Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, has announced that the second phase of South Africa’s vaccination rollout will begin on 17 May. This, he said, is thanks to the millions of vaccine doses that are expected to land in South Africa in the next coming weeks. Dr Mkhize said the country has secured a combined 51 […]

The South African government has welcomed the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) revised upward growth outlook of South Africa from 2.8% to 3.1% for 2021. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Ministry in the Presidency: Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, said the upgrade affirmed the robustness of the country’s economy and positive economic interventions despite tough […]

Tony Leon is the most prolific of all former leaders of the Democratic Alliance (DA), South Africa’s main opposition party, as befits the chair of a communications company. In his latest and fifth book, Future Tense: Reflections on my Troubled Land, he comes across as articulate and persuasive. The Democratic Alliance has, ever since its […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa will address the nation on developments in South Africa’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic at 7.30pm this evening, Tuesday 30 March 2021. The address follows meetings in recent days of the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC), the President’s Coordinating Council (PCC) and Cabinet. “As South Africa rolls out its national COVID-19 vaccination […]

Nine years after Cape Town’s Labia Theatre refused to lease its premises for the showing of what it termed a “highly controversial, pure propaganda, Israel bashing” documentary, the independent cinema has been directed by the Equality Court to screen it. Western Cape Judge Andre Le Grange has ruled that the Labia had not wanted to […]

The South African Presidency confirmed on Wednesday that President Cyril Ramaphosa will appear before the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture next month. The President will give evidence in his capacity as President and former Deputy President of the Republic and as President and former Deputy President of the African National Congress […]

AfriForum has today filed a formal application to the Zondo Commission on State Capture in terms of which a ruling is requested to subpoena President Cyril Ramaphosa to appear before the commission. AfriForum said in a statement that it is specifically asking that the South African president be questioned about the ANC’s cadre deployment policy, […]

As South Africans set off for holiday destinations in Mpumalanga over the long weekend, the Tshwane Metro Police Department warned motorists travelling along the N4 between Pretoria and Emalahleni, near Bronkhorstspruit, to be aware of armed gangs placing spikes and rocks on the highway, forcing cars to stop. Rob You Deaf  Tonight – Sunday 21 […]

The National Assembly today voted to establish a parliamentary inquiry into Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office, in effect initiating removal proceedings against South Africa’s Public Protector. The motion was voted for by 275 Members of Parliament, while 40 MPs voted against. Welcoming the news, Natasha Mazzone, DA Chief Whip, said: “We are pleased that […]

Stage 2 load shedding in South Africa is set to continue until 5am on Wednesday, Eskom has announced. However many Cape Town residents are doing it a little easier as the City of Cape Town has pledged to “protect its customers as far as possible”. Cape Town is implementing Stage 1 in many areas of […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has congratulated its Chief Whip in Parliament, Natasha Mazzone MP, on receiving the Italian Order of the Star, an equivalent of a knighthood in Italy. The honour was bestowed upon Natasha for her leadership in Parliament and fighting for a just society in South Africa. The award recognises the preservation and […]

Natasha Mazzone, Democratic Alliance (DA) Chief Whip, has been recognised for her leadership skills in South Africa and given the honour of The Star of Italy, the country’s equivalent of Knighthood. Ivan Meyer, DA Federal Chairperson, tweeted a message of congratulations to Mazzone, the daughter of an Italian, on Thursday afternoon. He said she received […]

“With many motorists already refusing to pay e-toll, allegations of rampant corruption around the tender process don’t exactly inspire compliance. Gauteng government faces an uphill battle should it wish to keep the controversial toll system alive,” says Carte Blanche presenter Macfarlane Moleli, who this week investigates what will become of the controversial e-toll system. You […]

The DA has filed a complaint with the Press Ombudsman following a Sunday Times article yesterday (Sunday 28 February). “The opening sentence of this article – based on an hour-long interview with DA Federal Leader John Steenhuisen – sought to create the impression that the DA was open to a coalition agreement with the ANC. […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says it welcomes the announcement that South Africa will move to lockdown Alert Level One, along with the easing of restrictions on alcohol sales and gatherings as well as the shortening of the curfew. But DA Leader John Steenhuisen adds: “Our sole focus, as a country, should be on rolling out […]

The South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, will address the nation on developments in the country’s Covid-19 response tonight, Sunday 28 February. The ‘family meeting’ (as these addresses to the nation are being called by locals) will take place at 20h00. The Presidency said: “The address follows meetings in recent days of the National Coronavirus Command […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says it will submit a parliamentary question to Pravin Gordhan, the Minister of Public Enterprises, in order to obtain full details of the costs and reasons for the use of a large SAA jetliner to fly to Brussels to collect a small consignment of apparently only 80,000 Covid-19 vaccine doses. UPDATE: […]

The South African Revenue Service has announced the formation of a High Wealth Individual (HWI) Taxpayer Segment, which will focus on wealthy taxpayers with complex financial arrangements. “For SARS to continue to provide a customised and seamless service to various categories of taxpayers, we are establishing a separate unit to focus on individual taxpayers with […]

The COVID-19 pandemic, and the race to make vaccines and other useful technologies more accessible to people around the world, has once again highlighted the tension between intellectual property rights and the promotion of public health. There is no doubt that the monopolies offered by exclusive rights such as patents are necessary to incentivise pharmaceutical […]

The South African government says it is working tirelessly to deal with the danger of fake news in the fight against COVID-19 and the vaccination plan. Higher Education, Science and Innovation Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande, believes that while social media is beneficial for communicating, it can be easily hijacked to spread false claims about inoculation. […]

As most South Africans know, the Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Nathi Mthethwa published a number of name changes for towns, cities and airports in the Eastern Cape, in the Government Gazette, on Tuesday. Today the department released an official statement about the name changes. “The transformation of the naming landscape is a critical […]

Everything is falling apart in Kannaland: water supplies, sewage, rubbish collection. Even the Ladismith city hall is in a mess in this Little Karoo municipality marked by strange political alliances and in-fighting. The municipality includes Ladismith, Zoar, Calitzdorp, and Van Wyksdorp. A brief trip by GroundUp to Ladismith and Zoar revealed serious municipal service failures, […]

Free State Agriculture (FSA) have expressed outrage at the announcement made during the State of the Nation Address Debate, by former Minister of Agriculture Tina Joemat-Pettersson, that MK veterans will receive expropriated farms. “This is nothing more than a repetition of Zimbabwean land policy,” said the FSA, accusing the ANC have hanging out “their Zimbabwe […]

In June last year, GroundUp wrote about pensioner Amos Khumalo, who used his state pension to build a bridge so that his wife could safely cross a fast flowing stream to Bara taxi rank from Elias Motsoaledi informal settlement in Soweto. A bridge built by a pensioner in a Soweto informal settlement has washed away. PPC cement […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has revealed that the group of “supposed” MK vets, operating under the banner of Tlhapi Zizi (Pty) Ltd, who have been controversially allocated Ivan Cloete’s farm, are ANC-connected individuals and people who already own farms. “This raises very serious questions on the fairness and transparency of the process that was used […]