Thousands of South Africans arrested for minor infringements of lockdown rules, and forced to pay admission of guilt fines (to stay out of jail), have now earned themselves criminal records. According to current affairs show, Carte Blanche, these people were going about lawful essential tasks of buying food, prepaid electricity and fetching their children. They […]

The Democratic Alliance says Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma apparently lied to South Africans when she justified the continued ban on the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products, and if she did she deserves to be fired. The DA said in a statement today that in court papers responding to a […]

Paul* carries a small satchel on his back. You wouldn’t know that inside is a carton of cigarettes and sachets of whisky. He will sell them to informal miners in Payneville, Springs, and sometimes in Benoni. “Miners buy all the sachets; no questions asked. Sometimes l can go back into town [Springs] to buy stock […]

After several years without permanent CEOs, the much suffering Passenger Railway Association of South Africa today saw the appointment of several strong candidates to fill the CEO positions in the rail and bus divisions. The announcement of Nosipho Damasane, previously chief of the Bombela Operating Company that runs the Gautrain, as head of Prasa’s rail […]

I liked this ‘Back to School’ image because what I would really love right now is a road sign telling me exactly what direction to take… says South African GP Dr Rosie Carey (known as Dr Rosie to patients). Instead, my internal compass resembles one of those old city maps of Granada, with crooked narrow […]

The South African National Space Agency (SANSA) has entered into a partnership with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to host a Deep Space Ground Station. The station, which will be based in Matjiesfontein in the Western Cape, will support human spaceflight missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond. It will be integrated into […]

Parisians were Thursday night celebrating as the French Prime Minister announced relaxed regulations for the next phase of de-confinement, which begins on 2 June… just a day after South Africa’s level 3 kicks in, which has not been met with as much joy, but the two countries are at different stages on the curve. South […]

COGTA Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s Level 3 regulations for South Africa, released today, have been met with frustration and widespread shock and horror. The keyword in response seemed to be “irrational” with the DA adding that the regulations “lack scientific basis” and AfriForum demanding  the Minister recall them. The DA said it will use all […]

The Democratic Alliance has rejected as a sham the South African National Defence Force’s decision to exonerate the soldiers allegedly involved in the death of an Alexandra resident, Collins Khosa. It was reported yesterday that an internal SANDF probe exonerated the soldiers, although a police investigation is continuing. In papers before the North Gauteng High […]

The government has released regulations about what is and isn’t allowed under Level 3 of lockdown, starting on 1 June, saying that exercise can take place between 6am and 6pm, and liquor can be sold Monday to Thursday 9am to 5pm. The changes were announced today by ministers Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma and Ebrahim Patel. What still […]

The whole country will move to level 3 lockdown from 1 June, including areas identified as hotspots, according to Health Minister Zweli Mkhize. Mkhize clarified this after confusion was created when an old slide was presented stating hotspots would remain at level 4 and was also making rounds on social media. However, if these areas […]

As a philanthropist rather than a psychologist I know more about people helping each other than I know about why they do it. What I know at the moment is that we’re seeing much more in the way of actual help for those affected by coronavirus than I’ve seen for any other cause, anywhere in […]

A group of mostly elderly women from KwaMnyandu in Elandskop near Pietermaritzburg have dug up an old spring so their village can have uninterrupted water supply. The women cleared away trees and shrubbery and some of the men in the village helped them dig and connect the pipes to supply water to many homes in […]

A temporary Covid-19 hospital has been built in Cape Town’s Khayelitsha with the generosity of Doctors Without Borders/MSF Southern Africa, to handle the spillover of extra patients from Khayelitsha Hospital that are expected over the coming weeks. In chilling video footage (watch below), filmed by Western Cape amateur film maker Gershwin Christian Williams, the harsh […]

Space-X has announced that it is standing down from today’s launch “due to unfavourable weather in the flight path”. The next launch opportunity is Saturday, May 30 at 3:22 p.m. EDT, or 19:22 UTC, says Space-X. Space-X founder and South African expat Elon Musk’s mission got very close to lift-off, with the crew settled in, […]

Watch the video below for the live television coverage of the launch of Crew Dragon from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center at 10.33pm South African time, the first time a private company – SA expat Elon Musk’s Space-X – will travel to the International Space Station. The two astronauts on board are best friends and seasoned […]

Dudu Myeni, who was chairman of the board of South African Airways for five years from 2012 and “made headline news for the wrong reasons,” has been declared a delinquent director and will not be allowed to hold directorships of other companies. Judgment was handed down in the Pretoria High Court today in favour of […]

South African expat Elon Musk is poised to make American history tonight, 27 May 2020, when his company Space-X sends two astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center. And his proud mother, model Maye Musk, has posted a photo of her and Elon when he was just a baby in […]

Only a week after saying that there would be just three days of loadshedding this winter, Eskom has asked South Africans to turn off all unnecessary electrical items because the system is under severe pressure. In a tweet on Wednesday afternoon, it said, “Our power system is under severe pressure. Please switch off all unnecessary […]

Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Minister of Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs, has been served a lawyer’s letter on Wednesday by AfriForum, informing her that the organisation plans to take further legal action if the smoking ban is not lifted. This ban refers to the sale of tobacco products that are currently illegal, AfriForum said in a […]

The dust seems to have settled around the matter of Professor Glenda Gray, who was critical of the unscientific nature of some of the lockdown measures, drawing the ire of a Department of Health official who said she should be investigated by the South African Medical Research Council. The council on Tuesday said that after […]

With the weather service predicting more snow tomorrow, some roads in the Eastern Cape, especially near Graaff-Reinet, were temporarily closed. The N9 from Graaff-Reine to Middelburg and the R61 from Cradock towards the N9 were closed as the result of dangerous driving conditions due to snowfall, but according to news reports have been opened again […]

As the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases rises to 24 264, South Africa is working around the clock to ramp up its testing capacity. However, South Africa is now faced with the challenge of a shortage of test kits – a problem not unique to the country. “As a country, we are now facing a […]

Low-income families have increased their spending on food by more than 30% since March when the national Covid-19 lockdown began. This is according to a report published by the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice and Dignity Group (PEJDG) on Tuesday. The Group collected its food price data from five supermarkets and four butcheries that serve poor households […]

Churches, mosques, synagogues and other places of worship in South Africa may resume their services under level 3 of lockdown… with strict conditions in place, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Tuesday evening. In March, places of worship were forced to close their doors to congregants, as government implemented a nationwide lockdown to curb the spread […]