JOHANNESBURG – Forty of the 46 airplanes grounded this week – owing to faults found at the maintenance unit of state-owned South African Airways (SAA) – have been returned to service, the head of South Africa’s aviation regulator said on Thursday. The faults found at SAA Technical have focused attention on the crisis at SAA, […]

There are extremely good reasons for South African expatriates and their employers to be deeply confused and uncertain on “the expat tax”. There are simply too many differentiating views in the market, often punted from a conflicted business perspective. What aggravates this is the vast number of professionals, and even expatriates themselves, who believe that […]

SOCHI/MOSCOW – Russia landed two nuclear-capable bombers in South Africa on a training mission on Wednesday, a flight apparently timed to coincide with President Vladimir Putin’s opening of a flagship Russia-Africa summit designed to increase Russian influence. The two Tupolev Tu-160 strategic bombers touched down at Waterkloof air force base in Tshwane on Wednesday, the […]

JOHANNESBURG – Crisis-hit South African power company Eskom was handed an additional R59 billion ($4 billion) lifeline by parliament on Tuesday, prompting criticism from opposition parties who described it as a “blank cheque”. The special bill passed by parliament to grant the funding was first proposed by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni in July as Eskom […]

Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has welcomed the Corrective Action Plan (CAP) submitted by SAA Technical, which aims to address the irregularities that have led to the grounding of a number of aircraft. On Tuesday, South African Airways (SAA) announced it would operate an amended flight schedule following a decision to recall some of its aircraft […]

The board of Prosus, the international digital company owned by South Africa’s Naspers group, today announced a cash offer of $6.3 billion to acquire the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of Just Eat, a British online food order and delivery service. Just Eat has 27 million customers and 107 000 participating […]

JOHANNESBURG – Armed men invaded a metallurgical plant owned by South Africa’s DRDGOLD on Monday night, killing the gold miner’s chief security officer and stealing an estimated 17 kg of gold, the company said. DRDGOLD’s chief security officer Bart Coetzee was fatally wounded in an exchange of gunfire during the attack at the Ergo plant […]

South African Airways and Comair have both had flights disrupted after inspections by the South Africa Civil Aviation Authority resulted in some of their planes being taken out of service. Airports Company South Africa said today it was aware of the notification by the SACAA to SAA and Comair, the operator of kulula.com and British […]

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday that the government will soon announce a permanent chief executive for state-run Eskom after the struggling power utility reintroduced rolling blackouts – known as load-shedding in South Africa – last week. The crisis-hit utility, which produces more than 90% of South Africa’s electricity, has been hobbled by […]

In this week’s episode, Carte Blanche participates in an undercover investigation to reveal an intricate car scam, finds out how South Africa’s ports have deteriorated, interviews world renowned author Deon Meyer and discovers dog therapy for abused children. Watch on Sunday 20 Oct on DStv Now if you’re in South Africa, and stream it from […]

Eskom says it has had another major setback at its Medupi Power Station based near Lephalale in Limpopo and will be implementing Stage 1 load shedding from 9am to 12pm midday and thereafter revert to Stage 2 load shedding until 11pm. While last night Eskom Acting Group Chief Executive Officer Jabu Mabuza said the power […]

South Africa’s plans for additional power generation over the next decade will involve a variety of energy sources, with coal still playing a significant role as well as more renewable energy, mines and energy minister Gwede Mantashe said on Friday. Mantashe said that while the government planned to extend the life of the Koeberg nuclear […]

The time for making a decision on how to deal with the fundamental tax change for South Africans earning foreign income abroad is fast running out. The change to section 10(1)(o)(ii) – the foreign income exemption – will become effective in about six months’ time. South African tax residents will then be taxed on all […]

Two of Africa’s largest economies and its two biggest tourist destinations, South Africa and Morocco, put the official stamp on the re-establishment of diplomatic relations this week, when ambassador Youssef Amrani presented his credentials to President Cyril Ramaphosa. Amrani called it a “watershed.” Morocco’s last ambassador left 15 years ago, and relations have been icy, […]

So much has been happening on the train front in South Africa the last few months – new trains being built, shiny new blue engines and coaches spotted around the country, a government “war room” started to cut down delays and identify problems, plans announced to fence urban lines to stop vandalism – it’s hard […]

The trial of former South African President Jacob Zuma has been postponed to 4 February next year. His trial will then proceed after a 15-year delay. The former president faces charges of corruption, money laundering and racketeering linked to the multi-billion rand arms deal at the Pietermaritzburg High Court. Today Zuma appeared alongside representatives of […]

After taking a break over the cold winter months, the Mdzananda Animal Clinic in Khayelitsha in partnership with Lee-Ann Elliott Yoga is bringing Downward-Facing-Adopt-A-Dog back this spring. On Saturday the 26th of October, Yoga lovers and dog lovers alike are invited to join this special yoga class with homeless dogs. The class will be held […]

On a frigid September morning in Mkumbi, a remote village in the Pondoland region of the Eastern Cape, 63-year-old Sizane Nompethu rose at dawn and walked at a brisk pace down a rocky path to work her family’s small plot of land, just as she had every day since she was 15. “I am old […]

In the hillside Pondoland village of Manhlaneni, a small delegation from the Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform stepped into a dimly-lit rondavel where a group of women sat on upturned beer crates removing the leaves from dense bunches of cannabis. One of the women passed a large handful of green buds […]

LONDON – South Africa’s embattled state-owned airline is open to outside investment and in talks with a number of potential partners, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday. South Africa’s economy has come under ever growing pressure as the government grapples with lacklustre growth, high unemployment and a heavy debt burden, especially from state-owned enterprises such […]

LONDON – The Lord Mayor of London Peter Estlin will arrive in Johannesburg tomorrow for meetings with investment partners and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, kicking off a 5-day trip in South Africa and Kenya, the City of London said in a statement today. “The UK Government is seeking to become Africa’s biggest G7 investor, and […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa arrived on Sunday in London, United Kingdom, for a two-day working visit. The President will deliver the opening address at the 6th Financial Times Africa Summit on Monday, 14 October 2019. The summit is being held at Claridge’s in London. On the sidelines of the summit, President Ramaphosa is expected to engage […]

Since Zimbabwe’s land reform of 2000 – when around 8 million hectares of formerly large-scale commercial farmland was distributed to about 175,000 households – debates about the consequences for food security have raged. A standard narrative has been that Zimbabwe has turned from “food basket” to “basket case”. This year, following the devastating El Niño […]

Since the end of apartheid in South Africa in 1994, South Africa and Nigeria have never had an easy relationship. Over the years, as different presidents have come and gone, the two countries have often been at loggerheads for different reasons. But this was predated by Nigeria’s strong solidarity with black people when South Africa […]

Lack of accountability leads to wasteful expenditure and mismanagement, says activist. Contractors have abandoned more than 50 major school upgrade projects in the Eastern Cape after government departments failed to pay them on time. Many of these schools have been stripped of valuable materials and vandalised after being abandoned. One example is Makhanda’s Grahamstown Primary […]