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 […]

The Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA) says three security officers have been suspended for an incident in December 2018, where people were reportedly escorted from Clifton 4th Beach in Cape Town. PSIRA on Monday appeared before Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs inquiry into the incident in December, where people were allegedly escorted from […]

Okay, I feel it is my citizen’s duty to inform you as a member of the public, that somewhere in your lifetime, you WILL have to go to a government department writes South African photographer Gabriel Sithole. I just picked up my new licence card… after a long and frustrating wait! I have compiled just 10 […]

South African police arrested five people – including Angelo Agrizzi, witness at a judicial inquiry into alleged state capture – on charges of corruption and fraud in the awarding of government contracts, a police spokesman said on Wednesday. Agrizzi, a former executive of a private company Bosasa, testified for more than a week on how […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver the State of the Nation Address at 19h00 on Thursday 7th February. SONA will be broadcast live on SABC TV and radio channels, DStv channel 408, eNCA and Parliament’s YouTube Channel Capetonians and visitors to the Mother City can look forward to clear skies tomorrow as the red carpet is […]

South Africa says it is actively playing its part to combat transnational organised maritime crime, while remaining committed to combating lawlessness at sea. Ambassador Mxolisi Nkosi, the Deputy Director-General of Global Governance and Continental Agenda at the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), on Tuesday addressed a United Nations Security Council debate on transnational […]

The Hawks have arrested seven suspects – including a former correctional services commissioner and Bosasa officials – on allegations of corruption, money laundering and fraud. Wednesday’s high-profile arrests follow a marathon investigation wherein almost R1.6 billion is said to have been misappropriated in the tender processes for the procurement of various services by the Department of […]

Losing her beloved grandmother during her final matric exams forced Thabiso Ndlovu to suppress the pain and soldier on in pursuit of the results she knew would make the women who helped raise her proud. Hailing from Umlazi in KwaZulu-Natal and an attendee of the Engen Maths and Science School (EMSS) hosted weekly at the […]

South Africa will in the coming days unveil a package of measures to shore up state-owned Eskom’s finances and address structural issues facing the struggling power firm, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Tuesday. “In the coming few days we will be announcing a package of measures to stabilise as well as to improve Eskom’s financial, […]

Over 10 000 cattle affected by Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) have been vaccinated to eliminate the spread of the outbreak. This follows confirmed FMD in cattle in the Vhembe District of Limpopo early this year. Updating the media on the status of FMD in Pretoria on Monday, Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Senzeni Zokwana said […]

World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director Dr Matshidiso Moeti says thousands of lives can be saved in Africa with proper cancer prevention, early detection, access to proper treatment and care. Moeti made the remarks on Monday as the world commemorates World Cancer Day. This year’s World Cancer Day is observed under the theme “I am […]

South Africa’s Lindiwe Matlali has been recognised by the Queen of England for the awesome work she does as founder and CEO of Africa Teen Geeks, a non-profit organisation that teaches school children and unemployed youth how to code. Lindiwe is the latest recipient of a Points of Light Award for 2019. Inspired by her […]

South Africa isn’t known for being, well, tame. All kinds of insanity (most of it entertaining, some of it simply terrifying) crashes into coddled North Americans like me on a daily basis. But even after two and a half years here, I’ve never felt like I’m in real danger… writes Canadian expat Phil Maloney. This is […]

Former Mozambican finance minister Manuel Chang, arrested in South Africa in connection with $2 billion in fraudulent loans, submitted an urgent bail application last week, one of his lawyers told Reuters on Monday. Chang, who has been in custody in South Africa since Dec. 29 and denies wrongdoing, had previously dropped plans to apply for […]