The prognosis that the South African economy is in dire straits is pretty obvious even to the untrained eye. The solution to the country’s present predicament is also pretty much understood. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recently produced a comprehensive view which deserves to be considered. The IMF identifies three key ailments as causes […]

1. So some people like to believe Africa is some kind of special place. 2. But those people are dreaming. 3. It’s not even mildly pretty. 4. The sunsets are mediocre at best.  5. There’s absolutely nothing breathtaking to see here. 6. No impressive landscapes. 7. And no remarkable animals. 8. You can’t even get that close to them, anyway. 9.The […]

A well-known elderly couple were subjected to a night of horror, when they were attacked in their farmhouse, De Mist, in Glendale Heights 40 minutes outside of Ballito, in South Africa, on Friday evening. Alpha Security area manager Rex Hunt struggled to repeat the details of the terrible tragedy that unfolded at St Martin sugar […]

I’m sorry if the title brought you here in hopes I’d be talking about who would win in a fist fight between Canada and South Africa. That would be ridiculous because there couldn’t be any possible way of knowing (but for the record, it would totally be Canada. We’re able to harness the power of […]

Dear 702, In light of the terrible news coming out of St John’s, and the way in which Mr Edey has been portrayed by some of your talk show hosts, I feel duty-bound to express the truth about him, and about the tremendous influence he has had upon my life. As a young, poor, indigenous […]

There is a scene in Beyond the River, the South African movie about an unlikely duo who team up to paddle the Dusi Canoe Marathon, in which our young hero, sitting on the riverbank, is asked the quintessential question, the question we are only really asked when we are young, and the world lies wide […]

Ndawe was the missing link, the proof that we were looking for. We were sure that elephants made the long journey between Tsavo and Amboseli, and he was the confirmation… writes BIG LIFE FOUNDATION. Ndawe was what was known as a ‘hundred pounder’, an elephant whose tusks weigh 100 pounds or more each, and of […]

South African swimmer Chad Le Clos won back his 200m butterfly world champion title in Budapest, on Wednesday evening, in an emotional final that meant so much to him. Le Clos collected his gold medal with tears streaming down his face… Le Clos and Cameron van der Burgh, who won bronze, were South Africa’s first […]

Over 2,000 people marched from Keizersgracht Street in Cape Town, South Africa, to Parliament chanting “Free, free Palestine!” and “Down Netanyahu, down!” on Wednesday. They were marching against the installation of metal detectors and other security measures at the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Protesters said recent security measures at al-Aqsa, including the use of security cameras, […]

The Cybercrimes and Cybersecurity Bill will affect every internet user in South Africa – but at 139 pages long, there’s a lot to go through. But if you haven’t yet, now is the time! There’s just two days left to give Parliament your comments on the Bill. Why has this Bill been introduced? The government says […]

The Western Cape government has proposed to rezone the Somerset Hospital Precinct. It will be used for both businesses and homes. Situated between the V&A Waterfront and the Cape Town stadium, it includes Somerset Hospital (which will remain under the new proposal), the Old City Hospital and the Helen Bowden Nurses Home. The proposal by […]

This could just be a story about a Donut, but it’s not, it’s a lot more than that… writes ANTON SCHUTTE. I popped down to Pick n Pay Camp’s Bay to grab some supplies. I then decided I felt like a donut… so I stopped at the bakery. I waited for about 5 minutes with […]

Last winter the question on everyone’s lips was “Where are the whales?”… The number of southern right whales visiting our shores has been lower than average for a few years now and in 2016 appeared to be way down even from the previous year. This was confirmed by the official count from the Mammal Research Institute […]

Ujamaa encourages people to be less dependent on supermarkets for food… In April 2016, a group of about 12 people cleared a patch of public land previously used as an illegal dumping ground next to the Khayelitsha Football for Hope Centre. They are known as Ujamaa: a collective of guerrilla gardeners. They are encouraging people […]

On Saturday morning South African high jumper Breyton Poole (17) had the crowd on its feet as he added six centimetres to his personal best… to scoop gold and secure the boys high jump title at the IAAF World U-18 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya. He had always been told he couldn’t do it… so he […]

Showmax is the only place where South Africans living abroad can get their homegrown TV fix, express from South Africa… and this week Showmax launched several exciting new seasons. Showmax – the internet TV service available in more than 60 countries worldwide – has a fantastic selection of the freshest South African shows available exclusively […]

Back in 2000, musicians interviewed for my book on music and politics in South Africa, Soweto Blues, regularly asserted: I’m not a politician. How could this be, the interview team wondered, when these same people had just described being tear gassed, playing at illegal gatherings and making recordings they knew could be banned? When we […]

South Africa has some fantastic brands (ask any expat who misses Woolies!) Last week well known South African writer GUS SILBER wandered into a Cape Union Mart to replace a K-Way jacket that had started unravelling at the cuff. It was almost six months after purchase… yet the staff simply smiled and replaced it. “I thought, […]

South Africa’s Carina Horn flew to a new South African 100-metre best on Friday… but there was one big problem blowing in the wind – an illegal tailwind. Horn was running at the Sotteville les Rouen national meeting in France. She clocked 11.05, which is 0.05ec inside the current best, held jointly by herself and […]

Tour guide, Francois Van Rensburg, has shared his true life story of an unfortunate – but very funny – incident at the Pretorius Kop Rest Camp in the Kruger National Park,  Mpumalanga, South Africa. Francois, who works for PenQuin Tours, outlined the course of events – which happened two weeks ago – on Facebook, which […]

One month after the Knysna Day of Fire, today we had Berg wind conditions again and the wind has fanned the flames since last night… writes local Knysna resident and SAPeople contributor, ESTER BEUKES. “The smoke was all over the Eden District. A helicopter water bombing again and the firefighting teams busy. “Just before sunrise […]

Joe Root celebrated his debut performance as England’s Test match captain with his 12th career century on the opening day of the first Test match against the Proteas at Lord’s in London on Thursday. It was also his second century against South Africa and the higher of his two, beating the 110 he made at […]

People from Imizamo Yethu – who are in temporary shelters – say the City must make good on its promises Residents protest the lack of progress reblocking Imizamo Yethu. Photo: Ashraf Hendricks Protests in Imizamo Yethu in Hout Bay continued for the third day yesterday (Monday 3 July). Residents displaced by the devastating fire earlier this year […]

From protests against President Jacob Zuma to children doing yoga, here are some of the most interesting moments we caught on camera in the first half of the year The first half of 2017 has been turbulent. Across the country, tens of thousands marched against President Jacob Zuma. Lives were lost in a storm that […]

With the massive costs of taking care of orphaned elephants, coupled with the closure of elephant-back safaris, Camp Jabulani in Hoedspruit, South Africa, has launched an interactive, evolved elephant experience with a strong conservation ethos for local and international tourists. The incredible video below captures the essence of this new elephant experience, as well as the […]