Auditor General Kimi Makwetu has called on government leaders to take urgent action to halt the trend of disappointing audit results, restore accountability and prevent mismanagement of public funds. Releasing the 2018-19 general report for national and provincial departments as well as their entities, Makwetu said political leaders, accounting officers, authorities and oversight structures must […]

When insurance company Old Mutual refused to pay out on the death of a loved one in South Africa, insisting on more proof, the victim’s family complied – and brought the corpse into their offices in Stanger, in a body bag. The incredible footage (see below) was shot in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) after two bereaved female […]

JOHANNESBURG – A strike certificate has been issued at South African airline Comair as part of a secondary strike against South African Airways, a spokeswoman for the National Union of Metalworkers South Africa said on Wednesday. Two unions that called a crippling strike at SAA said on Sunday they would pursue a secondary strike to […]

A few hundred South African Airways (SAA) employees have returned to work despite a strike, allowing the airline to resume some regional flights, acting Chief Executive Zuks Ramasia said on Tuesday. SAA is currently operating all its international and some of its regional flights and domestic services. These services are being carried out by sister airline Mango, […]

The last remains of 157 people killed aboard an Ethiopian Airlines plane in March were interred at the crash site this week, farmers and families told Reuters, but some relatives were upset they had been unable to take part in the ceremony. Nadia Milleron, whose daughter Samya Stumo was killed, said an email was sent […]

JOHANNESBURG – Corruption under South Africa’s former president Jacob Zuma was enabled by international banks, companies and governments which should now seek to recover the loot they helped to launder, British lawmaker Peter Hain told an inquiry on Monday. HSBC, Standard Chartered and India’s Bank of Baroda as well as their senior directors were “directly […]

JOHANNESBURG – South African Airways (SAA) said on Monday it would resume flights to six African destinations but cancel some domestic flights in the next two days, as not all unions had joined a strike over wages currently in its fourth day. State-owned SAA has cancelled hundreds of flights since the strike began on Friday, […]

South African Airways (SAA) Acting Chief Executive Officer Zuks Ramasia has affirmed that the safety and security of customers, aircraft and employees are of paramount importance to the airline and that claims to the contrary are “untruthful”. Claims made by the South African Cabin Crew Association (SACCA) and the National Union of Metalworkers of South […]

An inspiring South African barista from Durban – Teddy Nzama – has scooped the title of 2019 EMEA Barista Champion. In a press statement, Starbucks said: “After an intense three days of competition, 30 finalists – each of them already National Champions in their home markets – battled through coffee skills tests and demonstrated their […]

JOHANNESBURG – British lawmaker Peter Hain will tell an inquiry on Monday that corruption under South Africa’s former president Jacob Zuma was enabled by international banks, corporations and governments which should now seek to recover the loot they helped launder. Hain’s submission on Monday to the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, part of […]

JOHANNESBURG – Striking unions threatened to shut down South Africa’s entire aviation industry on Sunday by extending industrial action beyond state-run South African Airways. SAA has cancelled hundreds of flights since the strike began on Friday, saying the stoppage is costing 50 million rand ($3.36 million) per day and jeopardising talks with lenders around much-needed […]

Carte Blanche investigates the ‘War on Climate Change’ and explores whether going meatless could save our planet. This episode will be broadcast today, Sunday 17 Nov, on DStv Now if you’re in South Africa, and available to stream from Tues 19 Nov on Showmax International in most other countries.  EMPOWERING > ENLIGHTENING Hotting Up in the […]

JOHANNESBURG – A union that called a strike at South African Airways said on Sunday it was consulting with workers on a secondary strike across the industry after talks with the state-run carrier ended without a deal. “This secondary strike will have the impact of shutting down the entire aviation sector,” National Union of Metalworkers […]

JOHANNESBURG – South African Airways (SAA) and unions on Saturday met for talks the troubled state-run carrier hopes can bring an end to a crippling strike that it says could push it to collapse. Unions representing more than half of SAA’s workforce called the strike from Friday, forcing SAA to cancel hundreds of flights, and […]

A ring designed and crafted in Cape Town, South Africa, and featuring 798 diamonds, is proving to be a show stopper at a prestigious art and design fair in New York City… and from these photos you can see why! The ring – Desert Rose – is currently featuring at the Salon Art + Design […]

Workers at South African Airways (SAA) downed tools on Friday in a strike over wages and job cuts that has forced the troubled state-owned carrier to cancel all flights. SAA, which has not turned a profit since 2011 and is without a permanent CEO, says the strike by unions representing around 3,000 of its 5,000-strong […]

I’ve had the opportunities throughout my life to travel extensively writes Dean Morris. I’ve traveled to 24 countries on 5 continents (not South America and not Antarctica), with notably several equatorial African countries in the mix. I have a model that anthropomorphises the different regions and my take is as follows: North America: rich old […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s SAA’s restructuring plan will be finalised by March next year and should save the firm R700 million rand, SAA’s executive team told a media briefing on Tuesday. “If you look at the 944 employees (who could lose their jobs), it’s estimated, depending on how the process pans out, it could save […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa will lead a South African delegation to the 11th BRICS Summit to be held in Brasilia, Brazil, from 13 – 14 November 2019. BRICS is the association of the five major emerging countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – which together represent about 42% of the global population, 23% […]

ArcelorMittal’s South Africa unit said on Monday it would close its steel operations at Saldanha Works in the south of the country because it could no longer compete in export markets. The company, majority-owned by ArcelorMittal, announced in September that it could close some operations as part of a review aimed at strengthening long-term sustainability amid cheap imports, rising costs […]

Good news for foreign travellers (and for South African Tourism) as Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has signed a waiver that allows foreign children to enter the country without carrying additional supporting documents such as birth certificates and consent letters. The waiver has been applicable since 8 November 2019 – after the Minister’s signature. […]

South African lender Absa said on Monday its representative office in New York should be operational by the end of the year, after it received the necessary regulatory approvals. The office is aimed at enabling Absa to better serve clients, including international corporations and institutions, that invest or work in Africa. The bank has already opened a representative office […]

Over the last seven years, I have travelled internationally for work to hundreds of cities. I expected that my exposure to other places would create the desire to leave South Africa and experience living overseas… writes Dean Gerber, CA (SA) who works for VAT IT Pty Ltd. In fact, it has had the opposite effect. […]

This week Carte Blanche tracks The Return of our Champions; investigates how much plastic we are ingesting and more! Watch on Sunday 10 Oct on DStv Now if you’re in South Africa, and stream it from Tues 12 on Showmax International in most other countries.  EMPOWERING > ENLIGHTENING The Return of the Champions First in 1995, […]

South Africa’s rand was weaker early on Friday after Eskom’s nationwide loadshedding (electricity blackouts) spooked investors and reignited worries about the economy. At 0645 GMT the rand was down 0.23% at 14.7700 per dollar, compared with the previous session’s best of 14.6630. Power firm Eskom implemented stage 2 power cuts, or load shedding, shaving off […]