There is so much ‘stuff’ going on at the moment in this country of our birth, which we call home, where we have our roots, where we have our heritage – to the point where we question the very essence and meaning of ‘heritage day’: is Heritage Day (Monday 24 September) just another public holiday? […]

Since South Africa’s highest court decided Tuesday to allow the private use of marijuana, these are just some of the jokes and memes that South Africans have been sharing:

Ja, nee… South Africans love nothing more than to unite around a fire for a braai – a proudly South African tradition that brings together family and friends throughout the year, but especially on National Braai Day, which happens to be just a few days away. So, if you’ve not started your preparations yet, now […]

Michael Dickerson (42) from Hoedspruit Limpopo was participating in a trail running series when he met Daniël Otto, a 6-year-old boy suffering from Congenital Muscular Dystrophy (CMD). CMD is a group of muscle diseases that occur at birth or during early infancy and is characterized by diminished muscle tone according to rarediseases.org. With progressive muscle […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s highest court on Tuesday allowed the private use of marijuana, upholding a lower court’s ruling that found the criminalization of cannabis was unconstitutional. Activists who include members of the Rastafarian movement and traditional healers greeted the ruling with loud applause. They have held marches over the years to demand that […]

An economic stimulus package for South Africa, adopted by Cabinet, is set to spark economic activity and boost the country’s growth, according to the country’s president. President Cyril Ramaphosa shared with South Africa’s business and labour leaders an outline of the economic stimulus package during a consultative meeting on Friday. The meeting in Pretoria was […]

Brand South Africa and 67 Blankets are inviting South Africans in the UK to join them for a fabulous Knit-a-Thon on Saturday, 22 September 2018 in London! Nelson Mandela dedicated 67 years of his life to making the world a better place. In his honour and in celebration of his 100th birthday, Brand SA is […]

(Reuters) – AfriAg Global Plc has hired a law firm to help with the application process to become a licensed medical cannabis cultivator and producer in the UK, the South African haulier said on Monday. Britain proposed in July to allow doctors to prescribe medicinal cannabis starting this year and several countries, including Germany, Italy […]

South Africans are known to offer the occasional bribe when faced with a traffic officer… so when creating their latest advert, an insurance company decided to make fun of it, while pointing out that at their company there’s straight talk. “When others don’t make sense, we do,” says King’s Price, the same company that brought […]

Capetonians have gathered at the V&A Waterfront harbour, South Africa, to photograph the latest international celebrity to visit the Mother City – the 126,2 metre long Octopus superyacht. Regular SAPeople contributor, Madhuri Kooverjee Chavda, was dockside on Friday to capture the photos on this page. “It was a beautiful afternoon at the V&A Harbour admiring the […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – From the mother of dragons in “Game of Thrones” to Captain America from the “The Avengers”, thousands of comic book and science fiction fans went head-to-head for the best costume at the first Comic Con Africa on Friday. Comic Con’s arrival in Africa coincides with a big push by streaming services such […]

It’s Friday… so, over to Viv Vermaak. This week Viv offers 101 Uses for a Hadeda: Viv says: “We love them! We hate them! But they are as South African as brainless, rugby, sunny skies and car guards.  Today I explore some good ways we can put Hadedas to good use… since we can’t kill […]

This week’s episode of Carte Blanche investigates some of the hottest current topics in South Africa – the Daveyton Gangs, Mpumalanga tourism under threat and land expropriation. The show is available to South Africans abroad from Tuesday 18 September 2018 – if you subscribe to Showmax. Daveyton Gangs Earlier this week, Police Minister Bheki Cele […]

A set of quintuplets has been safely delivered in South Africa, only the third set since 1994! The Buthelezi babies were born at Clinix Botshelong Empilweni Private Hospital in Vosloorus, Gauteng. Clinix congratulated the South African medical team, led by Dr Moeng Pitsoe, on the successful delivery; and also congratulated the proud parents and wished […]

South African rhino poaching documentary, STROOP, has been selected as the opening night screening for an international film festival in Germany, Europe. The elated producers called the invitation, to open the Wildlife Film Festival Rotterdam on 24 October, “unbelievable news”. “We feel really honoured as the festival director phoned us to tell us the good […]

The release of crime statistics in South Africa always triggers great angst among ordinary citizens, and obfuscation on the part of the South African authorities. This year was no exception. In their latest release of crime statistics, the South African Police Service seem to have tried to downplay crime rate increases (and exaggerate crime rate […]

With South African tourism often focused so closely on a few specific areas, there are entire regions that can escape notice. This is one country, however, where you can typically find extraordinary sights and interesting things to do almost regardless of your specific destination. Considering this it’s worth digging into some of those regions that […]

Farmworkers on the Nieuwe Sion farm in the Western Cape were recently delighted when the British owners of the farm – David and Elaine Potter – handed over not only the keys, but the title deeds too, to an awesome village containing 22 homes for them. The state-of-the-art village cost R30-million to create. It includes […]

In delivering today’s Crime Statistics for the 2017/2018 financial year, Police Minister Bheki Cele called the rate of murder “scary”. Fifty-seven people are murdered in South Africa every day, a statistic – he says – that requires more stringent action by the police. Sounding despondent, he said the stats are “nothing to write home about, […]

September is turning into a great month for South African comedians Tsitsi Chiumya and Phil De Lange. Not only did Tsitsi win Best Newcomer and Phil the Next Level prize at this weekend’s Comic Choice Awards, both comedians are featured in Trevor Noah presents NationWild, a 13-part comedy showcase coming to Showmax this Heritage Day, […]

The incredible water-conserving efforts of Capetonians, along with the rain and snow in the Western Cape, means that within a month Cape Town citizens will be rewarded with the luxury of perhaps flushing the loo, or languishing in a bath. Cape Town Deputy Mayor, Ian Nielson, announced an upcoming relaxation of the water restrictions which […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene said on Monday that there is a significant downside risk to revenue collection due to a recession and problems in tax collection by the revenue service. “There is now additional downside risk to the tax revenue projected at the beginning of the year because of the […]

This week’s episode of Carte Blanche reveals more on State Capture, patients taking control of Diabetes, the important first 1000 days of a child’s life, and a hitman ‘Hired to Kill’ by an accused murderer in jail. The show is available to South Africans abroad from Tuesday 11 September 2018 – if you subscribe to […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa authorised a new investigation into a water ministry contract with German software firm SAP on Thursday, citing allegations that public money was spent unlawfully. The investigation by South Africa’s Special Investigating Unit (SIU) comes after the country’s anti-graft agency said in March it was conducting its own […]

Forgive the political tone – I am trying to keep it in check, but I fail… writes South African musician Albert Combrink. Dear Friends, I love you dearly. But I just CAN’T with all this negativity about South Africa all the time. When I look at the quality of your lives, and the quality of […]