The South African Government today announced a number of seismic measures to strengthen governance at Eskom (and release the company from Capture!), including the appointment of new board members and stabilising management at the energy parastatal. Eskom executives facing allegations of serious corruption are out – including Matshela Koko and Anoj Singh! There was no […]

The DA says it welcomes the “long-overdue” resignation of ESKOM Chairperson, Zethemba Khoza…. but adds that it does not absolve him of the role he played in ESKOM’s decline and the DA will not allow Khoza, or any other person implicated in corruption at state-owned enterprises (SOEs) or State Capture, to escape the consequences. Natasha […]

The Governor of the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) – Lesetja Kganyago – has been appointed as the new chairperson of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) International Monetary and Financial Committee. Kganyago (52) is the first IMFC Chair from the Sub-Saharan African region. The African National Congress (ANC) congratulated Kganyago and said his appointment is […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has called on Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa to take action today to ensure that borders and airports are put on alert, in order to stop the Gupta family from trying to flee the country ahead of their reported imminent arrests. “We should not allow them to leave South Africa, and certainly […]

The Presidency has rejected allegations that President Jacob Zuma wants former AU Commission chairperson, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, to be appointed as Deputy President of the country. Dlamini Zuma recently ran for ANC President, a race that was eventually won by Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa. Ramaphosa and President Zuma met on 7 January at Dr […]

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) is meeting Monday with officials from the Embassy of the United States of America in Pretoria, following the recent disturbing comments attributed to President Donald Trump. DIRCO said it will provide an opportunity to the Charges de Affaires (the second in charge) to explain the statement by […]

A week after the H&M ‘Coolest Monkey’ ad controversy made headlines and caused boycotts around the world, the DA has decided to  write to the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) to lodge an official complaint against the retail giant for “the racist advert involving a black child modelling a racially-insensitive hoodie”. On Saturday the EFF […]

On Friday South Africa’s Constitutional Court delivered yet another blow to the country’s President, Jacob Zuma. ConCourt ruled that Parliament has violated its constitutional obligation to hold Zuma to account, by failing to determine whether he has breached section 89 of the Constitution. Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane said today: “This is a consequence of […]

Afriforum says the ANC’s decision to amend the Constitution to allow for expropriation of land in South Africa without compensation puts South Africa on a road to conflict and is nothing more than a plan to “steal property”, putting South Africa on the Zimbabwe route. The civil rights organisation threatened that it will “not sit back” […]

The competition for the top six leadership positions in South Africa’s governing party, the African National Congress (ANC), was no carefully choreographed script such as the one-candidate-per-election of Chinese Communist Party congresses. It was a rip-roaring, full-throated democratic contestation – as raucous as US primary elections. Even more so, with delegates’ repeated singing and dancing. This point […]

Award-winning writer, and Nelson Mandela’s authorised biographer, Charlene Smith was the first journalist to ever interview Cyril Ramaphosa. She thinks it was in 1982 or 1983. Here Charlene recalls some of her memories with the new ANC President over the years… He’d just formed the NUM [National Union of Mineworkers] and the offices were two […]

According to South Africa’s opposition parties – the Democratic Alliance (DA) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) – nothing has changed with the election of Cyril Ramaphosa as ANC President… and the “corrupt premier league” is still at the centre of the organisation. EFF Commander in Chief Julius Malema tweeted: “Nothing has really changed, the core […]

The value of the Rand has risen all day as the chance of Cyril Ramaphosa becoming the new ANC leader became apparent… and as the news was confirmed Monday evening that Ramaphosa is the leading party’s new President, the Rand stood at R12.73 to the US dollar, and R17.10 to the British pound. People around […]

The South African Revenue Service will collect the Sugary Beverages Levy (SBL) from 1 April 2018. The levy is fixed at 2.1 cents per gram of the sugar content that exceeds four grams per 100ml, which means the first four grams per 100ml are levy free. SARS on Friday said the levy falls under the […]

The suspense is tangible as the African National Congress (ANC) – South Africa’s former liberation movement that’s turned into a tired governing party – approaches its fiercely contested 2017 elective conference. By December 5, the party’s branches had largely spoken, and its provincial structures had consolidated the branch delegates’ voting preferences. The lay of the […]

The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) has put in place measures to secure the 54th African National Congress (ANC) Elective Conference… as the ANC battles it out to decide on its new leadership. Chairs may fly (as happened with the ‘Festival of the Chairs’ at an ANC conference in the Eastern Cape!) at […]

South African businessman Christo Wiese has resigned as chairman of Steinhoff in order to reinforce independent governance of the company which is currently under scrutiny, and avoid any “possible conflict of interest” that may exist. His son Jacob has also resigned. Steinhoff announced Heather Sonn as new acting chairperson. 76-year-old Wiese recently dropped overnight from […]

The last twelve months have been a confusing time for African democracy. We have seen coups that didn’t look like coups and elections that didn’t look like elections. In this sense, it was a year of illusions. As in 2016, the broad trend is clear: with a number of notable exceptions, the gains made in […]

A Durban-born company has come up with an amazing concept. Perhaps a cure for the ails of entrepreneurship and a way to kick-start some amazing businesses into South Africa’s economy. Big Box has only been around for just over a year. But this team is taking no prisoners in their goal of igniting an entrepreneurial […]

Africa’s richest man – Aliko Dangote from Nigeria – was honoured last night at the Bloomberg 50 annual gala dinner at New York’s iconic Gotham Hall. Dangote is included on Bloomberg’s list of 50 most influential names, who have had an impact on the world in 2017, for his outstanding commitment of over $4 billion USD […]

The DA says it finds it “incomprehensible” that the hard-won steps towards saving SAA could be so recklessly undermined by an alleged proposal to move the embattled airline from the Finance Ministry to the Transport Ministry – “a ministry that has so fouled up the e-toll saga”.   The allegations were made in local South […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says it has today filed submissions to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) arguing as to why Jacob Zuma should immediately face the 783 charges of corruption, fraud, money-laundering and racketeering in a court of law as soon as practically possible. “Our submissions are in line with the NPA’s deadline for submission […]

Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans in KwaZulu-Natal held a march on Friday to highlight the plight of black farm workers. The demonstration was a reaction to the recent #BlackMonday protests by farmers against farm murders. The march blocked traffic and trucks on the N3 from 9am till noon at the Mariannhill toll plaza in Pinetown near […]

Global rating agency Standard & Poor’s have downgraded South Africa’s sovereign credit rating to ‘junk status’. The Democratic Alliance (DA) says this proves that Minister of Finance Malusi Gigaba’s “strategy to delay the hard decisions necessary to hold the fiscal line and allow the budget to “blowout” with national debt ballooning to R3.4 trillion, or 60% […]

With South Africans joining the rest of the world to buy as many bargains as they can on Black Friday tomorrow, one local business is offering a chance instead to make it Give Back Friday. Sweep South, an online platform which connects cleaners with individuals, is transferring the savings they’d usually give to their customers on […]