GABORNE – Former Botswana President Ian Khama quit the ruling party on Saturday as a policy feud with his hand-picked successor deepened, threatening to split the party that has ruled the country since independence in 1966. Khama handed power to his then-deputy Mokgweetsi Masisi last year after serving as president of the diamond-rich southern African […]

PRETORIA – Trade unionist-turned-businessman Cyril Ramaphosa was sworn in as South Africa’s president on Saturday, vowing to create jobs and tackle deep-rooted corruption that has strangled economic growth. Ramaphosa, who becomes the country’s fourth democratically elected president since the end of apartheid, took the presidential oath before a crowd of about 32,000 people in a […]

There is a lot of misinformation circling in the South African expatriate community about the amended expatriate tax law taking effect on 1 March 2020 and the process of Financial Emigration… writes Melanie Browne. We often have clients approach us where they have been subjected to scaremongering or solicited by “one-man” bands promoting their own […]

Winning the Cricket World Cup is the holy grail for South Africa’s national team. But with every tournament, it’s remained out of reach. What will it take to turn the team’s fortune around? Watch this and more on Carte Blanche this  Sunday 26 May, in South Africa; and available to stream from Tues 28 May […]

As predicted, British Prime Minister Theresa May has announced today – Friday 24 May 2019 – that she will step down as leader of the Conservative party on 7 June, triggering a contest that will bring a new leader to power who is likely to push for a more decisive Brexit divorce deal. In an […]

South Africa’s central bank kept its benchmark repo rate unchanged at 6.75 % on Thursday, saying while the medium-term inflation forecast had moderated, economic growth was set to contract in the first quarter and continue to weaken. “Recent monthly inflation outcomes have remained around the mid-point of the inflation target range, in part due to […]

Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng had a massive task today at the House of Parliament – to preside over the swearing-in ceremony of 400 members from 14 political parties, taking their oath to serve in the Sixth Democratic Parliament. But before he began, the Chief Justice did something that has never been done before. He dropped […]

CAPE TOWN – It’s official. South African lawmakers on Wednesday elected Cyril Matamela Ramaphosa as SA’s president in the first sitting of parliament since the ruling African National Congress (ANC) won a majority of parliamentary seats in the election earlier this month. Ramaphosa, who is also the leader of the ANC, was elected unopposed by […]

CAPE TOWN – South Africa’s deputy president, David Mabuza, will not be sworn in as a lawmaker on Wednesday after requesting a postponement to address allegations he brought the ruling African National Congress (ANC) into disrepute, President Cyril Ramaphosa said. Ramaphosa, who is also the leader of the ANC, is due to be elected on […]

With South Africans who live or work abroad facing the imminent introduction of “expat tax”, there has been a lot of scaremongering and confusion. Recently the expert tax team at Tax Consulting South Africa kindly offered to answer SAPeople members’ questions. Here you will find a selection of the questions submitted and answers by Jerry […]

CAIRO – Egyptian security forces have killed 12 suspected Islamist militants in Cairo, the Interior Ministry said on Monday, a day after an explosion targeting a tourist bus – carrying South African passengers – injured at least 12 of those on board. A rudimentary device containing nails and pieces of metal detonated on the perimeter […]

JOHANNESBURG – Jacob Zuma’s lawyers argued on Monday that the former South African president had been treated unfairly by prosecutors in his bid to have revived corruption charges set aside because he is unpopular in the country at large. Zuma has applied for a permanent stay of prosecution from 16 charges of fraud, racketeering and […]

Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke has revealed that the risks of double voting during the 2019 National and Provincial Elections were “negligible”. The findings are contained in the final report that was based on a sample of voting stations. The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) in a statement said the report was intended to act as an addition […]

Starving, infected with various diseases and some eating their own faeces, over 25 horses have had to be put down after being in the ‘care’ of the South African Army Special Infantry Capability Unit at the SANDF’s Potchefstroom base last year. In addition to those 25, a further 22 horses rescued from the base also […]

A Deputy Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs apparently wasn’t happy with the list of cars that Treasury negotiated bulk discounts on. So he asked Treasury for permission to purchase a Volvo XC90D4, at a cost of R1,118,352 to the public purse. The reason for the request was “National Treasury Transversal Contract RT57-2016/2017 does […]

JOHANNESBURG – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa followed up his election pledge to tackle corruption by appointing a veteran lawyer to lead a newly formed anti-corruption unit, his office said on Friday. Ramaphosa has promised to root out corruption, cited by ratings agencies and investors as a major obstacle to economic reforms needed to turn […]

Western Cape Premier Helen Zille has again embroiled herself in a racial twitter storm in the past 24 hours, with her hashtag #BlackPrivilege trending on South Africa’s Twitter feeds all day. According to some, her comments were incredibly racist… but in the view of others her comments were taken out of context and she had […]

All votes cast by South Africans abroad on 27 April 2019 made it back to the IEC in South Africa on time to be counted towards SA’s national elections! Phew! This will come as good news to those South African expats who travelled hundreds, sometimes thousands, of kilometres to make sure they cast their vote. […]

PRETORIA – South Africa’s unemployment rate inched up to 27.6% in the first quarter, official data showed on Tuesday, underscoring the scale of the economic challenge faced by President Cyril Ramaphosa after his ANC party won re-election. Ramaphosa is trying to revive the South African economy after a decade of slow growth and rising joblessness. […]

The South African government said on Monday it was “instructing” the country’s athletics governing body to appeal against the Court of Arbitration for Sport decision on female eligibility that directly affects their Olympic champion Caster Semenya. Yet Athletics South Africa (ASA) maintained silence on the matter with sources telling Reuters they were still considering their […]

Boosting South African growth and overhauling bloated power firm Eskom are post-election priorities for the African National Congress, but a reduced majority may force President Cyril Ramaphosa to compromise on those and other economic reforms. Ramaphosa took office in February 2018 with a pledge to revive a sclerotic economy and attract foreign investors. But as […]

HARARA – Zimbabwe has started rolling power cuts lasting up to eight hours that will also hit mines, a schedule from the state power utility showed on Monday, after reduced output at both the largest hydro plant and ageing coal-fired generators. The power cuts will add to mounting public anger against President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s government […]

Carte Blanche shares interesting views about why South Africans came out to vote, they also investigate unethical breeding practices of pedigree dogs and more this  Sunday 12 May, in South Africa; and available to stream from Tues 14 May for South Africans abroad in many countries. Save the Turtles A team of young marine biologists […]

This week US (and international) audiences of Trevor Noah’s The Daily Show were treated to more South African news than usual. There was the Caster Semenya decision (watch Trevor’s reaction here) and the SA National Elections. In one video, Trevor exposed Americans to the anti-immigration sentiment in South Africa. Sharing footage from South Africa, Trevor […]

South African expats voted overwhelmingly for the Democratic Alliance (DA), with the party scooping a 74.45% victory in the ‘out of country’ category. South Africans living or travelling abroad voted on 27 April 2019, some driving overnight or flying long distances to cast their vote. According to the IEC there were only 19,882 votes cast […]