Former SA Revenue Service (SARS) deputy commissioner Edward Kieswetter has been appointed as the new Commissioner for South African Revenue Service (SARS). President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Wednesday that Kieswetter will lead the revenue service for the next five years starting on 1 May. The National Treasury was confident that the selection process that was […]

On Monday while many people drove, bussed, cycled or walked to work… there was a doctor in KwaZulu-Natal who not only walked over an hour with a bag of heavy medication on his back, but even swam across a river to make sure he reached his patients! Dr John Michell, who studied at the University […]

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane has written to the Zondo Commission requesting President Ramaphosa be subpoenaed to testify before 8 May when South Africans vote. Maimane said in a statement on Wednesday: “The revelations emanating from testimony before the Zondo Commission into State Capture yesterday confirm that President Ramaphosa and his family are deeply […]

BEIRA, Mozambique – Cyclone Idai’s deadly hit has left some 1.85 million people in need of assistance in Mozambique in a catastrophe that United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday rang “yet another alarm bell” about climate change. Guterres described Idai, which flattened homes and caused massive flooding after slamming into Mozambique near the […]

JOHANNESBURG – Former South African president Jacob Zuma’s son Duduzane has pleaded not guilty in a Johannesburg court to culpable homicide and negligent driving relating to a fatal car accident in 2014. Duduzane appeared in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. Driving a Porsche sports car, Duduzane crashed into a minivan taxi on a highway […]

South African comedian Trevor Noah just explained reparation in one of the most powerful, yet simple and quick ways ever. It’s a little like golf. Watch below. Trevor posted the video to social media (“for anyone confused about reparations”) just over an hour ago, and it’s already received over 2,5 million views with many applauding […]

With the electricity system gradually improving, no load shedding is anticipated for this week, says Eskom. “The improvement in plant performance, together with replenished diesel and water reserves over the last few days, as well as the increase of imports from Mozambique’s Cahora Bassa to 850MW, has positively shifted system performance,” said Eskom in a […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s gold and platinum mines will shed around 90,000 jobs in the next three years as above-inflation electricity price increases by power utility Eskom add to already soaring operating costs, an industry body said on Monday. “In total, as many as 90,222 jobs would be at risk solely as a result of […]

In its efforts to ramp up the fight against racism, xenophobia and discrimination, the South African government has launched a tool to assist in combating these intolerances. The tool comes in the form of a 67-page document known as the National Action Plan (NAP). The plan, which takes its cue from the Declaration Programme of […]

Rescue teams in Mozambique moved hundreds of people displaced by Cyclone Idai’s massive and deadly flooding to safer shelters on Monday, while the government made preparations for a cholera outbreak that it says is inevitable amid the devastation. In areas west of the port city of Beira, hundreds of people were trapped for more than […]

The week got off to a fabulous start in Cape Town, South Africa, where a drizzly dawn was transformed by a bright double rainbow that seemed to stretch across the entire Mother City. Several Capetonians stopped on the side of the road to snap photographs of the exquisite double rainbow as it lit up their […]

Amidst the floods and devastation that Cyclone Idai has left in its wake, there are many South African heroes who are making us proud. SAPeople spoke to one of them, Soweto doctor Qasim Bhorat whose poignant messages from Mozambique make us cry, and smile… Qasim grew up in Stanger, studied at the University of the […]

BEIRA, Mozambique – Mozambique reported scores more deaths on Saturday from a cyclone and floods around southern Africa that have killed at least 732 people and left thousands in desperate need of help, many on rooftops and trees. (Please see bottom of page if you would like to help.) Help is needed swiftly, as evidenced […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa officiated the historic handover of title deeds for 3,900 hectares of land to more than 50 households of Ebenhaeser, Beeswater in the Western Cape on Saturday. At an event attended by Western Cape Premier Helen Zille, Rampahosa said the handover restores the dignity of local communities on the West Coast, South Africa. […]

Former South African Proteas captain Graeme Smith has tweeted that his parents have been successfully evacuated from the Viking Sky cruise liner off Norway’s west coast, after it was hit by a massive storm just after lunch. On Saturday afternoon, in a tweet that was published in newspapers around the world, Smith said: “My parents […]

“While filming interviews for our story on the installation of suburb surveillance cameras, our presenter and crew were held at gunpoint and robbed!” says an incredulous Carte Blanche. The Carte Blanche team was filming an insert about tech platform Vumacam’s installation of CCTV cameras across Johannesburg (see above) in the latest fight against crime in […]

At least 417 people have died in Mozambique after Cyclone Idai led to catastrophic flooding, the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Saturday. And hundreds of thousands of children who survived need urgent help. (Updated from 293 deaths to 417.) “We’re going to have to wait until the flood waters […]

Sadly at least 2,000 Amur Falcons perished after a massive hail storm swept through Newcastle in South Africa on Thursday evening. BUT, thanks to the kindness of human intervention, almost 900 have survived. Rescuers rushed to the devastating scene of the Falcon roost – at the Farmer’s Hall in the middle of Newcastle – late […]

South African born aquatic ecologist Dr Jackie King has been named the 2019 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate for her game-changing contributions to global river management. Her work has advanced the scientific understanding of water flows, giving decision-makers methods and tools to assess the full range of costs and benefits when managing or developing river systems, […]

Over 1,000 falcon birds are reported to have been injured or died overnight after a massive hail storm swept suddenly into Newcastle in South Africa, wreaking havoc in the space of just 15 minutes (see photos below). Fortunately for the quick thinking of local caring residents, more of the birds – which have migrated to […]

Collectors from America and Europe are scouring Cape Town’s booming art scene in search of deals as diverse as an expressive oil painting by South Africa’s Irma Stern or a sculpture assembled from bottle caps by Ghana’s El Anatsui… with a record being broken this week at an art auction. Dozens of venues, including the […]

LUSAKA – Zambia banned an energy drink, which is also sold in South Africa, on Wednesday after it was shown to have been adulterated with the male sex booster Viagra, according to authorities in Ndola, the city of manufacture. The prohibition followed a complaint from Zambia’s medicine regulator in December suggesting that the drink – […]

Raw excrement, condoms and sanitary products regularly spill into homes and parks for many South Africans… who  are just some of about 4.5 billion people globally without safe sanitation, promised for all by 2030. Residents are lobbying for urgent rehabilitation of sewage works by South Africa’s Department of Water and Sanitation, widely criticised for lack […]

BEIRA, Mozambique – Rescue workers plucked more survivors from trees and roofs to safety on Thursday, a week after a cyclone ripped through southern Africa and triggered devastating floods that have killed hundreds of people and displaced hundreds of thousands. A priority for Thursday was pushing into flooded areas that had not yet been surveyed, […]

As South African news reports “darker days ahead” and “no lights, no water”, it’s time to shed some light – and humour – on SA’s infamous “load shedding” (known to the rest of the world as power cuts). Today South Africans braced themselves for another round of rotational Stage 4 load shedding which will got […]