CAPE TOWN – South Africa’s plans to change the constitution to allow the expropriation of land without compensation could hit property prices and trigger a banking crisis, the chief executive of Nedbank warned parliament on Friday. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Aug. 1 that the ruling African National Congress (ANC) planned to change the constitution […]

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 […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s slide into recession is a “transitional issue” from which the economy will soon recover, President Cyril Ramaphosa said in comments published on Thursday, repeating promises for a stimulus package to reignite growth. Ramaphosa has staked his reputation on reviving the economy after a decade of stagnation under his predecessor, scandal-plagued […]

SASOLBURG, South Africa (Reuters) – About 100 workers from South Africa’s mainly white Solidarity union staged a brief protest outside Sasol’s chemicals plant in Sasolburg on Wednesday over a share scheme offered exclusively to black staff. Solidarity union leaders, who say the scheme is discriminatory because it excludes white workers, handed over a memorandum criticising […]

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – Steinhoff’s former chief executive Markus Jooste told a parliamentary inquiry today that his main mistake during his tenure, as the retailer battled an accounting scandal, was agreeing to a joint venture with Austrian businessman Andreas Seifert. Rather than take any responsibility for the global furniture company’s share price collapse himself, Jooste […]

The African National Congress says the latest figures from Statistics SA represent an urgent call to action for all South Africans to rally behind a common vision of growing the economy and job creation. The figures show that the South African economy moved back into a technical recession with a negative growth rate of (-0.7%) […]

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) on Tuesday revealed the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures fell by 0,7% in the second quarter of the year 2018… and, judging from the comments on Twitter, South Africans realised they can no longer blame former President Jacob Zuma. These latest figures have pushed the country into a recession – […]

PRETORIA (Reuters) – South Africa entered recession in the second quarter for the first time since 2009, data showed on Tuesday, in a stinging blow to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s efforts to revive the economy after a decade of stagnation. Statistics South Africa said the economy contracted by 0.7 percent quarter-on-quarter, led by declines in the […]

BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping offered another $60 billion in financing for Africa on Monday and said Chinese companies will be encouraged to invest no less than $10 billion over the next three years, but he also warned against “vanity projects”. Speaking at the opening of a major summit with African leaders, Xi […]

Carte Blanche looks into why the Democratic Alliance lost Nelson Mandela Bay and if this the beginning of the end for the rest of the DA-run municipalities? Also why Henri van Breda brutally attacked his family, the baboon killings in the Western Cape vineyards, and how Lewis Pugh swam a distance of 560kms in just 50 […]

PRETORIA (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund gave its full backing to South Africa’s land reform plan on Thursday, as long as the highly contentious process is transparent and based on the constitution. The Fund’s senior resident representative in South Africa – Montfort Mlachila – told Reuters that the reform must not damage farm output […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African clothing and homeware retailer The Foschini Group (TFG) said on Thursday it was launching one of its African retail brands in Australia to test appetite outside its traditional market. The move announced by outgoing CEO Doug Murray and his successor, Anthony Thunström, aims to show whether TFG’s local brands can […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s Solidarity, a union representing high-skilled workers, said on Thursday that it has agreed a three-year wage deal with state power utility Eskom, bringing an end to weeks of negotiations that led to load shedding (otherwise known as power outages). The much larger National Union of Mineworkers earlier said it had […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) said on Tuesday an expropriation bill passed by parliament in 2016, enabling the state to make compulsory purchases of land to redress racial disparities in land ownership, has been withdrawn. The bill, which had not been signed into law, was withdrawn to allow an ongoing process […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s mainly white Solidarity union has given Sasol a 48-hour notice to strike over the energy giant’s plan to launch a share ownership scheme exclusively for black staff, the union said on Tuesday. Sasol plans to sell 25 % of its local operations to mainly qualifying black employees in a R21-billion […]

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – Britain will use its international aid budget to boost its own interests while also seeking to deepen trade ties with Africa, Prime Minister Theresa May said on Tuesday, countering critics who say aid funds would be better spent at home. May, battling to unite her divided Conservative Party over her plan […]

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – Britain supports South Africa’s land reform programme provided it is carried out legally, Prime Minister Theresa May said in Cape Town on Tuesday, adding that she would discuss the issue with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. “The UK has for some time now supported land reform. Land reform that is legal, […]

PRETORIA – South Africa has cancelled plans to add 9,600 megawatts (MW) of nuclear power by 2030 and will instead aim to add more capacity in natural gas, wind and other energy sources, the energy minister announced on Monday. Africa’s only nuclear power has an installed capacity of 1,860 MW but plans under the government […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa has told the U.S. charge d’affaires of its disappointment over Washington’s “failure” to use diplomatic channels after President Donald Trump angered Pretoria with comments on its land policy. Trump said in a late-night tweet two days ago that he had asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to study South African “land […]

Agri SA announced on Thursday that organised agriculture will soon sign a declaration of intent on land reform in South Africa, which will help government to transform the sector. AgriSA President Dan Kriek said: “We are extending a hand of friendship… here to government, in saying we want to partner with you. We want to […]

South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) will today meet with the US Embassy to address the tweet from United States President Donald Trump on land expropriation and crime in South Africa… which the American leader referred to as “farm seizures” and “large scale killing of farmers”. While some people welcomed Trump’s tweet, […]

US President Donald Trump says he has ordered his Secretary of State – Mike Pompeo – to “closely study” the South African government’s land expropriation, as well as the “large scale killing” of farmers. Trump tweeted the news after watching a Fox News report, which was based on the City Press report a few days […]

JOHANNESBURG – Some Nike stores were closed in South Africa on Wednesday after public outcry over a racist comment by a Johannesburg man, Adam Catzavelos, who is reportedly married to a Nike Africa manager. Nike declined to comment on the store closures, and did not respond to media requests sent by SAPeople last night, but […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s headline consumer inflation rose to its highest in ten months in July as the cost of transport and household goods increased, but some analysts said the central bank was unlikely to raise interest rates. The Reserve Bank held its benchmark rate for a fifth meeting in a row in July, […]

Simonstown is one of Cape Town’s oldest spots, retaining all its historical authenticity… writes Sebastian Daniels. As you walk down Simonstown Main Road in the morning, the streets are filled with navy officers running and riding their day into gear. While that sounds like a great way to start the day, I’d rather get a […]