During a visit today to the R1.6 billion Msikaba Bridge, which will become the longest cable-stay bridge in Africa when completed, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula said the government would not allow people with hidden agendas to stop development. The bridge is part of the N2 Wild Coast road, which stretches 410 km from the Gonubie […]

A Free State official in the Department of Public Works who demanded a bribe of R10,000, but only got R2,500, can walk free if she pays back the money, thanks to a Virginia court. Thembi Judith Mpele, 39, a former head of security at the Department of Public Works in Welkom was convicted of corruption […]

The Democratic Alliance today laid criminal charges against the EFF MP Mbuyiseni Ndlozi for incitement to arson following a song he sang in Senekal translating to “Call the fire brigade, burn these Boers.” These utterances were not only incredibly hateful but were a call to incite arson, violence and anarchy by Ndlozi and his fellow […]

It was a happy ending, but it didn’t start that way. At just six weeks old, Eyevy was blinded in one eye and half her face was damaged. Admitted to the Mdzananda Animal Clinic in Khayelitsha, they believed she had chewed on a live wire and that the owners had left the damage unseen to […]

The Bosasa whistleblower Angelo Agrizzi, who was denied bail only last week (for reasons that will be covered in this Sunday’s Carte Blanche), has suffered a heart attack while in a private Johannesburg hospital. Agrizzi who was denied bail last Wednesday, as he was deemed a flight risk, was moved to a private hospital earlier […]

Five people were arrested early today for the execution-style killing of two women in Polokwane ten days ago, including the husband of one of them, who had apparently tried to commit suicide. Makoena Mabusela-Leshabane, 46, and Tebogo Mphuti, 35, were shot while sitting in a car in Polokwane on 10 October. Reports at the time […]

Transnet said today it had implemented containment measures to limit the extent of the crude oil spillage which occurred on 19 October in the Bellair area of Durban, into the Umbilo River and the harbour, due to an attempted theft incident on a crude oil pipeline. There have been more than 80 fuel theft incidents […]

The constantly cash-strapped and facing bankruptcy South African Broadcasting Corporation now wants people to pay TV license fees not only if you don’t watch their television programmes but also even if you watch streaming services like Netflix on your laptop. In a presentation to the parliamentary portfolio committee for communications, the deputy minister of communications […]

The 200-year-old SA Astronomical Observatory, with its headquarters in the Cape Town suburb of Observatory, has been unveiled as a national heritage site. The facility was the first in the Southern Hemisphere. With a history dating back to 1820, this is a “living site”, with more than 200 years of prominence in the international astronomical […]

In a bid to integrate public transport across the three main cities and other areas of Gauteng, a new transport body has been launched that will aim to make it possible to move easily between various modes of transport – bus, train, Gautrain, taxi – in the near future. The cities of Johannesburg, Tshwane and […]

The inclusion of Germany on the latest “red list” of high-risk countries not allowed into South Africa – except business travellers and those staying longer than three months – has caught many by surprise. “Attention, attention! South Africa put Germany this afternoon on the list of COVID-19 high risk countries, most probably with immediate effect,” […]

The new blue commuter train that will hopefully be standard on local commuter tracks made its first appearance in Cape Town today. “The Future is Here,” the Passenger Railway Agency of South African tweeted. “For the next 6 months the team will be hard at work to ensure that PRASA-WC receive RSR’s approval to operate […]

The government today revised the list of high-risk countries still forbidden from entering South Africa, and even though there are only 22 on the list they include (with the exception of business people and people travelling to South Africa for over three months) the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany and Netherlands. UPDATE 11 November […]

Five suspects in the brutal murders in August of Glen and Vida Rafferty on their KwaZulu-Natal farm have been arrested. The SA Police Service said in a brief statement today, “Last night detectives from the Provincial Organised Crime Unit arrested 5 suspects who were detained for questioning in connection with the murder of the Raffertys […]

South African municipalities in good financial standing – Cape Town, Ekurhuleni and many in the Western Cape – will be able to develop their own generation plants and procure power from Independent Power Producers (IPPs), according to new legislation gazetted today. Until now, municipalities have had to buy power from Eskom and have suffered from […]

With the potentially lucrative summer travel season about to begin, the government will soon update the list of nationalities allowed into South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa said today. The list of countries banned from entering South Africa announced on 1 October was extensive, including the UK and USA. “Although international tourist travel is likely only […]

After a fire at an unoccupied student residence at the Westville campus of the University of KwaZulu-Natal on Monday, Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation Blade Nzimande has called for swift action against the perpetrators. “The destruction of university property is a criminal offence and all those engaging in such acts must be arrested […]

A South African living in New Zealand and running for public office lists himself as an “apartheid survivor” and being in favour of reducing immigration into the country. Martin Frauenstein is standing for the New Conservative Party (NCP) in the town of Ōtaki outside Wellington. He promotes himself as an “apartheid survivor” and “valuing life […]

The wife of a senior general in the SANDF, Nombasa Ntsondwa-Ndhlovu, was arrested today and released on R80,000 bail following her appearance on charges of fraud, involving about R100m. The charges by the National Prosecuting Authority allege that the SANDF awarded a R24 million tender to her company “Ukhumba Marine” to transport SANDF equipment back […]

One of the most publicised whistleblowers in the state capture enquiry, Angelo Agrizzi, has been denied bail because he is considered a flight risk after allegedly moving millions of rand out of the country. The state had filed an affidavit declaring Agrizzi, formerly COO of Bosasa, a flight risk. Palm Ridge Magistrate Philip Venter agreed: “I […]

The Democratic Alliance today announced the names of candidates nominated to stand for election to party leadership roles at the DA elective federal congress on 31 October and 1 November. Only two candidates each will be standing for the the posts of federal chairperson (Helen Zille and Mike Moriarty, chief whip of the DA in […]

Fires seemed to be under control on Africa’s highest mountain, Mt. Kilimanjaro, after they broke out three days ago, with hundreds of parks personnel and locals joining the fight to keep it under control. Tanzanian National Parks said today that about 400 people had been deployed to counter the outbreak. Reuters reported that the fire, […]

Within the media and popular culture of the global north, cities like Johannesburg are often presented as a site of trouble. They’re the source of the immigrants, drugs, violence, poverty, disease and environmental crisis that worry nervous citizens of more “developed” cities. Even when they take centre stage in international media production, global south cities […]

A 22-year-old from Pretoria, Juandré Nortje, has turned into a sensation on TikTok after he posted numerous videos of himself dancing, his most recent where he is dressed in a khaki outfit, with extremely tight shorts, which has been viewed 1.7 million times in several days. Clearly one of his favourite songs to dance to, […]

The commuter train from Cape Town to Kraaifontein reopened today, although it is already suffering from delays of up to an hour because of operational problems and faulty signalling equipment. “The service will operate Monday to Friday from 05h50 and end at 19h00 from Kraaifontein – Monte-Vista via Bellville to Cape Town. We look forward […]