AfriForum and Solidarity are due to hold a media conference this morning, Tuesday 2 March, to announce a major legal breakthrough in their fight against the South African government’s exclusive purchasing of vaccines. This follows after the two organisations have already continued with legal action against the government’s planned monopolisation of the purchasing and distribution […]

Investigations into the source of the sulphur stench that was experienced in parts of Gauteng and Mpumalanga last month are ongoing. The update on the investigations comes after a visit by officials from the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF) and the Gert Sibande District Municipality in Mpumalanga to the Sasol Secunda Plant on […]

On 22 February it was announced that Western Cape minister for Environmental Affairs and Development Planning (DEADPA) Anton Bredell had decided to dismiss appeals lodged against the Environmental Authorisation (EA) issued by his department in August 2020 for a proposed R4.5 billion development in Observatory. The Western Cape MEC for Environmental Affairs and Development Planning […]

The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) and the Western Cape Agriculture Department, have jointly confirmed an outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) in the Western Cape. The outbreak has been reported in the Western Cape for the first time. Two small-holding farms in Mfuleni, North of Khayelitsha, were found to be […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says it welcomes the announcement that South Africa will move to lockdown Alert Level One, along with the easing of restrictions on alcohol sales and gatherings as well as the shortening of the curfew. But DA Leader John Steenhuisen adds: “Our sole focus, as a country, should be on rolling out […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that South Africa is moving from Alert Level 3 into Level 1, effective from later this evening – Sunday 28 February 2021 – as soon as the regulations are gazetted. This Friday it will be exactly a year since the coronavirus pandemic hit SA shores, with the first Covid-19 patient […]

What led outraged community members, from a wildlife reserve bordering the Kruger National Park in Mpumalanga, to launch an arson attack on the R60-million luxury Bongani Mountain Lodge on their trust land? Amidst rumours, this is one of the key questions asked by Carte Blanche in this week’s broadcast. Combustible Conditions at Bongani Mountain Lodge […]

Claims that the South African Airways (SAA) flight dispatched by the SA government to transfer a consignment of COVID-19 vaccines was an expensive exercise, are devoid of the truth, asserts the Department of Public Enterprises. In a statement on Friday, the department said these claims seek to sabotage the role of SAA Cargo in the […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says it will submit a parliamentary question to Pravin Gordhan, the Minister of Public Enterprises, in order to obtain full details of the costs and reasons for the use of a large SAA jetliner to fly to Brussels to collect a small consignment of apparently only 80,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses. UPDATE: […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has encouraged the private sector to buy local goods in an effort to create jobs in South Africa. “We really need our corporates to come on board for us to build strong local capabilities. We are not asking corporates to buy goods for the sake of buying locally. We are saying that […]

The South African Revenue Service has announced the formation of a High Wealth Individual (HWI) Taxpayer Segment, which will focus on wealthy taxpayers with complex financial arrangements. “For SARS to continue to provide a customised and seamless service to various categories of taxpayers, we are establishing a separate unit to focus on individual taxpayers with […]

Interim results from clinical trials of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine will be presented to the FDA on Friday 26 February in an effort to obtain an emergency licence for its distribution. The briefing document for the FDA reports 66% efficacy for all cases and 85% efficacy for severe cases, as well as a favourable […]

AfriForum today announced what it calls “a dramatic turn of events” in the fight for the legal use of ivermectin. AfriForum and Dr George Coetzee are involved in a legal challenge against the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) to allow doctors to prescribe ivermectin that is formulated for human use to treat patients […]

The South African government says it is working tirelessly to deal with the danger of fake news in the fight against COVID-19 and the vaccination plan. Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, believes that while social media is beneficial for communicating, it can be easily hijacked to spread false claims about inoculation. […]

As most South Africans know, the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa published a number of name changes for towns, cities and airports in the Eastern Cape, in the Government Gazette, on Tuesday. Today the department released an official statement about the name changes. “The transformation of the naming landscape is a critical […]

South Africa’s unemployment rate rose to 32.5% in the last three months of 2020, Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke has revealed. The increase presents a 1.7 percentage point increase from the third quarter of 2020. Despite the grim picture painted in the fourth quarter (Q4) Labour Force Survey, released on Tuesday, Stats SA said the Quarter 4 […]

Everything is falling apart in Kannaland: water supplies, sewage, rubbish collection. Even the Ladismith city hall is in a mess in this Little Karoo municipality marked by strange political alliances and in-fighting. The municipality includes Ladismith, Zoar, Calitzdorp, and Van Wyksdorp. A brief trip by GroundUp to Ladismith and Zoar revealed serious municipal service failures, […]

This morning – Tuesday 23 Feb – at Parliament, the Free State Agricultural Union handed over 85 000 objections to the Democratic Alliance (DA) against the Expropriation Bill. Free State Agriculture launched a #StopExpropriation campaign on November 30, 2020. Today, Francois Wilken, president of Free State Agriculture, presented the organisation’s official submissions. The DA said […]

Hot 91.9FM announced today that Jeremy Mansfield, anchor of HOT 91.9 FM’s breakfast show, “Joburg’s Hottest Breakfast” will be leaving the station on Friday 26th February in order to focus on his health. “Jeremy has been undergoing treatment for the past few months and has decided to take a break,” Hot 91.9 said in a […]

South Africa’s low-cost airline kulula.com today announced that it will restart its operations at Lanseria International Airport from 1 April 2021, servicing its Durban and Cape Town routes. Similar to the re-introduction of its other routes, kulula.com will commence with a limited schedule, adding additional frequencies over the next couple of months. Customers are now […]

British Airways (operated by Comair) has announced the reopening of bookings for daily regional flights between Johannesburg, South Africa, and Harare, Zimbabwe, with one-way fares starting from R995, including taxes and surcharges. Bookings for the regional route are open from today and will start operating on 28 March 2021. Desmond O’Connor, Executive Head of Revenue […]

KLM South Africa has announced that with effect from 23 February 2021 the following passengers will be accepted on flights from South Africa to Amsterdam, regardless of their final destination:  Dutch nationals, Schengen State and other EU residents, Dutch Antilles residents, Medical staff, Seafarers and Airline crew. There is no change to the flights that are currently […]

In June last year, GroundUp wrote about pensioner Amos Khumalo, who used his state pension to build a bridge so that his wife could safely cross a fast flowing stream to Bara taxi rank from Elias Motsoaledi informal settlement in Soweto. A bridge built by a pensioner in a Soweto informal settlement has washed away. PPC cement […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has revealed that the group of “supposed” MK vets, operating under the banner of Tlhapi Zizi (Pty) Ltd, who have been controversially allocated Ivan Cloete’s farm, are ANC-connected individuals and people who already own farms. “This raises very serious questions on the fairness and transparency of the process that was used […]

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings, a leading global cruise company which operates the Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania Cruises and Regent Seven Seas Cruises brands, yesterday announced an extension of its current suspension of global cruise voyages as the world continues to battle the coronavirus pandemic. The suspension now includes all voyages on Norwegian Cruise Line, Oceania […]