JOHANNESBURG – Soon many more motorists around the world will be driving Nissan vehicles produced in South Africa. The SA arm of Nissan will spend R3 billion ($213 million) equipping its local plant to build the Japanese carmaker’s new Navara model, the unit’s boss said on Wednesday. Capacity at Nissan’s plant in Rosslyn, near Pretoria, […]

Sandton’s skyline in Johannesburg, South Africa, is rapidly changing, with one particular new building standing proud as it’s set to soon become Africa’s tallest building when it’s completed later this year. All photos on this page captured by CHARLES JOHNSTONE – Johannesburg based professional photographer. The Leonardo, which is located in downtown Sandton (known for being […]

A South African court has ruled that Mozambique’s former finance minister Manuel Chang can be extradited to the United States, where he is wanted on charges related to a $2 billion debt scandal, one of Chang’s lawyers said on Monday. The ruling will effectively serve as a recommendation for South Africa’s justice minister, who has […]

JOHANNESBURG – Woolworths Holdings launched a limited edition makeup line in collaboration with Beyonce’s make-up artist Sir John on Thursday, seeking to strengthen its private label brand in its first international collaboration. The South African department chain has invested heavily, like its peers, in its beauty business by partnering luxury international brands such as House […]

Eskom national spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe has resigned from possibly one of the country’s most nightmarish jobs – speaking on behalf of South Africa’s beleaguered power utility. In a tweet confirming his resignation on Friday, Phasiwe posted a picture saying “It is Finished”. He said: “I’d like to thank Eskom for entrusting me with the huge […]

On Saturday the 13th of April, the Mdzananda Animal Clinic will be hosting its third Downward-Facing-Adopt-A-Dog yoga event in Cape Town, South Africa. Yoga lovers and dog lovers alike are invited to join this one of a kind yoga class with homeless dogs. The class will be held under the trees in the beautiful outdoor […]

Extreme weather events, such as Cyclone Idai that has recently devastated Beira, Mozambique, and Hurricane Harvey that hit Houston, USA, in 2017 are the types of climate extremes that cities increasingly have to prepare for. Cities, particularly those with extensive informal settlements in the developing world, are being hit hard by these new climatic realities. […]

BEIRA, Mozambique – Hundreds of thousands of people are in need of food, water and shelter after Cyclone Idai battered Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi. And, as of today (Tues), at least 843 people had been reported killed by the storm, the flooding it caused and heavy rains before it hit. View the factbox at the […]

Six years ago a major development was announced in South Africa. Billed as a game changer, it was meant to alter the urban footprint of Johannesburg, Africa’s richest city, forever. The Modderfontein New City project was launched amid much fanfare, expectation and media hype. Zendai, a Chinese developer, bought a 1600-hectare site north-east of Johannesburg […]

Eskom has refuted claims that there have been safety breaches at the Koeberg nuclear power plant in the Western Cape, South Africa. Eskom confirmed that both units at the plant are running safely following allegations made in a video recording where a YouTube vlogger, Willem Petzer, alleges that there have been nuclear safety breaches at […]

A legendary charity swimmer has thrown his rubber cap and goggles in the ring, signing up for a “wild swim” to promote alternatives to heavy minerals mining on South Africa’s pristine Wild Coast. (See GroundUp articles on Xolobeni.) Stan Kozlowski, who has helped collect more than R12 million for conservation and other good causes over […]

CAPE TOWN – The development bank of the BRICS group of emerging economies has approved funding of $790 million for three South African projects, the bank’s president said on Monday. “We plan to end the year with total loan approvals of about $2.3 billion in South Africa,” New Development Bank president Kundapur Vaman Kamath told […]

The world’s leading lion scientists argue that captive predator breeding has no conservation value. Successful reintroduction from captivity into the wild among large felids is extremely rare. Nonetheless, the captive predator breeding industry in South Africa operates on the pretext that reintroduction to the wild is a viable strategy and that it contributes to broader […]

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 […]