As many as two dozen ships at a time could be seen lying anchored in Table Bay the last few weeks, while berths in the harbour were almost empty. The Western Cape government said it has requested a meeting with Minister Pravin Gordhan to deal with the challenges facing Cape Town harbour that are losing […]

The prevalence of vitamin D deficiency, and the number of diseases associated with it, seems to be increasing worldwide. Africa is known to have a huge burden of disease, but little is known about the prevalence of vitamin D deficiency. In our recent paper, we reviewed and analysed all published studies that assessed the vitamin […]

The adjustments to the 2020 budget partly cushion the initial blow of the COVID-19 pandemic and the government’s lockdown. But the relief is only temporary and measures to contain the growth in debt will bite hard in years to come. Some cried wolf about austerity budgets in South Africa after the global financial crisis in […]

Government has welcomed two high court judgments dismissing challenges related to the Disaster Management Act and its regulations. On 26 June, the Western Cape High Court dismissed an application that sought to challenge the constitutionality of the National Coronavirus Command Council as a subcommittee of Cabinet. In a separate case, the Gauteng High Court dismissed […]

South Africa’s President – and Chairperson of the Africa Union – Cyril Ramaphosa has congratulated Dr Lazarus Chakwera on his historic election as the President of the Republic of Malawi. Dr Chakwera posted a short message on Twitter on Sunday evening, saying: “It’s an honour.” President Ramaphosa has also congratulated all stakeholders for the success […]

As predicted by the South African Weather Service (SAWS), a cold front made landfall this morning in the South West Cape, bringing with it sheets of hard rain and gale force winds… reminding locals why it’s known as the Cape of Storms. SAWS cautioned residents to keep checking for alerts and “stay safe”. “Rain is […]

The South African cabinet has said it supports the establishment of a new airline out of South African Airways and has backed the concerted efforts to mobilise funding from various sources that could see the proposed carrier take off. The mobilising of funding would include potential equity partners, government said in a post-Cabinet meeting statement. […]

Whether you pour one litre of water into a bucket riddled with holes, or a thousand litres, the outcome will be the same: There will be no water left. So writes Theo de Jager, head of the SA Agri Initiative (SAAi) and president of the World Agricultural Organisation. The bottom line of Finance Minister Tito […]

Saai, an organisation that represents the interests of family farmers, will be in the Western Cape High Court in early August 2020 on behalf of farmers and farmworkers to have the government’s regulations on the banning of legal tobacco sales declared unconstitutional and invalid. The case will be heard together with nine other applicants, headed […]

Cinemas, restaurants, theatres and casinos can start operating again, albeit under strict conditions, after having closed for three months in the COVID-19 enforced lockdown. Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, on Thursday signed and gazetted an amendment to the regulations for the advanced COVID-19 alert level 3 lockdown. Restaurants have […]

It’s happened again. In spite of holding all necessary legal documentation from the South African Embassy in China, 23 South Africans have been refused permission to board a connecting flight on Air Asia from Guangzhou in China to Kuala Lumpur, after which they would be repatriated home to SA. Some, who had spent their last […]

Zeblon Vilakazi, a professor who is “globally recognised for his scientific work,” has been selected to replace Professor Adam Habib as the next vice-chancellor and principal of the University of Witwatersrand. He will take over his role on 1 January. Professor Vilakazi’s appointment was announced today by the Council of the University of the Witwatersrand […]

The government has promised that the calamitous journey of its Medupi power plant, said to be the fourth-biggest in the world and first started in 2007, will be over this year and its sister plant Kusile completed in 2023. This was stated when Deputy President David Mabuza answered a question in Parliament today. He said […]

Two nurses at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, yesterday shared the heartbreaking reality of their working lives right now, during these Covid-19 times… when a coronavirus cure is still but a dream, and being admitted to ICU is a nightmare for the patients, their family who can’t visit and the medical staff […]

After the arrest of eight of the top officials of VBS Mutual Bank last week for their alleged involvement in the plundering of R2 billion from the bank, the first member of a municipality has been arrested. The acting CFO of the Merafong Municipality west of Johannesburg, Thys Wienekus, was arrested earlier today for his […]

The number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in South Africa is increasing exponentially since the relaxation of stringent regulations, as the economy opens for more industries to operate, says the SA government.   South Africa recorded 103 more deaths and 5 688 new positive cases on Wednesday – the country’s single biggest jump since the Coronavirus […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has requested a debate in the National Assembly on the “scourge” of farm attacks and murders across rural South Africa, many of which have been “particularly heinous in nature with brutal torture”. These attacks, they say, are a “national emergency” which must be addressed as a matter of urgency. In a […]

On Monday it was announced that President Cyril Ramaphosa had referred the contentious Copyright Amendment Bill back to Parliament on the basis that a number of its provisions are unconstitutional. This was 15 months after it had been passed by Parliament, more than 3 years after it had been formally introduced, and 9 years after […]

The Department of Public Enterprises has welcomed the court judgment, which will see the creditors’ meeting to vote on the #SAA business rescue plan, go ahead as planned today. The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) has welcomed the judgment to strike off the roll an urgent court application by SA Airlink. The airline this week […]

Two female officers and one senior male officer from the Tshwane Metro Police Department have tested positive for COVID-19. The 51-year-old, a senior superintendent and a 37-year-old female constable, tested positive on 17 June 2020 at Number 1 Madiba Street. The building was closed for two days to allow for the disinfection process to take […]

South African Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa has approved plans for the resumption of football. “The plans of the Premier Soccer League have been approved, considering the mitigation strategies and plans in relation to the level 3 risk adjusted strategy in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic,” the Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture said […]

Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia de Lille says the South African government has so far spent R17-million to procure quarantine sites. Responding to a question when Ministers in the Economic Cluster fielded oral questions in the National Assembly, De Lille said there was a need to find a bigger balance between finding private and […]

World Animal Protection has issued a statement on Wednesday in response to news of the African Swine Fever outbreak in Nigeria, which is predicted to kill a quarter of all pigs in the world.. Dr Victor Yamo, Farming Campaigns Manager at World Animal Protection says: “We are facing unprecedented times with the outbreak of zoonotic […]

The government will need to borrow $7 billion from international finance institutions as one of the measures to cover the budget hole brought about by South Africa’s response to COVID-19, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said today during his supplementary budget. “Debt is our weakness. We have accumulated far too much debt. This downturn will add […]

South Africa’s economy is projected to contract by 7.2 percent in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Finance Minister Tito Mboweni. “This is the largest contraction in nearly 90 years,” he said tabling the Supplementary Budget Review. Inflation will likely register 3 percent in 2020. “Commodity price increases and a weaker […]