The beautiful stone pub has underground passages where mine workers used to train… by Kimberly Mutandiro Albert and Hettie Rogers run and live at the historic Grutte Bush Pub, which has been going for about 20 years, but now they face eviction. The pub is on Marievale military base land and the army wants them […]

Stage 2 load shedding in South Africa is set to continue until 5am on Wednesday, Eskom has announced. However many Cape Town residents are doing it a little easier as the City of Cape Town has pledged to “protect its customers as far as possible”. Cape Town is implementing Stage 1 in many areas of […]

South African mining magnate Patrice Motsepe is set to become the eighth president of CAF – the Confederation of African Football – since 1957. He’ll take over from Ahmad Ahmad after a two year ban was placed on Ahmad by FIFA – Federation Internationale de Football Association, world football’s governing body. Motsepe must work with […]

Truffles are one of the most expensive foods on earth. The international price is a staggering R30,000 a kilogram… and here in South Africa we have only a handful of farmers who grow them. This Sunday, Carte Blanche meets one of the pioneers in SA, as well as a farmer breaking all the conventional rules! […]

Perhaps it is fitting that the portraits of the “Big 5” animals are featured on South Africa’s banknotes because there is a price on their heads, as well as a price on their severed tails, feet, horns, and other dismembered body parts… writes Ingrid Newkirk, president and founder of People for the Ethical Treatment of […]

British Airways (operated by Comair in South Africa) has announced the reopening of bookings for flights between Johannesburg and Victoria Falls for travel starting on 13 May 2021. This is fantastic news for travellers, with the Victoria Falls currently at its fullest in years, living up to its nickname Mosi-oa-Tunya (which means ‘The smoke that […]

The South African Mint, an agency of the South African Reserve Bank, has announced the circulation of a new R2 coin. “The wait is over! We are happy to announce there is a new R2 circulation coin you will soon be seeing in your change. The final edition in the SA25 Celebrating 25 years of […]

South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa issued a statement recently (29 January 2021) arguing that the hunting industry is key to South Africa’s economic growth, and accusing conservation pressure groups of “cultural imperialism”. The statement appeared on the Professional Hunters’ Association of South Africa’s website. Here is the full transcript: HUNTING INDUSTRY KEY TO ECONOMIC GROWTH […]

In line with several countries around the world, South Africa’s National State of Disaster has been extended to mid-April. Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Minister, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, has gazetted the extension. In a statement on Thursday, the Ministry of CoGTA said this means that the current measures contained in the regulations to save […]

The contracts of more than 5,000 Community Healthcare Workers (CHW) in the Eastern Cape will be terminated at the end of March… writes Mkhuseli Sizani. The contracts of over 5,000 community health workers in the Eastern Cape will be terminated at the end of March. The provincial health department says it has run out of […]

The Gauteng Social Development Department has distanced itself from fake social media messages about the distribution of food parcels in the province. The department’s Deputy Director-General for Social Welfare Services, Onkemetse Kabasia noted that a special food relief programme was implemented by the department since March 2020, as part of the COVID-19 response when the […]

The South African economy contracted by 7% in 2020, Statistician-General, Risenga Maluleke, revealed in a media briefing on Tuesday. Announcing the results of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the fourth quarter of 2020, Maluleke said the decrease was despite the economy growing by 1.5% in the last three months of the year, giving an […]

The Eskom Board announced on Tuesday that it will appoint an independent Senior Counsel to probe racism allegations against its Group Chief Executive André de Ruyter. According to the statement, this follows racism allegations made in the public domain against De Ruyter. Suspended Chief Procurement Officer Solly Tshitangano has accused the Group Chief Executive (GCE) […]

The Bela-Bela Communal Property Association (CPA) situated in Limpopo is regarded as one of the most successful land claim stories and stands as a beacon of success in South Africa. It all started after a successful land claim was lodged in 1998. The claim was accepted by the Land Claims Commission and subsequently published in […]

The first substantial peer-reviewed clinical trial of the drug against Covid-19 finds no evidence that it is a wonder medicine. By Elsabé Brits. A study in Columbia of 398 people with mild Covid-19 symptoms found that ivermectin offered no statistically significant benefit over placebo. This is the first peer-reviewed large clinical trial of the drug […]

The Carter Center, founded by former US president, Jimmy Carter in 1982, has selected 13 cities from around the world, including Cape Town, to participate in its first global Inform Women, Transform Lives campaign. This initiative, which runs until October, aims to enhance awareness of women’s rights to information. Each city was tasked with selecting […]

For those desperate South Africans in the UK who have been unable to get hold of the High Commission in London during the past few months, we got in touch on their behalf and the SAHC has kindly responded to some of the many questions. 1. SAHC in the UK is still closed with staff […]

The rail agency’s policy dictates that employees should retire at 63. Zolani Matthews is 64… By James Stent PRASA’s new Group CEO is too old to take up the post. This is according to the rail agency’s own policy which states employees should retire at 63. PRASA’s lack of permanent leadership was identified by the […]

The DA has today launched a national online petition to object against the gazetted name changes of Port Elizabeth to Gqeberha, and Uitenhage to Kariega. “There is a distinct lack of transparency on how the ANC government and the Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture, Nathi Mthethwa, arrived at approving these names,” said MP Andrew […]

Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng has been directed by the Judicial Conduct Committee (JCC) to apologise unconditionally for “becoming involved in political controversy” through statements he made during an online webinar hosted by The Jerusalem Post in June 2020 and later at a prayer meeting. The ruling came after three organisations, Africa 4 Palestine, SA Boycott Disinvestments and […]

Police in South Africa have pounced on hundreds of fake COVID-19 vaccines this week, following a global alert issued by INTERPOL warning vaccines would be a prime target for criminal networks. South African authorities seized 400 ampoules during an operation – equivalent to around 2 400 doses – containing the fake vaccine at a warehouse […]

Millions of rands from a Lottery grant to build an old age home in Mpumalanga were used to pay for a luxury home on a sprawling estate in North West Province, which was purchased by a company belonging to a board member of the NLC. R5 million was paid towards a house for William Huma, […]

Qatar Airways has been voted Best Airline in the World, acknowledged for its performance during the pandemic,  by tens of thousands of airline travellers on eDreams, one of Europe’s largest online travel agents. The accolade drew on feedback from over 61,000 customers across 667 airlines who rated every aspect of an airline trip from the […]

The Public Transport and Roads Infrastructure MEC Jacob Mamabolo has reiterated Gauteng’s standpoint to reject e-tolls. According to Mamabolo, the province reaffirms its long-standing position of the provincial government and its opposition to the implementation of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project (GFIP), known as the e-tolls system. E-tolls were implemented in 2013 as a method […]

The price of petrol is set to increase by 65 cents a litre as of Wednesday, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) said. In a statement on Tuesday, the DMRE said the prices of 93 (ULP and LRP) and 95 (ULP and LRP) will rise by 65 cents a litre. A litre of […]