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 […]

South African Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan announced on Monday that Jabu Mabuza has been appointed as acting group chief executive officer (GCEO) of Eskom following a board meeting earlier today. Gordhan said in a statement: I have informed the Eskom annual general meeting this afternoon of my decision to appoint Mr Jabu Mabuza as […]

In the face of news headlines in Australia claiming that Nando’s is in crisis with stores shutting down, and is a “very cruel” company that has left many of its franchisees broke, Nando’s South Africa told SAPeople the company in Australia has celebrated its most successful year yet, and has only closed underperforming restaurants. According […]

JOHANNESBURG – The Presidential Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture has proposed amending the South African Constitution to allow the government to seize land without compensation… but only in limited circumstances. The recommendations in the final report were released Sunday by Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Thoko Didiza, and members of the […]

A new facility that rehabilitates wild animals that have been injured or abandoned, with a view to returning them to the wild, has been opened at Shamwari Private Game Reserve, outside Port Elizabeth. At the R5 million (or $350,000) facility, the animals are treated before being released back to the wild, Shamwari said in a […]

Here’s the line-up of hot South African topics that the Carte Blanche team are investigating this Sunday 28 July (and available for South Africans abroad in most countries to stream from Tuesday 30 July). Soweto’s Multi-Billion Rand Electricity Bill Eskom is facing a financial crisis with a debt of over R450 billion. South Africa’s power […]

The cigarette maker Philip Morris has opened a flagship store in Johannesburg, hoping to promote its heated tobacco product IQOS, according to the company. The store for IQOS, which stands for I Quit Ordinary Smoking, is in Sandton. South Africa, with an estimated 7 million smokers, is the only market in Africa where the company […]

Rating agency Moody’s said the South African government’s proposal to provide additional financial support to struggling state-run power firm Eskom was “credit negative” for the sovereign as it was a further drain on fiscal resources. Eskom, which supplies more than 90% of South Africa‘s power but had to implement power cuts earlier this year, is grappling with high debt […]

South Africa has lost yet another 16 endangered black rhino… but this time they fortunately weren’t poached. They were dehorned, and moved for their own protection across SA’s borders to eSwatini (formerly Swaziland) – to a habitat that is “ideal” – and safer, according to the eSwatini national wildlife authority. As South Africa has tragically […]

Dr. Reuel Khoza has been appointed as the first non-political chairman of the state-owned Public Investment Corporation, the largest asset manager in Africa, the Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni announced at the new board’s inaugural meeting today. Khoza is a former chairman of Eskom and Nedbank, and the author of numerous books. A new 13-member […]

The head of the Independent Power Producers Office, Karen Breytenbach, who has overseen more than R200 billion invested in renewable projects in South Africa since 2011 – at a time when the country has been trying to move away from coal energy – has been asked to vacate her position early because of what the […]

The International Monetary Fund’s latest report on the World Economic Outlook has predicted that South Africa will continue to have a slower growth that much of sub-Saharan Africa, even slower than previously anticipated. In its report, “Still Sluggish Global Growth,” which was released today, the IMF predicted growth in South Africa of 0.7 percent in […]

Prince Albert II of Monaco was in South Africa this weekend to present the Rhino Conservation Awards (RCA) 2019 to all those heroes who dedicate their lives to conserving Africa’s iconic rhino. The Prince – who is married to South Africa’s former Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock – said he admires all those honoured as well […]

Travel between Germany and more parts of South Africa will be easier, now that Lufthansa and Mango, the low-cost subsidiary of South African Airways, have started a code-sharing agreement. In 2017 Mango took over certain routes from SAA, such as such as Durban, Port Elizabeth and George. Because it did not have the same interline […]

The South African government is making an extra R59 billion ($4.24 billion) available to Eskom for the power utility to use over the next two years, according to a special appropriation bill seen by Reuters on Monday. The allocation of the funds to the state-owned company is to ensure that Eskom can pay its debts […]

PURCHASE, N.Y. and JOHANNESBURG – PepsiCo, Inc. today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire all the outstanding shares of Pioneer Foods Group Ltd. for R110.00 per share (about $1.7 billion), Pepsi said in a statement. Pioneer owns brands like Ceres, Liqui-Fruit, Weetbix, Bokomo, ProNutro, Sasko, Safari, Spekko and White Star. “Pioneer Foods has […]

PRETORIA – The South African central bank cut its main lending rate by 25 basis points to 6.50%, as expected, citing weak economic growth and inflation which has stayed around the midpoint of its target range. The last time the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) cut its repo rate was in March 2018. The SARB […]

Loyiso Basso says he left a life of drugs and crime after he realised he was wasting his life and making his mother suffer. The 30-year-old opened a restaurant in Makhaya, Khayelitsha. It has been running for two years. Pamela Mkhabela, a neighbour, says: “People used to be so scared of him [Basso], but now […]

JOHANNESBURG – There’s good news for unemployment in South Africa, as the SA unit of Ford Motor Co has announced on Wednesday that it will hire an additional 1,200 people to staff an extra shift at one of its vehicle assembly plants. According to a statement from Ford, this will increase production to 720 units […]