CAPE TOWN – South Africa should discuss using worker pension funds to finance development and infrastructure projects, a proposal that has the backing of the country’s largest labour federation, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday. In its 2019 poll manifesto ahead of the May general election, the African National Congress (ANC) mentioned investigating prescribed assets […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa is likely to absorb extra financial support for the struggling power utility Eskom with new revenue and expenditure measures in the next mid-year budget review, with departmental budget cuts an option, ratings agency Moody’s said on Thursday. “In any event, Moody’s sees the government’s room to maneuver as extremely constrained,” Moody’s […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Thursday afternoon answer questions in Parliament for the first time since his election as President in May 2019. The President’s office said he will brief the National Assembly on government’s efforts to deal with the challenge of slow economic growth and high unemployment. The President is constitutionally mandated to periodically […]

The first vote at the 18th meeting of the CITES Conference of the Parties has delivered a historic win for African elephants to end the cruel practice of removing live elephants from the wild for export to captive facilities. CITES is the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. Iris Ho, senior wildlife specialist […]

Mitchell Slape, the new CEO of Massmart, the retailer owned by America’s Walmart that has more than 425 stores throughout Africa, will start work on 1 September, it was reported today. Slape, who has worked with Walmart in Argentina, Japan and Mexico, had been appointed earlier in the year, but he has just received his […]

JOHANNESBURG – South African mobile phone operator Vodacom Group will spend more than R9 billion ($589 million) this year on network enhancements particularly in rural areas in its home market, its Chief Technology Officer said on Thursday. Vodacom, majority-owned by Britain’s Vodafone, invested 9.6 billion rand in 2018, Andries Delport said during a media briefing. […]

Standing in snaking queues – whether at Home Affairs, collecting a social grant, or a visit to a congested clinic – is a boring and time-consuming task many South Africans find themselves doing more often than they like. After hearing numerous complaints by peers and gogos in his community, 29-year-old Koketso Denny Nkuna from Burgersfort […]

South Africa’s iconic artist and designer Carrol Boyes passed away last night, after a brief illness, her company said in a statement on Thursday. Tributes have poured in from South Africans around the country, and world. Gauteng publicist Georg Knoke said: “Such sad news! RIP Caroll Boyes! Apart from being one of the most admired […]

A South Africa court on Thursday awarded a second punitive costs order against the country’s top anti-corruption official, Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane, after finding an investigation conducted by her office showed “gross negligence”. Pretoria High Court Judge Ronel Tolmay ordered the Public Protector’s office to pay 85% of the costs of the Democratic Alliance and the Council for […]

The South African rand firmed early on Thursday, pulling back from a slide to its lowest in nearly 11 months as investors digested signs of global economic recession and looked to buy the currency at cheaper rates in anticipation of sharper falls. The rand was up almost 1% at 15.2250 against the U.S. dollar after a low of […]

South Africa published its draft National Health Insurance (NHI) bill on Thursday, with one senior official estimating universal healthcare for millions of poorer citizens would cost about 256 billion rand ($16.89 billion) to implement by 2022. The bill creating an NHI Fund paves the way for a comprehensive overhaul of South Africa‘s health system that would be one of […]

The two men convicted of murder in the Coligny sunflower case, Pieter Doorewaard and Phillip Schutte, have been granted special leave to appeal directly to the Court of Appeals in Bloemfontein. UPDATE 27 Nov 2020: Coligny 2, Pieter Doorewaard and Phillip Schutte acquitted on all charges. The father of one of the men broke the […]

South African expats have been subjected to vast amounts of conflicting information regarding the amended expat law change, causing uncertainty and panic in their preparations for 1 March 2020… writes Claudia Apicella, Head of Expatriate Tax Compliance at Tax Consulting SA. The cause for this is no doubt linked to the many “specialists” creeping out […]

Former acting CEO of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), Mthuthuzeli Swartz and another accused Syed Nadhir Mohiudeen are facing charges of outlandish fraud allegedly involving the sale of a large chunk of Eastern Cape railway line that was not Swartz’s nor Mohiudeen’s to sell. The matter will return to the Specialised Commercial […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago said on Wednesday he will fight to protect the Reserve Bank’s independence if it is jeopardised by plans to bring it into public ownership. He has been vocal in expressing concerns over plans by the ruling African National Congress to nationalise the SARB, and some party […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s state power utility Eskom urgently needs a turnaround plan as its capital structure is unsustainable, credit ratings agency Moody’s said on Tuesday in a report which sent the rand to a two-month low. A week ago Eskom reported a mammoth R20.7 billion ($1.39 billion) annual loss, and its outgoing chief executive […]

The National Council of SPCAs has the formidable task of ensuring the nationwide protection of all animal species from abuse, neglect, and cruelty. One of the most effective ways to do this, is through the courts. Sadly, in the fight for justice, the plight of animals is often ignored or found at the bottom of […]

Small Business Development Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has condemned the attack on law enforcement agencies in Johannesburg, describing it as an attack on the State, which cannot be accepted. “What happened [last] Thursday when law enforcement agencies were attacked with stones by street traders and hawkers, is not acceptable. Any attack on law enforcement agencies… cannot […]

JOHANNESBURG – Nedbank called for more urgent government action to fix South Africa’s struggling economy on Tuesday after first-half earnings at its main domestic operations flatlined. More of Nedbank’s corporate and retail clients defaulted on their debts or swerved riskier investments due to a tough economic environment as unemployment rose to an 11-year high and […]

Economic disparities, inequality and unemployment, particularly among young people, remain pervasive in South Africa. Lack of access to services and inadequate living conditions also affect people’s quality of life, health and well-being. Urban living holds the promise of improved conditions. But many people relocating to South Africa’s metropolitan areas have to contend with a host […]

Cash strapped South African consumers will have to fork out more at the pumps as the petrol price is set to increase by 11 cents on Wednesday. South Africa‘s Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe announced that a litre of 93 and 95 (ULP and LRP) will rise by 11 cents. The price […]

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has suspended three senior executives who face disciplinary action over serious misconduct allegations. The executives are: Hlengani Mathebula, Chief Officer: Governance, International Relations, Strategy and Communications. Teboho Mokoena, Chief Officer: Human Capital and Development. Luther Lebelo, Group Executive: Employee Relations. In a brief statement issued on Wednesday, SARS said […]

Back in February 2019, the Rand was – once again – crowned the world’s most volatile currency. It’s not a title desired by most South Africans, of course, but it is sometimes a reality of an emerging economy that the currency will be volatile, especially when the President of the United States can send a […]

JOHANNESBURG – Nicky Newton-King, Chief Executive Officer of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), has announced her retirement after eight years at the helm of Africa’s biggest securities exchange, the JSE said on Tuesday. Chairman Nonkululeko Nyembezi said in a statement: “During 2018 Nicky indicated to the board a desire to step down, both for reasons of […]

JOHANNESBURG – South African power utility Eskom announced on Tuesday that its annual loss has widened to R20.7-billion ($1.46-billion) in the 2018/19 financial year… a massive increase from the already discouraging R2.3-billion in the previous year. Eskom Chairman Jabu Mabuza said: “Today Eskom releases results that, while expected, are unfavourable. The organisation disappointingly incurred a […]