Sjoe South Africa. The paler ones, in particular. Those Dischem trolley acts of rebellion are doff, writes Kim Stephens, author of the fantastic Hold The Line. Here’s why… You’re angry about that leaked Dischem employment policy (see bottom of page), so you’re filling your trolley with stuff and then walking out of the store, all smirk in […]

Valentine’s Day is only a week away when the world focuses on LOVE. One of the country’s foremost professional matchmakers warns that modern living with all its stresses and technological advances can rob South Africans of the necessary skills to create and maintain healthy relationships. Kas Naidoo believes that SA’s alarming divorce rate could be lowered if […]

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 African expat Nitanja Steyn has lived in the Netherlands, the US and Germany since leaving SA in 2014. But no matter where she lives… her heart belongs back home in South Africa. Yesterday she penned a poignant poem ‘Die Verlanging van ‘n Suid-Afrikaner’, in Afrikaans (see below). Here she has kindly translated it into […]

LIODA CONRAD, a metaphysical artist, has described the loss and love experienced during the harrowing hours during and after fleeing from the devastating Knysna Fire… in a post, with photos and video, that have gone viral. Lioda writes: “Shell-shocked, exhausted and close to tears. So much loss and devastation, it’s hard to take it all in. […]

US President Donald Trump’s norm-breaking campaign and early reign has been compared to several other divisive historical figures, especially previous American presidents. But when it comes to the style in which he communicates, there’s an uncanny resemblance to a notorious African dictator from the 1970s. For those that lived during Idi Amin’s vicious reign in […]

Daniel Sutherland – who describes himself as a Cape Town-based amateur writer who likes to fight for the truth, as well as being a patriotic South African – has penned his theory on how the Guptas became so powerful in South Africa. “The Gupta family read and analysed our country’s fault-lines. The father sent his […]

Africa is not the cradle of humankind: that’s the claim by a group of scientists who’ve just published what they describe as evidence of pre-human remains found in Eastern Europe (Greece and Bulgaria). The fossils in question belong to Graecopithecus freybergi, and are a little more than seven million years old. This would make them […]

Dear Ms Madikane, Thank you for putting your story in writing to me, through an open letter published in GroundUp. We have indeed met and spoken on several occasions, about the growing demand for housing and access to land in Cape Town, and about your personal struggles in particular. Let me deal with the broader […]

It’s domestic workers’ struggle for housing, not a hidden agenda, that is behind the campaign for Tafelberg… Dear Premier Zille My name is Sheila Madikane. I am a domestic worker, a housing activist, and one of the leaders of Reclaim the City. We have met a number of times over the last few weeks at […]

Many would like to consign the polarising debate about “white monopoly capitalism” (WMC) in South Africa to the margins. They argue that its proponents are nothing more than Marxist ideologues or mischievous political manipulators But, even if we query the integrity of the term WMC, its introduction into South Africa’s contemporary discourse is indisputably good […]

I had a great life in Canada. I was comfortable. My career was on the right path. We were close to family and friends. Then, I was talking to one of our senior VPs one day, and he brought up the possibility of me taking a position with the company in South Africa… One catch […]

As South Africa’s political climate goes from fractious to feverish, with protests mounting against the embattled president, Jacob Zuma, a former national leader and titan of the ANC has waded into the fray. Thabo Mbeki, who led South Africa between 1999 and 2008, recently wrote about the possibility of another no confidence motion against Zuma, […]

From early April I understand short-term commercial bank deposits to have shot up, indicative of a pullback by average SA businesses in their economic activity. Yesterday there were more impressions about activity levels in April in the SA economy. These are the first real readings after the Zuma reshuffle in late March shocked many senseless. […]

We can’t go on but we must go on… writes CHRIS WALDBURGER. A lot of white people are angry in South Africa. They are angry about being blamed for being privileged, for inequality, and for all the aftershocks of apartheid. They are angry about BEE, quotas in sport, and a terrible ANC leader. They are […]

The language of Afrikaans remains a contested issue in South Africa. The controversy over the medium of instruction at traditionally Afrikaans universities such as Stellenbosch has brought this to the fore again. Should it be in Afrikaans, English, a combination, or a hybrid which will include other South African languages? The language of Afrikaans remains […]

Immigration is not for the faint of heart. You have to really want to make it work and be willing to go to extreme lengths to do so, or else you will become one of the statistics of South Africans returning to their home country… writes guest contributor ADELE. According to statistics, almost half a […]

(Almost) Every South African is currently re-evaluating their situation and reconsidering their decision to stay in South Africa. And who can blame us? writes guest contributor ADELE. There are so many things happening right now like our newly acquired #junkstatus and the dismissal of our Finance Minister, that it leaves my head spinning just thinking about […]

It’s a very difficult thing on occasion to ignore what’s going on around you. Or at least, not to react too negatively towards it. Being one who doesn’t read the newspaper or watch the news on TV, I pretty much get wind of happenings on social media (cue Facebook and Twitter…) With everything that’s been […]

Like many, this Easter I feel that the dream of South Africa feels more like a nightmare. Personal interests, corruption, private gain, entitlement, a vicious contempt for the poor and the common good, a culture of blatant lies and cronyism — and possibly worse — dominate our public landscape. This past week, the nightmare got […]

South African teen blogger DYLAN ELS has written this open letter to President Jacob Zuma. He has also emailed it to the Presidency and relevant staff. With Dylan’s permission, we hereby republish it: DEAR MR. PRESIDENT We live in an age where leadership is needed; an age where leadership can be both dangerous and beautiful. South […]

It’s remarkable how a South African politician as intelligent as Helen Zille, premier of the Western Cape and former leader of the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA), did something so unutterably stupid. I am referring, of course, to her notorious tweet stating that not everything about colonialism was bad. It’s remarkable how a South African politician […]

The call for radical economic transformation has grown louder following President Jacob Zuma’s 2017 State of the Nation Address. Accompanying these calls is a line of argument that says “white monopoly capital” is to blame for the fact that the majority of black South Africans remain marginalised from the mainstream economy 22 years after apartheid […]

The Mo Ibrahim Foundation recently announced that once again, no-one had earned its annual prize for Achievement in African Leadership. The prize is meant to recognise probity and commitment to democracy and, crucially, it is awarded to people who have relinquished power with grace rather than outstaying their welcome. Alas, such people are few and […]

In 1980 there were 127 000 commercial farmers serving a population of 25 million people. As a result South Africa used to feed nine neighbouring countries… writes MENZI SOLOMON SHANGE. In 2016 there are only 30 000 commercial farmers left serving a population of 55.9 million people. The ANC are well informed on this statistic […]