A bad week for Geordin Hill-Lewis

The new DA leader suffered a court setback in his own backyard

May 07, 2026 at 5:00 am

A good week for Alvi van der Merwe

Alvi van der Merwe, a winemaker from the Breede River Valley, was a big winner at the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles in Croatia (supplied)

Alvi van der Merwe, a winemaker from the Breede River Valley, was a big winner at the Concours Mondial de Bruxelles in Croatia, one of the world’s premier international wine competitions. Thousands of wines from about 50 countries were blind-tasted and awarded medals by expert panels. Van der Merwe’s Alvi’s Drift Reserve sauvignon blanc was among the winners.

A bad week for Geordin Hill-Lewis

April 11, 2026.Democratic Alliance (DA) new elected Federal leader Geordin Hill-Lewis during the Federal Congress 2026 held at Galagher Convention Centre in Midrand Johannesburg (Freddy Mavunda)

Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis quickly came down from the high of being elected national leader of the DA to facing a parochial setback in court. He is ultimately accountable for the Western Cape High Court overturning the city’s water tariff in an action brought by AfriForum. The court ruled that it was unlawful and invalid to base the tariff on property value, effectively disguising the increase as rates.