It’s a new year, and there’s a bumper crop of brilliant international and South African series, movies and documentaries on the cards. Welcome to 2020! Weren’t we all supposed to be travelling in flying cars by now? Transport might not have lived up to our childhood expectations, but never in our wildest dreams did we […]

With hours to go until New Year’s Eve celebrations get underway, the South African Police Service (SAPS) is urging the SA public to use firecrackers responsibly and has shared some essential safety tips. Fireworks must be used “cautiously and in compliance with regulations to avoid injuries,” said North West police spokesperson Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone. The […]

Cash strapped South African consumers returning from their December holiday break will breathe a sigh of relief at the petrol pumps as the price of petrol is set to come down by between 4 and 14 cents a litre this week. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has announced a drop in the petrol […]

Active citizenry is apparently paying off well in the fight against crime in different areas of Gauteng this festive season. The Gauteng Department of Community Safety on Monday applauded the active role played by community patrollers in the fight against crime in various policing precincts this festive season. “Given the rate of criminal activities around […]

With the New Year inching closer, Eskom on Monday continued its efforts to ensure electricity supply. “There is no load shedding expected today, as a result of a drop in demand during the holiday period and a return of some generating units to service,” said the power utility. In a statement, Eskom continued to ask […]

First Cape Town banned all fireworks and now Plettenberg Bay in South Africa will be “breaking new ground” this New Year’s Eve with a laser light display at midnight instead of fireworks! The NSPCA is encouraging other municipalities to follow suit. According to Plett-Tourism.co.za the decision has been taken in the interests of fire safety […]

A five-year-old boy from Mossel Bay in the Western Cape, South Africa, has become a social media star after generously donating all his savings from the past year to help make Christmas special for some underprivileged children in the area. According to the SABC News Western Cape, Grade R learner Denzhe Ndou used his savings […]

The “arrogance” of the Gupta family, who have been implicated in ‘state capture’ in South Africa, “has no bounds”, says the Democratic Alliance (DA)… as the family has applied to have their South Africans passports renewed while living in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Guptas fled South Africa in February 2018 as evidence of their […]

In this time of peace and goodwill the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) has let the nation down as criminals were able to stroll into the Littleton Military Base, and walk off with at least 19 R4 automatic rifles, manufactured for extreme warfare, says Kobus Marais – DA Shadow Minister of Defence and Military Veterans. […]

South Africa has seen a 30% reduction in road fatalities since the start of the festive season, says Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula. Although that is definitely a step in the right direction, it still means 589 people tragically died on South African roads between 1 and 22 December 2019. The Minister credited increased law enforcement […]

The South African government has put in place contingency plans to mitigate against the impact of inclement weather conditions during the summer period, according to Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma. “We have entered a period that is prone to various disasters and it is important for the country to have contingency plans in place to mitigate […]

Just in time for Christmas, Ed Sheeran has posted this video featuring Ella Mai… with beautiful examples of love and dance around the world including couples in Zanzibar, New York, London and more. As the video shows, love comes in all shapes and sizes (with some of the older couples having the best dance moves!). […]

The Springboks and Rassie Erasmus, who were also honoured at the World Rugby Awards last month, have been nominated in the prestigious Team and Player of the Year categories at the SA Rugby Awards. The Springboks’ successful 2019 season is reflected by the nominations in a number of the main categories in the annual SA […]

On the 17 December 2019, a devastating wildfire destroyed Lismore Winefarm in Greyton, Western Cape  – the home and livelihood of well-known pioneering farmer and winemaker, Samantha O’Keefe (48) and her two children, Quinn (14) and Keenan (16). The fire which started in the nearby nature reserve and initially posed no threat to Lismore is believed to […]

Government is engaging with mobile operators on the best ways to reduce the high cost of data without interfering with the work of regulators, says Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams. Government’s efforts follow the release of the Competition Commission’s market inquiry report into mobile data services, which found that South Africa’s data prices […]

Two former Eskom senior managers are among those arrested in South Africa for alleged fraud, corruption and money laundering worth R745 million. Hawks spokesperson, Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said the former managers as well as two other business directors among others, were arrested in the early hours of Thursday in Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Gauteng provinces by […]

The South African government says it has noted rating agency Fitch’s decision to affirm South Africa’s long-term foreign and local currency debt ratings at ‘BB+’ and maintain the negative outlook. The country’s foreign and local credit ratings by the agency, therefore, remain one notch below investment grade. According to Fitch, South Africa’s ratings are constrained […]

The government is due to announce its decision on a massive new wind energy project on the West Coast within the next two weeks. This is the proposed 140MW Boulders Wind Farm. It will consisting of 45 turbines standing 165m high. The German-owned developer plans to erect it on farmland close to Paternoster, Britannia Bay, […]

Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Thoko Didiza has submitted a detailed plan on the redevelopment of District Six to the Land Claims Court. The submission of the detailed plan comes after the litigation brought by the District Six Working Committee against the 5th administration of government. In November 2018, the court directed that […]

The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) awarded the Komape family R1.4 million for emotional shock and grief after the loss of their five year-old son Michael, who drowned in a Limpopo school pit toilet in 2014. The award overturns a decision by the Limpopo High Court in 2018, which denied the family’s claim for damages […]

As 2019 comes to an end GroundUp reflects on another tumultuous year. South Africans came out in their numbers to protests against gender based violence. The army was deployed to the Cape Flats to assist police with gang violence. Refugees and asylum seekers were chaotically evicted from outside the UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ offices in Cape Town and […]

South Africa’s national carrier, South African Airways, has been placed in voluntary business rescue. It’s an historic moment as it’s the first business rescue attempt of a state owned entity. The decision places the country in unfamiliar territory – politically, economically and legally. What happens next will determine whether the decision was the right one […]

The joyous occasion in the beautiful Western Cape town in South Africa was marked by a serious and frightening theme. Barrydale held its annual giant puppet parade and performance on Sunday. Music, dance, dress-up and puppets brought the town to life as it celebrated the tenth year of this event. Titled “The Final Spring”, the […]

Carte Blanche investigates Child Kidnappings, Rogue Gas Dealers and the Vuvuzela men who are reclaiming their neighbourhoods… plus more, tonight – Sunday 15 December – on DStv Now if you’re in South Africa, and available to stream from Tues 17 Dec on Showmax International in most other countries.  UNDERCOVER > INVESTIGATIVE Child Kidnappings Statistics show that […]

The 2010s saw African films make even more headlines at the world’s biggest festivals, from AFI to Berlin, Sundance to Toronto, earning Oscar and Golden Globe nominations along the way. As we prepare to enter the 2020s, Showmax has released a list of four global breakthroughs to stream during your holiday. Breakthrough animation: Revolting Rhymes […]