Government is engaging with mobile operators on the best ways to reduce the high cost of data without interfering with the work of regulators, says Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams. Government’s efforts follow the release of the Competition Commission’s market inquiry report into mobile data services, which found that South Africa’s data prices […]

Two former Eskom senior managers are among those arrested in South Africa for alleged fraud, corruption and money laundering worth R745 million. Hawks spokesperson, Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said the former managers as well as two other business directors among others, were arrested in the early hours of Thursday in Mpumalanga, Limpopo and Gauteng provinces by […]

The South African government says it has noted rating agency Fitch’s decision to affirm South Africa’s long-term foreign and local currency debt ratings at ‘BB+’ and maintain the negative outlook. The country’s foreign and local credit ratings by the agency, therefore, remain one notch below investment grade. According to Fitch, South Africa’s ratings are constrained […]

The government is due to announce its decision on a massive new wind energy project on the West Coast within the next two weeks. This is the proposed 140MW Boulders Wind Farm. It will consisting of 45 turbines standing 165m high. The German-owned developer plans to erect it on farmland close to Paternoster, Britannia Bay, […]

Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Thoko Didiza has submitted a detailed plan on the redevelopment of District Six to the Land Claims Court. The submission of the detailed plan comes after the litigation brought by the District Six Working Committee against the 5th administration of government. In November 2018, the court directed that […]

South Africa’s national carrier, South African Airways, has been placed in voluntary business rescue. It’s an historic moment as it’s the first business rescue attempt of a state owned entity. The decision places the country in unfamiliar territory – politically, economically and legally. What happens next will determine whether the decision was the right one […]

The joyous occasion in the beautiful Western Cape town in South Africa was marked by a serious and frightening theme. Barrydale held its annual giant puppet parade and performance on Sunday. Music, dance, dress-up and puppets brought the town to life as it celebrated the tenth year of this event. Titled “The Final Spring”, the […]

As the generation plant continues to perform at low levels of reliability, Eskom is today implementing Stage 2 rotational load shedding, it said in a statement on Friday. “Load shedding will be required all day to cater for further trips and to create capacity to replenish water reserves for our pumped storage schemes. Eskom will […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says it is “disgusted” after carefully studying South Africa’s revised ministerial handbook… which in effect has very little change to the 5-star lifestyle afforded Ministers at the South African tax payers’ expense (not to mention retired ministers too!). According to Leon Schreiber, DA Shadow Minister for Public Service and Administration, the […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has assured South Africans that power utility Eskom will keep the lights on this Christmas, and has revealed that the latest crisis was caused in part by deliberate sabotage. (Watch below.) President Ramaphosa said it has been established that there was an act of sabotage that saw the already constrained system shed […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has cut short his trip to Egypt, so that he can today – Wed 11 December – attend to the load shedding crisis that is detrimentally affecting South African business and the people of the country. The Presidency said in a statement that Ramaphosa will meet with the Board and Management of […]

The Council Meeting called for Wednesday 11 December 2019 is illegal, and any decisions taken at that meeting are null and void, according to the Democratic Alliance’s  Mike Moriarty, Gauteng Provincial Chairperson “Whether or not one agrees with the ruling made by the Chair of Chairs, Alex Christians, last Thursday, 5 December 2019, regarding the […]

The South African Government has conveyed its condolences to the family and friends of struggle stalwart, Prof Ben Turok. “Government mourns the passing of this great patriot and great South African whose resilience and courage inspired the fight for freedom across South Africa and Africa,” a statement issued by the Government Communication and Information Systems […]

The board of South Africa’s national airlines recently took a unanimous decision to go into voluntary business rescue. The step removes the threat of the directors being sued by creditors for reckless trading – for now, at least. The airline told its staff two weeks ago that it wouldn’t be able to pay staff salaries. […]

Nicholaas E B Delport, a Warrant Officer in the South African Police Service (SAPS), has published a post (that’s going viral) in defence of the many amazing, dedicated, hard-working and honest SA police officers in the country. Delport, who works in the Division Forensics said he needed to get this off his chest after a […]

The unprecedented stage 6 rolling blackouts, announced by Eskom on Monday, have been reduced to Stage 4 (which is still not fun for those experiencing it!). In a statement, the opposition party – the Democratic Alliance (DA) – said this evening’s announcement that for the first time in South Africa’s history, Eskom would implement Stage […]

The economic outlook for 2020 is gloomy for us in South Africa… writes Andrew Robinson. Our GDP is shrinking, our economy is stagnant and we’re teetering on a rating downgrade. Our state-owned enterprises are failing, we have an above-average public sector wage bill and substantial budget deficit. And while the official stats don’t show an […]

Incessant rains which hit the country last week are impacting coal handling and operations, could lead to load shedding for the rest of the week, Eskom said on Monday. “We are beginning to experience flooding at some power stations, which is impacting coal handling and operations which could further lead to capacity load losses and […]

South African expats continue to thrive and prove their business acumen in countries abroad. The latest in a long line of success stories is Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, who has just been appointed the new boss of Optus in Australia… a company well known to South Africans living in Australia as it is the country’s second […]

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has taken the decision to put South African Airways, the cash-strapped national flag carrier, into voluntary business rescue. Caroline Southey from the Conversation Africa asked Professor Marius Pretorius to explain how the process works. Epa/Udo Weitz What is a business rescue? It’s what is known in the European Union as […]

Due to a “shortage of capacity”, Eskom is this afternoon implementing Stage 2 load shedding in South Africa. In a tweet on Thursday, the power utility said: “Eskom regrets that Stage 2 load shedding will be implemented from 4pm to 11pm today due to a shortage of capacity.” Earlier in the day Eskom had warned that […]

The Lesotho Highlands Water Project (LHWP) tunnel has been re-opened with water already reaching the Saulspoort Dam in Bethlehem in the Free State. The water project was closed for two months to allow for inspection and maintenance. Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu said the replenishing of the tunnel started on 20 November […]

South African Airways (SAA) will be put into ‘Business Rescue’, which will prevent further multi-billion rand taxpayer bailouts to the national carrier, and avoid liquidation. An official statement has not yet been released but a letter to cabinet and deputy ministers was reportedly sent out, informing them that President Cyril Ramaphosa has made the decision […]

As parts of South Africa continue to experience the effects of a severe drought, Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has announced immediate and long-term measures to mitigate the resulting risks. Parts of the country have been devastated by the lengthy drought. These photos here were posted this weekend, taken in the Great […]

Motorists will have to dig even deeper into their pockets at the pumps, as South Africa’s petrol price is set to go up by 22 cents a litre tomorrow, 4 December 2019. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy announced a 22 cents increase in both grades of petrol, namely 93 (ULP and LRP) and […]