Each month, 7.5% of workers’ salaries are deducted by the Post Office as a contribution to the Post Office Retirement Fund. The employer’s contribution is supposed to be 13.55% of each worker’s salary. But for three years, neither amount has been paid in by the South African Post Office (SAPO). The Post Office has been […]

GroundUp has received an instruction from its US-based internet hosting service to take down one of its own stories about dodgy lawyer Lesley Ramulifho after it received a breach of copyright complaint. Failure to comply would result in access to GroundUp’s website being restricted, GroundUp was warned in an email from Akamai Cloud Computing Services. […]

Health Minister, Dr Joe Phaahla, has called for vigilance and for the public not to panic as the country records two positive cases of diphtheria disease. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD), a division of the National Health Laboratory Service (NHLS), has alerted the department of two laboratory-confirmed cases of diphtheria disease that were […]

As the South African government appears to be trying to “clear the way” for Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit SA in August for the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, SA) Summit, the DA has again expressed concern over SA’s alleged sale of arms to Russia in December 2022, which recently came to light. Today […]

Article originally published on GroundUp By Steve Kretzmann The Post Office has been deducting pension fund contributions from workers’ salaries, but the last time any money was paid over to the retirement fund was in April 2020. Authorities will not say how much is owed to the retirement fund, but it may be R1-billion. If the Post Office […]

A 1-year-old baby died and 23 people were reported missing after a hippo capsized a boat on a river in southern Malawi. According to Aljazeera, the incident occurred on Monday morning, 15 May the Shire River, Malawi’s largest river. The boat had 37 passengers. THIRTEEN PEOPLE RESCUED Thirteen people were rescued by the Malawian police and […]

The Langa Dompas Museum in Cape Town is steeped in the history of the township which celebrates its centenary this year. The buildings used to house the offices of the Bantu Affairs Administration which issued the dreaded “pass” that Africans had to carry in “white” areas under apartheid. It was a criminal offence not to […]

What happens when a whistleblower decides to copy and steal an employer’s secret information and give it to the media? Two recent stories, in America and South Africa, brought this question to the fore. Everything about Donald J Trump is big — a Wikipedia page is dedicated to his litigation list alone. One of these piqued particular […]

According to the 2021 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS 2021), a staggering 81 percent of the country’s grade 4’s lack the ability to read for meaning in any of the official languages. 12 426 grade 4’s were tested and compared to other learners in 42 different countries. South Africa did not fair very […]

A shocking video has emerged showing that an Eastern Cape hospital, more specifically the paediatric unit, is INFESTED with RATS. WATCH AS THIS EASTERN CAPE HOSPITAL IS INFESTED WITH RATS According to a report by The Daily Maverick, the doctors and nurses have raised their concerns over a rat infestation in the paediatric unit of Dora […]

A 52-year-old woman from Phoenix in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa, recently woke up in a mortuary freezer at the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital! Constantia Junior Govender had allegedly been declared dead by doctors at the hospital. The KZN Department of Health says it will issue an official response once it completes an investigation into the […]

An international literacy study has confirmed that 81% of South Africa’s grade 4 children could not read for meaning in any language in 2021, almost exactly the same proportion as in 2011. This means that a decade of slow progress in reading has been wiped out. 81% of grade 4 children in South African could […]

Minister of Transport Sindisiwe Chikunga has replied with a flat “no” to plans by the City of Cape Town to take over the passenger rail service in the city. The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) has no intention of devolving the railway services, she told GroundUp during a visit to the Northern Line […]

Dwindling advertising from government is hitting community newspapers and stifling media diversity, says Mbali Dhlomo, editor of Intuthuko Newspaper in Durban. Advertising support from the government to community newspapers has been dwindling and, in some cases, has completely stopped. Community newspapers fear this could lead to further closures. The Association of Independent Publishers says these […]

The National Consumer Commission (NCC) has warned South African consumers to exercise caution when dealing with Milo Designs. The supplier seems to be a scam purporting to be an online store that designs and sells furniture, using different social media platforms. This comes after complaints from consumers alleging that they have been scammed by Milo […]

Eskom said in a statement on Tuesday evening that it notes « with concern various social media posts claiming that the country will soon experience a blackout or collapse of the national electricity grid. Eskom refutes these claims and would like to assure South Africans that there are measures in place to avoid the collapse […]

The recently released unemployment statistics reveal that the unemployment rate in South Africa rises again in the fourth quarter. ALSO READ: Ramaphosa more of a ‘country-club manager’ than a president, says De Ruyter SLIGHT INCREASE IN UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IN Q4 Statistics South Africa has published the results of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for Q3 2023, […]

Searching for the latest trending videos on Twitter can be frustrating as everyone tries to ride the hashtag wave. Watch this video of a man who dies on stage while dancing at his niece’s wedding. ALSO READ: Reviving the use of natural leaves as packaging for traditional food Follow us on Twitter to watch the latest trending videos – and […]

More than 20 learners allegedly suffered injuries on Monday morning when lightning allegedly struck Akani Junior Primary School in the Greater Tzaneen community of N’wamitwa. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE LEARNERS? The lightning struck the school as learners were preparing to begin their regular classes. The sixth-grade class was the most affected. The school requested emergency assistance, and […]

While South Africa faces a deepening literacy crisis, teachers in Makhanda are battling in overcrowded classrooms. They need more teachers. They need more funds. Learners need one-on-one support. Last week Viewfinder and GroundUp revealed that the Department of Basic Education has failed to implement its National Reading Plan. The country’s literacy crisis is acute: the vast majority […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa, through his weekly newsletter to the nation, has reiterated South Africa’s stance that the conflict between Russia and Ukraine must be resolved through negotiation and peaceful means. This is after the US Ambassador to South Africa, Reuben Brigety, said that South Africa supplied weapons to Russia after a Russian vessel, known as […]

Fifteen men were stripped naked in South Africa and doused with petrol, and then cruelly set alight in a horror attack in which eight victims were burned to death alive on Sunday night. Four survivors are fighting for their lives in hospital while three others were less seriously burned in what is believed to be […]

Approximately 302 893 lost job opportunities in Gauteng due to load shedding. The Democratic Alliance (DA), said this information was revealed in a reply to its questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL). INCREASE IN JOB LOSSES DUE TO CONTINUOUS ROLLING BLACKOUTS “According to the Gauteng MEC for Economic Development, Tasneem Motara, the country […]

Fourteen hikers had to be rescued from Tsitsikamma hiking trail on the Garden Route in South Africa after becoming cut off by swollen, flooded rivers on Friday. The hiking group – which included 12 university students – were reportedly cut off on the trail by the heavy flowing Lottering River, on the north eastern side […]

Bail hearings for five of the eight accused in the Thabo Bester saga continued for a second day on Friday. Police officer Tieho Jobo Flyman testified how a decoy body was smuggled into the Mangaung prison and how money changed hands before and after the escape. The police’s investigating officer Tieho Flyman gave evidence of […]