Not even half of all school children who qualify to benefit from the National School Nutrition Programme are receiving meals, according to the Department of Basic Education (DBE) briefing to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee. This was revealed on Tuesday (1 September), when the state of reopening schools, updates on the National School Nutrition Programme, and […]

The water situation in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has reached a crisis and prompted the City to finally declare it Day Zero. Nelson Mandela Bay has declared Day Zero as dam levels fall 19%. Water is being trucked in after some areas’ taps ran dry for six days. Businesses are struggling to operate. The […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has conveyed his condolences to the family of activist and writer Achmat Dangor who passed away on Sunday. The President described the passing of the 71-year-old acclaimed author and political activist as “a loss to the literary, arts and culture fraternity and the country at large”. “Achmat Dangor was born into a […]

The National Consumer Commission (NCC) says it has received information from Pioneer Foods on its intention to recall a batch of Liqui fruit Red Grape Still 330ml cans. In a statement on Sunday, Pioneer Foods said it has received reports of small shards of glass in a single batch of Liqui Fruit Red Grape still […]

A band of citizens in inner city Johannesburg this weekend became the latest private grouping trying to make an impact on the often-overlooked and dire garbage situation plaguing the streets, and they took to one of the worst-hit areas, Hillbrow. “The CleanCitySA Adopt a Street Volunteers Network was successfully launched in Hillbrow today,” CleanCitySA said […]

A video filmed in the UK has gone viral on Twitter, showing a man with what appears to be a towel wrapped around his waist, on a construction site, yelling at a white-skinned South African (something he mentions) who is not in view. It appears that the South African may have been the foreman on […]

Did a senior High Court judge order the assassination of another judge?* We (GroundUp) have learnt that a report has been handed to the Minister of Justice that a senior judge may have ordered the assassination of another judge. The allegation was made by an awaiting trial prisoner. The report finds that the allegation cannot […]

South Africans have laid to rest the tragic teenager, Nathaniel Julies, who was allegedly gunned down by police officers in Eldorado Park, Johannesburg. With some disruption between EFF supporters and local residents, who accused the EFF of trying to hijack the funeral for their own party promotion, a service for the slain 16-year-old was conducted […]

On the first Saturday of September every year, International Vulture Awareness Day is celebrated – a time to not only reflect on the importance of vultures and the essential role they play in a healthy ecosystem, but also a time to spread awareness and take action… writes Chris Kelly, Species Director – Wildlife ACT These […]

On Wednesday the Auditor General released publicly the final first special audit report into COVID government expenditure made under TERS till the end of July – including UIF COVID-19 Ters transactions – indicating serious risks and violations. As a result, the Unemployment Insurance Found Commissioner Teboho Maruping was suspended. Here are some of the AG’s […]

The head of department for Human Settlements in Mpumalanga, who has made statements in the media before on behalf of the province, has appeared in court after it was discovered he has been living in South Africa illegally for 25 years and claimed on three separate occasions to have been born in different places in […]

The shocking death of Nateniël Julies, an innocent 16-year-old boy with Down Syndrome who was brutally gunned down on the streets of Eldorado Park – during a clash between police and suspected gang members – could herald a turning point in the manner in which South Africa’s police are trained. This week current affairs show […]

The University of Cape Town (UCT) has retained its spot as Africa’s top university, despite a drop of 19 places, tying at 155th among more than 1 500 institutions in the 2021 Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings, which were published on Wednesday, 2 September 2020. The annual THE World University Rankings assesses institutions […]

Eskom today said two station chiefs had been suspended after Stage 4 loadshedding this week was responded to with “apathetic behaviour,” and said that urgent culture change at the utility had to be accelerated. The managers of the Tutuka and Kendal power stations were summarily suspended pending disciplinary enquiries, Eskom said in a statement. It […]

The Vaal Dam has continued to fall this week, hitting levels unseen since the beginning of 2017, when large parts of the country were in the grip of a devastating drought. But other dams feeding the north of the country have kept good levels. “As the Vaal Dam persists to drop week-on-week, it now hovers […]

In a bid to sell more South African wine overseas, a new matchmaking portal has been launched to bring together buyers and sellers of Western Cape wine. Cape Export Network is a platform for South African wine producers to freely advertise their products and connect them with international importers and buyers of wine, and has […]

The Eastern Cape, which in 2018 changed the name of Grahamstown to Makhanda, is at it again. This time it wants to change East London, King William’s Town, Berlin and the East London Airport. The proposals are to change the name of East London to KuGompo, King William’s Town to Qonce, Berlin to Ntabozuko and […]

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen says it is unfortunate that, in leaving the party he (until recently) wished to lead, John Moodey – who resigned as DA Gauteng Leader yesterday – has “spread blatant falsehoods which appear to be an attempt to justify his reasons for leaving”. Addressing the media today, Steenhuisen said it’s […]

Law enforcement agencies are working together to probe the breaches of the COVID-19 Temporary Employee/Employer Relief Scheme (TERS) in South Africa. The benefit scheme was established to provide much needed relief to employees, who have been laid-off work or unable to earn an income due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In his first special audit report […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) Provincial Executive Committee in Gauteng has appointed the DA Gauteng Caucus Leader, Solly Msimanga MPL to the position of acting DA Gauteng Provincial Leader. This follows the resignation of John Moodey earlier today. Msimanga is a former Provincial Chairperson. He is the Leader of the Official Opposition in the Gauteng Provincial […]

The Passenger Railways Association of South Africa, clawing its way back from years of mismanagement and corruption, has a new man in charge after a court order last week ruled that the appointment of an administrator in December last year was unlawful. “We are pleased that the National Treasury has appointed Mr Badisa Matshego as […]

Kebone Masange, the head of the department of human settlements in Mpumalanga, was arrested in Pretoria today by Home Affairs officials for allegedly being in possession of numerous identity documents, according to a news report in City Press. The story also said that he had not been vetted for the position when he got it […]

Poor financial management by public institutions once again reared its ugly head in South Africa during the disbursement of COVID-19 relief scheme funds, an audit report has found. The synopsis is contained in Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu’s first of a series of special reports on the financial management of government’s R500 billion COVID-19 relief package. The […]

Despite Eskom’s inability to meet the country’s electricity needs and plunging everyone into darkness with loadshedding – taken to Stage 4 today – the government rejects alternatives because it wants Eskom to keep its monopoly, according to the Democratic Alliance. “At a time when the country desperately needs economic growth, Eskom once again plunges us […]

The chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Inkosi Zwelivelile Mandela, has warned that attacks on farms threaten food security, employment and the economy. “Both farm workers and farm owners are of equal importance in the agricultural chain,” Mandela said. He made the remarks following the recent attacks on four […]