The Competition Tribunal has slapped pharmacy group, Dis-Chem, with a R1.2 million fine for excessively overpricing surgical masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. This comes after the company was found guilty following complaints registered by the public. The Tribunal found that Dis-Chem contravened the Competition Act for charging excessive prices for three types of surgical face […]

South Africa’s Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) has called on unions to convene their own bilateral meetings to finalise the South African Airways (SAA) restructuring plan. In a statement issued on Monday, the department said after withdrawing from the Leadership Consultative Forum (LCF), the department has had bilateral discussions with all unions, and is now […]

North West Premier Job Mokgoro has expressed condolences at the passing of the province’s Cooperative Governance, Human Settlement and Traditional Affairs MEC, Gordon Kegakilwe, who on Monday succumbed to a short but serious COVID-19-related illness. Kegakilwe was admitted with COVID-19 pneumonia on Sunday afternoon at the Vryburg Private Hospital. Upon admission, the MEC was immediately […]

The consulate of Belgium has closed its office in Johannesburg and will reopen on 13 July in Pretoria, where the embassy is located. Belgium’s office in South Africa also handles all diplomatic business for Zimbabwe, Namibia, Mozambique, Eswatini and Lesotho. “We realize that with this move, the distance to the consulate is increasing for some […]

The eighth suspect arrested over allegations of the R2 billion fraud at VBS Mutual Bank, Phillip Truter, appeared in the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes court today to face 47 charges of fraud, theft, money laundering, corruption and racketeering. Truter, the former Chief Financial Officer of VBS, was in quarantine when the other seven, including […]

At least 1,544 public servants who were involved in doing business with the state are to have action taken against them, according to the minister of Public Service and Administration Senzo Mchunu. In June Mchunu said he had written to the government departments about employees who had failed to disclose their financial interests or the […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says it is in possession of what appears to be a government document that describes the Covid-19 pandemic as an opportunity for the “macro re-organisation of the state”, and proposes to make the Command Council system a model for government beyond the lockdown, and could see South Africa’s nine provinces scrapped. […]

A British Falklands war hero, who was well known in South Africa as being part of the ‘Dagga Couple’, has been shot dead on his small holding in South Africa, bravely defending his partner from a gang of four armed robbers. Retired Royal Navy sailor Julian Stobbs, 59, was shot a number of times in […]

Following GroundUp’s report two weeks ago about how Elisa Khumalo, who is 104-years-old, had to go to the toilet in the open, two toilets have now been built for her. Khumalo who lives in Mndozo village in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, used to have to relieve herself in a roofless pit latrine with broken walls. Hearing of her plight, […]

South Africa has now recorded a confirmed 196,759 Covid-19 cases, as of 5 July 2020, according to SA’s Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize… and with 8,773 new cases recorded overnight, it is likely that in the next 24 hours the South African stats will surpass 200,000. Dr Mkhize said: “Regrettably, we report a further 173 […]

The Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation on Thursday published a wonderful photo of Archbishop Tutu and his wife Leah as they celebrate their wedding anniversary. The Foundation said: “Congratulations to our dear Founders, Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu and Mrs Leah Tutu. Today they celebrate 65 years of marriage! ??????” The Foundation has also posted […]

There’s good news for South Africans still stranded in the US and UK as South African Airways has received approvals to operate flights between London and Johannesburg, and Washington and Johannesburg. This will also benefit those South Africans stuck in SA who need to get home to jobs and families abroad. The proposed dates for […]

Several hardhitting videos on Twitter by businessman and global speaker Vusi Thembekwayo have gone viral, with him blaming ANC government corruption for the devastation the country now faces and saying that South Africa could otherwise have survived the COVID pandemic.  The videos originated from one longer video he had filmed live on Facebook Watch on […]

The Stormers rugby team spent today at the Brackengate temporary hospital in Cape Town helping to put the finishing touches to the hospital, and were thanked by Western Cape Premier Alan Winde for being out in the community and spreading awareness about COVID-19. “The team helped to move in beds and furniture, set up and […]

The National Treasury has reiterated its stance that it will not bail out South African Airways, apparently in direct conflict with Pravin Gordhan, who seems hell bent on saving the airline from liquidation. In its response to public submissions to the Supplementary Budget, the treasury today released a brief programme on what the next steps […]

A teenage schoolgirl in South Africa, Anika de Beer, tragically died on Tuesday in an aircraft she was flying solo, just days before her 17th birthday… which is tomorrow. This was her second solo flight. Just recently Anika’s delighted mum Rika and dad Andries had presented their daughter with a traditional bottle of champagne after […]

Zackie Achmat, activist and co-founder of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), stressed the need for more openness and activism during the Covid-19 crisis in South Africa. He was speaking during a webinar on Thursday in which he received the 2018 International AIDS Society (IAS) President’s Award. The award was handed to him, virtually, by outgoing […]

On their ninth wedding anniversary, Monaco’s Prince Albert II and his South African expat wife, Princess Charlène, have shared a few special family portraits on their social media channels. On the day of their anniversary – Thursday 2 July – they shared a gorgeous photo taken at the Royal Palace with their children, Prince Hereditary […]

South Africa recorded its highest number of COVID-19 cases in one day, as 8 735 people tested positive, bringing the national total to 168 061. In addition to the new cases, 95 more deaths were recorded on Thursday. Of the 95 COVID-19 related deaths, 12 are from the Eastern Cape, 38 from Gauteng, 16 from KwaZulu-Natal and […]

As positive cases of coronavirus peak in South Africa – with another 8,735 recorded on Thursday and 95 deaths, the country’s social media users have increasingly been urging each other to wear masks. This comes as Texas is making world headlines with a similar number of cases – over 8,000 on Wednesday – and introducing […]

“I was in my room washing. I asked them for one minute. Then they threw me outside.” Bulelani Qolani described how on Wednesday he was dragged naked from his home by City of Cape Town law enforcement officers sent to demolish shacks at a site called eThembeni, near Empolweni, in Khayelitsha. The video of Qolani […]

Four South African Airways unions and staff representatives have expressed an intention to sign voluntary severance packages offered as part of the airline’s business rescue and restructuring process. The three main unions, however, have so far not accepted the packages. These are the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), the SA Cabin Crew […]

The Ministry of Environmental Resources, Conservation and Tourism in Botswana has issued a press release about the recent mysterious deaths of elephants in the areas around Seronga. Since March 2020, National Park Rescue reports 356 elephant deaths of which the Botswana government said 275 elephant carcasses have been verified. Investigations into the unexplained deaths of […]

MTN South Africa has made a donation of R500,000 to a newly started relief fund to help journalists whose livelihoods have been devastated by COVID-19, and has exhorted other businesses to also help. A newly released report by the non-profit South African National Editors’ Forum, COVID19 Impact on Journalism, has highlighted the havoc that the […]

As South Africa steadily edges to its COVID-19 peak, President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged citizens not to be complacent and adhere to the regulations put in place. South Africa recorded its biggest one-day jump in new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday after another 8,124 people tested positive. “We have all seen images and this is the […]