Beyers Coetzee had a dream to see the elephants of Mawana Game Reserve in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, live out their days in peaceful co-existence… writes Louzel Lombard Steyn. He hoped to establish a reserve where ecology and community thrived. In the end, it was a dream he gave his life for. The 45-year-old conservationist was […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has at last directed the repatriation of South African citizens from Wuhan city in Hubei province, China… as other news comes to light that two South Africans working aboard the Japanese Diamond Princess Cruise Ship have tested positive for Coronavirus (Covid-19). According to a statement from the SA Health Department, 12 of […]

Two suspects have been arrested in connection with the tragic murder of seven-year-old Emaan Solomons – and a 31-year-old man – in Ocean View, Cape Town in South Africa, earlier this week. The community, near Kommetjie, was devastated and angered when the young girl was shot whilst playing in her own yard… caught in the […]

In a segment on his award-winning The Daily Show, South African expat and comedian Trevor Noah says: “The coronavirus is the worst global pandemic since Baby Shark” and asks (with tongue in cheek): “Is this how we die?” The talk show host also shares footage from around the world on leaders responding to the epidemic […]

The prohibition of waste pickers from accessing the Coastal Park Landfill Site near Muizenberg saw an initial confrontation with security guards on Tuesday 18 February escalate to a group of about 100 people fighting to get in at about 7pm – sunset – last Wednesday 19 February. Reinforcements were called in the next day and […]

The Basic Education Department (DBE) has suspended with immediate effect the serving of canned pilchards as part of the national school nutrition menu across all schools in the country. The decision follows a recent order by the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications that all formal wholesalers, retailers and informal traders remove and stop selling the […]

On Friday 28 February 2020, Capetonian marathon swimmer, musician and mother-of-three Carina Bruwer will attempt to swim approximately 20km to cross Nelson Mandela Bay in Port Elizabeth, in support of Muzukidz, an organisation that offers underprivileged children the opportunity to learn the violin. If successful, Carina will be the first woman and the second person […]

South Africa’s Blood Lions documentary makers have welcomed China’s announcement of an unprecedented ban on the consumption of wild animals as food… but point out it should be permanent, and not only applicable when the world’s focus is on the threat of the new coronavirus. And it should definitely include lion bones which carry the […]

A South African expat couple who own the Karoo Farm Shop in Killinick, Wexford, have won the Best Cafe Award in Ireland for their region. The Irish Restaurant Awards are known as the Irish Food Oscars, according to the Restaurant Association of Ireland. An elated Clint and Nessa Engelbrecht posted a photo with the award […]

Between Germiston and Benoni is an open metal dump where more than 20 women survive by collecting scrap metal. Daily they pick through heaps of metal waste dumped by companies on the East Rand, looking for copper, stainless steel, zinc and brass. There are no ablution facilities and the women have to use the bush […]

In December 2017, the change to the foreign employment income exemption was promulgated into law. This has widely become known as the “expat tax”. The exemption at that point was capped at R1mil, meaning that South African tax residents earning foreign employment income above this threshold would no longer be exempt from tax in South […]

The heartbroken father of a 7-year-old child who was shot dead while she played in her yard at Ocean View, Cape Town, on Tuesday night; has spoken about how he found his little girl (whom he referred to often as his ‘princess’ on Facebook)… as if she was waiting for him before she passed away. […]

Numerous groups marched to Parliament or picketed outside the gates on Wednesday, ahead of the budget speech by Minister of Finance Tito Mboweni. Cry of the Xcluded Hundreds of protesters under the banner of Cry of the Xcluded marched to Parliament as well as the civic centre demanding that government deal with the crisis of […]

The South African Government has set aside R16.4 billion to repay guaranteed debt for the struggling airline SAA, the National Treasury said on Wednesday. This comes after the SAA Board placed the airline under voluntary business rescue in December last year after the struggling state-owned entity was unable to meet financial obligations. “Since 2008/09, SAA […]

Small informal retailers are a ubiquitous feature of any developing country’s urban landscape. Known as spaza shops in South Africa, they are an important, even vital, component in the townships. Numbering over 100,000 across the nation, they make critical contributions to local food security, self-employment and community cohesion. In the last decade, the sector has […]

A Spar franchisee in South Africa has been ordered to pay millions of rands to workers for unlawful deductions on earnings, as well as non-compliance with the National Minimum Wage (NMW), said the Department of Employment and Labour.   On Monday, the department welcomed the outcome of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) […]

A raft of tax increases and curtailing the public sector wage bill are just some of the interventions anticipated to be announced by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni when he delivers the 2020 Budget. Amid South Africa’s precarious economic state, economists, in anticipation of the Budget, say Mboweni has the unenviable task of extricating the country […]

Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has handed over 249 Shova Kalula bicycles to learners from six schools in De Aar in the Northern Cape, South Africa. The bicycles were distributed on Monday through the Department of Transport’s initiative, Shova Kalula bicycle programme, aimed at assisting learners who walk more than three kilometres — but less than […]

The Department of Employment and Labour says the new rate for the National Minimum Wage (NMW) for each ordinary hour worked will now be R20.76. In terms of a notice published in the Government Gazette and signed by Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi, the new rate will be applicable on 1 March 2020. The […]

About 150 protesters marched to Parliament on Monday to mark the first day of the two-day Real Jobs Summit, part of the Cry of the Xcluded campaign over unemployment. On Sunday participants in the campaign staged a performance of a play at the V&A Waterfront amphitheatre about unemployment, climate change and domestic violence. The play was […]

Abahlali baseMjondolo Movement (ABM) marched in support of land expropriation without compensation and amending the Constitution on Monday. Protesters handed over a submission, in the form of a memorandum, on the Amendment to Section 25 of the Constitution. Deadline for public comment is Friday. About 1,000 supporters marched from King Bhekuzulu Park to Durban City […]

While there has been no case of Coronavirus reported in South Africa, people who develop symptoms of respiratory illness during or after travel to countries where the outbreak is known to be circulating, have been advised to seek early medical care. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) on Monday said it continues to monitor […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) says it is deeply disturbed by the confirmation of yet another farm murder in the province – this time in the Rosetta area, near Mooi River. The incident, which took place during the early hours of this morning, saw a farmer shot dead and another person tied up, […]

GAUTENG – Police arrested a mother, son and friend following the murder of an 84-year-old woman in Elandsfontein farm, Fochville, yesterday. The suspects were traced to Klerksdorp in the North West province where they were arrested, said the South African Police Service (SAPS) in a statement on Tuesday evening. SAPS said: “It is reported that […]

Two Saturdays ago, while most of us were sleeping, a group of South African Water Warriors headed across the country to deliver food, fodder, water and hope to desperate strangers they’ve never met in the Northern Cape town of Kenhardt, one of many places in South Africa still gripped by drought and despair that’s so […]