Top executives in at least 24 government-funded agencies were paid more than R3-million in the 2017/18 financial year — more than the salary allocated to Jacob Zuma in his final year as state president. Five of the 24 executives were paid more than R5-million each. Three received packages worth over R7-million. GroundUp used official reports to analyse […]

South Africa’s central bank kept its benchmark repo rate unchanged at 6.75 percent on Thursday in a unanimous decision, saying it assessed the risks to the inflation outlook to be more or less balanced. All economists surveyed by Reuters predicted the repo rate would remain on hold. (Reporting by Mfuneko Toyana, Tiisetso Motsoeneng and Naledi […]

Former SA Revenue Service (SARS) deputy commissioner Edward Kieswetter has been appointed as the new Commissioner for South African Revenue Service (SARS). President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Wednesday that Kieswetter will lead the revenue service for the next five years starting on 1 May. The National Treasury was confident that the selection process that was […]

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane has written to the Zondo Commission requesting President Ramaphosa be subpoenaed to testify before 8 May when South Africans vote. Maimane said in a statement on Wednesday: “The revelations emanating from testimony before the Zondo Commission into State Capture yesterday confirm that President Ramaphosa and his family are deeply […]

Going on safari in Africa offers tourists the opportunity to see some of the most spectacular wildlife on Earth – including African elephants (Loxodonta africana). Known for their complex social systems, long memory and high intelligence, this species is also threatened by poaching and shrinking habitats, so further disturbance to their precarious existence could have […]

Kenyans have taken to social media to protest against what they claim is illegal sand harvesting off Diani beach, one of the country’s most popular coastal areas. The Conversation Africa’s Moina Spooner spoke to David Obura about why this is an issue. Is sand harvesting a problem on the Kenyan coast? The harvesting of sand […]

It’s a common misconception that a manager is identical to a leader. While the two share similar characteristics, the roles have fundamental differences which set them apart from one another. Ultimately, the key difference between leaders and managers is: Managers oversee teams that work for them; Leaders head up teams that follow them. To maximise […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s gold and platinum mines will shed around 90,000 jobs in the next three years as above-inflation electricity price increases by power utility Eskom add to already soaring operating costs, an industry body said on Monday. “In total, as many as 90,222 jobs would be at risk solely as a result of […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa officiated the historic handover of title deeds for 3,900 hectares of land to more than 50 households of Ebenhaeser, Beeswater in the Western Cape on Saturday. At an event attended by Western Cape Premier Helen Zille, Rampahosa said the handover restores the dignity of local communities on the West Coast, South Africa. […]

Collectors from America and Europe are scouring Cape Town’s booming art scene in search of deals as diverse as an expressive oil painting by South Africa’s Irma Stern or a sculpture assembled from bottle caps by Ghana’s El Anatsui… with a record being broken this week at an art auction. Dozens of venues, including the […]

Raw excrement, condoms and sanitary products regularly spill into homes and parks for many South Africans… who  are just some of about 4.5 billion people globally without safe sanitation, promised for all by 2030. Residents are lobbying for urgent rehabilitation of sewage works by South Africa’s Department of Water and Sanitation, widely criticised for lack […]

This year marks the 59th anniversary of the Sharpeville massacre in South Africa. On 21 March 1960 the apartheid police opened fire on unarmed marchers protesting against a law that forced black people to carry identity documents. Over 200 were injured and 69 killed. The following edited excerpt is from a new book featuring the […]

South Africa’s Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Tuesday he cannot say yet when rolling blackouts will end, as power utility Eskom struggles with capacity shortages that threaten to thwart efforts to boost economic growth. Eskom supplies more than 90 percent of the power in South Africa but has suffered repeated faults at its […]

Former Steinhoff chairman and top shareholder Christo Wiese said on Monday he is open to negotiations over his $4 billion claim against the South African retailer, days after it revealed the scale of devastating accounting fraud. Steinhoff said on Friday that an independent report had found it overstated profits over several years in a $7.4 […]

South Africa’s state utility Eskom will make more power cuts this week as it struggles with capacity shortages that threaten to stymie President Cyril Ramaphosa’s efforts to boost investments and economic growth. Eskom supplies more than 90 percent of the power in South Africa but has suffered repeated faults at its coal-fired power stations, along […]

“I have always prided myself in writing objective and truthful articles” says Tossie Beukes. One of four defamation cases against seven critics of controversial Australian mining company Mineral Commodities (MRC) and its South African operations has been dropped. A linked criminal defamation case against one of the seven has also been withdrawn. The cases, totalling […]

JOHANNESBURG – Eskom has warned that the loadshedding of the past week is likely to continue until Sunday, and says that further cuts are probably on the horizon next week… which is not great news for business. Eskom supplies more than 90 percent of South Africa’s power… but has suffered repeated faults at its fleet […]

JOHANNESBURG – The World Bank will lend Angola $1 billion to fund social security and water projects, their president’s office said on Wednesday. Angola, Africa’s second largest oil producer, has been pushed into an economic crisis by the fall in oil prices since mid-2014. Alongside a $500 million loan agreed earlier, which Angola is set […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s popular Standard Bank will cut around 1,200 jobs and close 91 branches as part of efforts to digitise its retail and business bank, it said on Thursday. South Africa’s lenders, like others around the world, have been shuttering branches and trimming their headcount in an attempt to cut costs and adapt […]

Recently a number of school boards and police services issued statements advising parents of an alleged cyberbullying threat called the Momo challenge. It’s unclear how many videos actually exist of the creepy-looking mask apparently telling children to harm themselves, or to what extent they have circulated, among children or elsewhere. While some experts suggest anxious […]

The Ad Hoc Committee – set up to amend Section 25 of the Constitution — has adopted a report on its work into a possible amendment to the Constitution in order for the State to expropriate land without compensation, in the public interest. Committee chairperson Thoko Didiza said in the report, the committee recommended to […]

CAPE TOWN – South Africa’s rising debt trajectory will make it difficult to weather a significant global economic downturn, the Reserve Bank deputy governor said, adding it would take at least a decade to bring the debt-to-GDP ratio down to the 30 to 40 percent range. Deputy governor Kuben Naidoo also said on Wednesday that […]

Rooibos is already popular in Europe and now it’s becoming a big deal in Japan – one of the largest tea-drinking nations in the world – with exports of our indigenous tea hitting record highs in 2018. More than 2 000 tons were shipped to Japan‘s shores last year – the largest consignment since Rooibos […]

South African Communications Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams has on Tuesday announced that the National Treasury has decided to offer the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) urgent interim financial relief. The announcement was made in Parliament’s communications committee. “We just needed assurance that by the end of the month, there’ll be a relief. In terms of how […]

South Africa and the World Bank have signed an agreement that will boost the local business environment while also helping to enhance foreign direct investment into the country. Signed on Monday in Johannesburg, the Advisory Services Agreement was signed between the Department of Trade and Industry (dti) and the World Bank Group. The partnership is […]