In his first State of the Nation Address, President Cyril Ramaphosa posed the key question: has South Africa built a society where the injustices of the past no longer define the lives of the present? The answer is clearly no. Among the biggest injustices is unemployment. Last year the unemployment rate worsened to over 27%. […]

Transport Minister Blade Nzimande has announced a R3.5 billion stimulus and recovery plan with measures that will ensure that government gives priority to the areas of economic activity that will have the greatest impact on youth, women and small businesses. “The stimulus and recovery plan consists of a range of measures, both financial and non-financial, […]

Constitutional Court to rule on 1982 legislation. General Alfred Moyo, an activist in Makause informal settlement in the east of Johannesburg, is at the centre of a court case that challenges the constitutionality of part of the Intimidation Act of 1982. The application to have a section of the Act struck down was heard in […]

For many the new school year has just begun and sending a child to school must have set parents back a bit. Picodi Analysis Team conducted research on school supplies costs in South Africa and compared the results with expenditures of parents from 26 other countries. Wondering how much South Africans spent on back to […]

Stefan Graunke aka Coastal Ghost is a man on a mission: to stop at as many beaches as he can to collect as much rubbish as possible – a trip that will take him 2780kms around the South African Coastline. And you’re invited… “The more hands the better so come and join us for some […]

A probe by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has led to the arrest of a prominent attorney in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, relating to fraudulent medico-legal claims estimated to be over R100 million. The Eastern Cape attorney has already appeared before a criminal court. Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Michael Masutha made the announcement at a […]

Elephant experts at Humane Society International/Africa have condemned Zimbabwe’s capture of 35 baby elephants, some as young as two years old, who have been stolen from their mothers and are awaiting export to foreign zoos. According to The Times of London, the young elephants are being held in pens in Hwange National Park while travel […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Thursday officially open the R5.5 billion investment zinc mine in the Northern Cape, the Presidency said on Sunday. The Gamsberg Mine near Aggeneys is located in the mining centre between Springbok and Pofadder and will contribute to job creation and skills development. The new mine is owned by India’s globally […]

AfriForum launched its Anchor Town Roadshow in Pretoria on Monday. During this launch week, AfriForum personnel will pick up garbage in streets, paint road signs and clean up and deforest areas, as well as visit an animal shelter to present donations from the public. The Anchor Town Roadshow is a campaign aimed at creating a […]

South Africa is close to signing an interim trade agreement with Britain that would replicate arrangements with Europe and ensure trade will not be disrupted in the event of a hard Brexit, South African Trade Minister Rob Davies said on Monday. With just a month to go before Britain is due to leave the European […]

After reports were sent to cabinet, water test results have not been released for five years. A countrywide water shortage is a decade away unless urgent action is taken to rehabilitate and preserve our rivers and catchment areas, fix and maintain crumbling infrastructure, and implement water re-use. Without intervention, South Africa faces a deficit of […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced the establishment of a Special Tribunal to swiftly recover monies and assets lost by state institutions through irregular and corrupt means. The tribunal will adjudicate over any civil proceedings brought before it by the SIU, which investigates malpractice in state institutions, state assets and public money, the presidency said in […]

Zimbabwe’s government has a trust problem as it introduces a discounted currency in a bid to reverse chronic cash shortages that left people struggling to get hold of basic goods. Businesspeople and economists welcomed last week’s decision to abandon an unrealistic dollar peg for the country’s surrogate bond notes and electronic dollars, which were merged […]

The Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme (REIPPP) is making a significant impact on the economy, job creation, community upliftment, economic transformation and climate change. The REIPPP is a competitive tender process that has been designed to facilitate private sector investment into grid-connected renewable energy generation. In a short, 8-year period it has attracted […]

Coming up on Carte Blanche this evening (Sunday 24 Feb) in South Africa, and available to stream from Tues 26 Feb for South Africans abroad. (14-day Free Trial): Brexit: What It Means for South Africa The end of March deadline for Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union is fast approaching and the interminable and bruising internal debates will […]

Government is looking at developing the biggest tech hub in Africa, a coding and programming academy as well as co-working and co-creation spaces for the youth and start-ups in particular. “Through the Small Enterprise Development Agency (seda), my department, in partnership with the Department of Telecommunication and Postal Services, has started a conversation to develop […]

Rescuers have retrieved another 13 bodies from a disused South African coal mine following a gas blast there around two weeks ago, police said on Friday, raising the confirmed death toll to 18. More than 20 people were trapped underground in early February when a gas pipe exploded after they entered the mine to steal […]

Water supply in the Eastern Cape is set to improve with the launch of the Mzimvubu Water Project’s advanced infrastructure. The R113 million advanced infrastructure project in Esiqhungqwini village in Tsolo will also contribute to job creation in the rural area. This infrastructure will allow easy access to the dam site and water treatment works, […]

In his maiden budget speech, South Africa’s Finance Minister Tito Mboweni confirmed the depth of the financial crisis at South Africa’s power utility Eskom. He also underscored the serious risks this poses to economic recovery in the country. Mboweni allocated R23bn a year over the next three years to Eskom, to be extended over the […]

Even medicines that are years past their expiration date and haven’t always been kept in strict climate-controlled conditions may still retain their original potency, a small study suggests. That is good news for people working in remote areas of the world where sometimes an expired medication is the only one available and the alternative is […]

Rating agency Moody’s said on Thursday that it did not believe that South Africa’s decision in its 2019 budget to raise the expenditure ceiling by around R16 billion ($1.14 billion) over three years would weaken fiscal policy credibility. Moody’s, the last of the big three rating agencies to rate South Africa in investment grade, is […]

South Africa’s support plan for struggling state-owned electricity firm Eskom will put further strain on the country’s finances, rating agency S & P Global said on Thursday, although it should be offset to a degree by easing external pressures. In his maiden budget speech on Wednesday Finance Minister Tito Mboweni outlined a 69 billion rand […]

Vulnerable communities have lost their land to the state and mining companies in the past decade. In 2018, the political stage was dominated by the question of whether government has or should have the power to expropriate property without compensation – and use it. Some hailed this as the silver bullet that would lift millions […]

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is intensifying its effort to identify and bring to book tax dodgers. This comes after revelation that the revenue collector is launching units aimed at tackling the illicit tobacco industry and big business. The illicit economics unit was launched late last year, while the large business unit is expected […]

Deutsche Bank is hiring 26 people in South Africa, a spokesman said on Wednesday, less than a year after scaling back the operation in a broad restructuring of its investment bank. The spokesman said the lender had appointed a new head of corporate finance coverage in South Africa and the remaining hires would mostly be […]