.

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That’s it from us at The Wrap, an award-winning product of explain.co.za – simple news summaries for busy people. 💁🏾‍♀ 

The Wrap is sponsored by explain’s agency division. We specialise in content marketing for purpose-driven organisations, often with a pan-African reach. Email info@explain.co.za for a quote. 

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