South African state power firm Eskom aims to end power cuts by the end of this week and for now does not suspect sabotage is the cause of unplanned outages at some of its power stations, a senior Eskom generation official said on Tuesday. “Our aspiration is to end load-shedding by end of the week,” […]

In the near future, classrooms will be vibrant spaces where fun and acquiring knowledge blend seamlessly as the Basic Education Department wants to make play a fundamental block of learning. Following the President’s announcement at the State of the Nation Address that Early Childhood Education (ECD) centres will migrate from the Department of Social Development […]

The Western Cape’s top Engen Maths and Science Schools (EMSS) matriculant, Maajidah Arendse hopes to become a successful civil engineer and a proud representative of women in Engineering. “I want to be a part of projects that improve both the built and natural environment by making new discoveries and making the lives of my fellow South […]

Duane Vermeulen’s return to South Africa comes as a major boost to the Super Rugby hopes of the Bulls and the bulky Springbok loose forward believes he can make a major difference as they look to turn around their fortunes. The powerful number eight signed a two-year deal with the Pretoria franchise, who beat off […]

South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday the prospect of more power cuts by utility Eskom was “most worrying”. The cash-strapped company warned of wider controlled power cuts on Monday after six additional generating units unexpectedly went offline. “That comes as quite a shock. It is reported that there are six units that are […]

Humane Society International/Africa has joined forces with local South African organization Hoedspruit Animal Outreach (HALO) to improve the lives and welfare of community cats and dogs in the villages around Hoedspruit… which in turn will protect wild species in the area like the African Wild Dog. This year HSI/Africa is providing HALO (which is run […]

Stage 4 load shedding has started today. As a result of continued pressure on the national grid, Eskom today moved load shedding measures from stage 2 to stage 4. The power utility has implemented stage 4 load shedding from 1pm until 10pm. Stage 4 load shedding calls for 4000 MW to be rotationally load shed […]

The South African Hip Hop Rapper Kiernan Forbes, affectionately known as AKA has announced on his Twitter page that he has donated R100 000 to Student Representative Council (SRC), Humanitarian Fund. The rapper has shown support of the students who have been protesting at various institutions of higher learning education due to the different grievances […]

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address, delivered in Cape Town on February 7, has attracted a fair amount of praise. But while the speech scored an A for its vision and plan for economic renewal, it scored an F for education. If the amount of time spent on a topic during […]

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has unveiled a new plan for the country’s beleaguered state-owned power utility, Eskom. During his State of the Nation Address on 7 February, Ramaphosa announced that Eskom would be unbundled into “three separate entities – generation, transmission and distribution”. These would all be established “under Eskom Holdings”. This announcement has […]

Organisations are concerned the number of adoptions will decline. A debate is raging over a proposed amendment to the Child Care Act that would outlaw charging fees for adoption services. The amendment is expected to be passed by the end of the year, as part of a number of changes to the Act. Adoption is […]

For the best part of a decade, South African artist Nelson Makamo has had a deal with his 11 year-old cousin, Mapule Maoto. He pays for her studies, and she agrees to model for his colorful paintings. Today, with fans all over the world praising his work, including the likes of Oprah Winfrey, it’s turned out […]

Coming Up on Carte Blanche this week on Sunday 10 Feb in South Africa, and available to stream from Tues 12 Feb for South Africans abroad. (14-day Free Trial). Art Theft Art theft is not a common crime, but when the thieves hit, they hit big – taking expensive paintings and drawings and selling them on the black […]

The countdown to International Rare Disease Day 2019 has officially begun. Taking place on 28 February, the 12th edition of the annual event will see Rare Diseases South Africa (RDSA) increasing the visibility of rare diseases among the general public. This year’s theme, ‘Bridging the Gap’ is dedicated to living beyond diagnoses, calling attention to […]

An investigative directorate – tasked specifically with probing corruption and associated offences – is on the cards for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). President Cyril Ramaphosa made this announcement during his second State of the Nation Address (SONA) and the last of the fifth administration on Thursday evening. The President said the idea of the […]

Student leaders call off protests. Activities at Wits University were brought to a halt as student protests entered a fourth day on Thursday. About 200 students, led by the Wits Student Representative Council (SRC), went door-to-door across campuses, stopping lectures along the way. In its letter of demands sent to Wits management last week, the […]

State capture’s most visible effect is the breakdown of Metrorail. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s second State of the Nation Address (SONA) offered South Africa much hope. He spoke of plans to grow the economy, create new jobs and improve health-care. Particularly exciting was the mention of reading programmes for young learners, which we hope will make […]

U.S. shared workspace provider WeWork plans to launch in South Africa later this year, it said on Thursday, a move that would mark the first African expansion for the $47 billion New York-based company. The firm, backed by Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp, will team up with Redefine Properties, one of South Africa’s biggest real estate […]

South African President Ramaphosa has finally signed into law a new bill aimed at regulating the funding of political parties. It was approved by Parliament in June 2018. The Political Party Funding Bill, when it eventually becomes law on April 1, will enable South Africans to know who funds their political parties. The new law […]

Dispute over admitting students with debt. Wits University students said they were starting a hunger strike on Tuesday morning. About 150 people set up blankets and pillows on the floor of Solomon Mahlangu House. The sit-in followed protests on Monday, where students assisted by the SRC shut down lectures. The students are protesting against a […]

French Oil and Gas major Total’s South African offshore discovery could contain 1 billion barrels of total resources and is “probably quite big”, Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne said on Thursday. Total said it had made a significant gas condensate discovery after drilling its Brulpadda prospects on Block 11B/12B in the Outeniqua Basin. “It is gas […]

Ivonne Gentle has been looking after dying dear ones since she was six years old, when the first of her three sisters passed away from cancer… writes Julienne du Toit. By the time her third sister succumbed in 2000, Ivonne and her husband Tommie had moved from Gauteng to the little Northern Cape settlement of […]

Several dozen employees of South African state power firm Eskom picketed the firm’s headquarters on Wednesday protesting against potential job cuts and a proposal to split up the ailing company. Eskom, which supplies more than 90 per cent of the power in Africa’s most industrialised economy, is struggling with around 420 billion rands ($31 billion) […]

Staying at a hotel on the Thai island of Koh Samui in 2015, South African born Meghan Kerrigan noticed the four bottles of water she was given every day were clogging her bin with plastic. Outside her door, Chaweng beach was smothered in rubbish. It was then that she and Kohler brothers, Ryan and Matthew, […]

It will be lights, camera, and action this evening as President Cyril Ramaphosa takes to the podium in the National Assembly in Parliament to deliver his second State of the Nation Address (SONA). Considered to be one of the most important events on the Parliamentary calendar, the SONA will see scores of South Africans tune […]