On a frigid September morning in Mkumbi, a remote village in the Pondoland region of the Eastern Cape, 63-year-old Sizane Nompethu rose at dawn and walked at a brisk pace down a rocky path to work her family’s small plot of land, just as she had every day since she was 15. “I am old […]

In the hillside Pondoland village of Manhlaneni, a small delegation from the Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform stepped into a dimly-lit rondavel where a group of women sat on upturned beer crates removing the leaves from dense bunches of cannabis. One of the women passed a large handful of green buds […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa arrived on Sunday in London, United Kingdom, for a two-day working visit. The President will deliver the opening address at the 6th Financial Times Africa Summit on Monday, 14 October 2019. The summit is being held at Claridge’s in London. On the sidelines of the summit, President Ramaphosa is expected to engage […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has extended his warmest congratulations to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali of Ethiopia on being awarded the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize. Prime Minister Ahmed has been recognised by the Nobel Committee “for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict […]

Since Zimbabwe’s land reform of 2000 – when around 8 million hectares of formerly large-scale commercial farmland was distributed to about 175,000 households – debates about the consequences for food security have raged. A standard narrative has been that Zimbabwe has turned from “food basket” to “basket case”. This year, following the devastating El Niño […]

Since the end of apartheid in South Africa in 1994, South Africa and Nigeria have never had an easy relationship. Over the years, as different presidents have come and gone, the two countries have often been at loggerheads for different reasons. But this was predated by Nigeria’s strong solidarity with black people when South Africa […]

Lack of accountability leads to wasteful expenditure and mismanagement, says activist. Contractors have abandoned more than 50 major school upgrade projects in the Eastern Cape after government departments failed to pay them on time. Many of these schools have been stripped of valuable materials and vandalised after being abandoned. One example is Makhanda’s Grahamstown Primary […]

OSLO – Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed won the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for his peacemaking efforts with Eritrea. Ethiopia and Eritrea, longtime foes who fought a border war from 1998 to 2000, restored relations in July 2018 after years of hostility. The prize, worth nine million Swedish crowns, or around $900,000, will […]

South African former President Jacob Zuma will stand trial on corruption charges relating to a $2.5 billion arms deal after court denied him a permanent stay of prosecution on Friday. The ruling by Judge Jerome Mnguni in the Pietermaritzburg High Court paves the way for Zuma’s trial to start on Oct. 15. Zuma, who was […]

Refugees sitting outside the offices of the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Cape Town say they have been victims of xenophobia in South Africa and the UNHCR should help them settle elsewhere. Carine Kavira, who says her brother was shot dead in a 2012 xenophobic attack, says she won’t leave the UNHCR […]

As South Africa’s Springbok rugby team vies for victory in the 2019 Rugby World Cup tournament, it is worthwhile to reflect on the historical substance of sports unity since 1994. South Africa held its first democratic elections in 1994. In mainstream history and school textbooks this represented a turning point that brought unity to South […]

On Monday charges were laid at the South African Police Service (SAPS) by AfriForum against the Tshwane Metro, Proco Management, Linked Thoughts Consulting and Faragamo Trading. The civil rights organisation said this follows Proco Management, Linked Thoughts Consulting and Faragamo Trading acting as go-between when three farms were sold to the Metro at prices significantly […]

Ex-South African president Jacob Zuma’s son Duduzane denied wrongdoing at a graft inquiry on Monday, rejecting testimony by an official who said he was offered a bribe and a ministerial post at a meeting where Duduzane was present. Duduzane Zuma is a key witness at the so-called “state capture” inquiry set up last year to test […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa and Nigeria signed 30 trade and cooperation agreements on Thursday, weeks after a wave of xenophobic violence against Nigerian nationals in Johannesburg and Pretoria had strained relations between Africa’s top two economies. (The violent attacks also affected those from other African countries, including Zimbabwe.) In September, mobs armed with makeshift weapons […]

There is no doubt that young people in South Africa face a myriad of problems: high unemployment, poor educational outcomes, various forms of poverty, and less than ideal mental and physical health, including high rates of HIV. Young people are also often characterised as being politically apathetic, lazy, and engaged in general unrest. Young South […]

In Sunday’s special 90-minute extended broadcast Carte Blanche revisits several stories of corruption and dodgy deals from the last year to find out if revealing their truth has brought any change, and if not, why not? Interspersed between fresh investigations and gritty confrontations, South Africa’s popular current affairs show includes several follow-up inserts this week. […]

Some of Cape Town’s rivers and canals are so polluted they are essentially open streams of sewage, and although the City of Cape Town is aware of this, the water and waste directorate has vastly underspent its budget for the past two financial years. Participants in the annual Peninsula Paddle, an event organised by scientists […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has written to the Ministers of State Security, Ayanda Dlolo, and International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO), Naledi Pandor, to urgently answer on the whereabouts of Former President Jacob Zuma’s former ally and top spy, Thulani Dlomo. Given the myriad of allegations against him and his purported role in State Capture – […]

We were making progress until 2011. So what happened? Uyinene Mrwetyana’s murder set off a wave of protests across the country. The release of the latest crime statistics confirmed perceptions: South Africa is becoming more violent; the number of murders has increased every year since 2012. When it comes to crime stats, murder is a […]

The South African Government has prioritised border control and security to deter illegal immigration, says President Cyril Ramaphosa. “We proceed from the principle, as does every other sovereign state that all who live in South Africa must be legally permitted to do so. Police and immigration officials who take bribes in return for making cases […]

A team of Special Envoys has been dispatched by President Cyril Ramaphosa to several African countries to deliver a message of reassurance in light of the recent attacks on foreign nationals. “The Special Envoys will deliver a message from President Ramaphosa regarding the incidents of violence that recently erupted in some parts of South Africa […]

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa was booed by the crowd gathered today for the funeral of former Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe. The Master of Ceremony was forced to intervene to appeal to the crowd to give Ramaphosa a chance to speak. Their reaction follows the wave of deadly riots and xenophobic attacks in South Africa […]

Mobs have attacked foreign-owned businesses on the streets of at least three South African cities in recent days. This has caused outrage across Africa. There have even been retaliatory attacks. The South African government, under pressure to protect her large international migrant community, quickly defused the attacks. Such attacks are not new. For more than […]

Economic Freedom Fighter Julius Malema’s words on xenophobic attacks and South African men has touched a nerve around the country… and with expats around the world, including South African comedian Trevor Noah. Noah posted the video with a tweet saying: “I don’t always agree with Julius Malema but this statement on Xenophobic attacks in SA […]

South Africans are fighting back against gender based violence (GBV) and President Ramaphosa is promising a life sentence, no bail or parole for those who murder and/or rape women. The Carte Blanche team investigates this and more on Sunday 8 Sept. (and available for South Africans abroad in most countries to stream from Tuesday 10 […]