Petrol and diesel prices decrease from 7 January 2026. Picture: iStock As the new year gets underway, South Africans are adjusting to life after the festive season. This includes the long travelling hours as everyone returns home.
Nearly 8 000 vehicles per hour crossed the toll booth between Heidelberg and Cedara on the N3 highway between 11am and 1pm on Sunday as people returned to Gauteng. Those flying out of Gauteng from OR Tambo International Airport have also experienced delays due to human resource constraints at the Air Traffic Control station. Sadly,some beachgoers may not be returning home, as at least twelve people who were washed out to sea at several beaches have not yet been found.
From changes that affect your wallet to government decisions that may affect your day-to-day life, here are five things you need to know at the start of the year. The Department of Basic Education (DBE) has confirmed that public schools will reopen on 14 January 2026. Last year, the department gazetted several changes to the national policy for determining school calendars, which will come into effect this year.
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Among the biggest shifts is the scrapping of staggered calendars, meaning all provinces will now start and end the school year at the same time. The proposed policy states that “schools must open in the third week of January”, ending the long-standing system that saw inland provinces start a week earlier than coastal ones.
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