JOHANNESBURG – A South African man was arrested and will be charged in court for posting a video on social media in which he hurled racial abuse at President Cyril Ramaphosa, police said on Thursday. It was the latest such incident to cause a public outcry in South Africa and shows the racial tensions that […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s highest court on Tuesday allowed the private use of marijuana, upholding a lower court’s ruling that found the criminalization of cannabis was unconstitutional. Activists who include members of the Rastafarian movement and traditional healers greeted the ruling with loud applause. They have held marches over the years to demand that […]

An economic stimulus package for South Africa, adopted by Cabinet, is set to spark economic activity and boost the country’s growth, according to the country’s president. President Cyril Ramaphosa shared with South Africa’s business and labour leaders an outline of the economic stimulus package during a consultative meeting on Friday. The meeting in Pretoria was […]

The release of crime statistics in South Africa always triggers great angst among ordinary citizens, and obfuscation on the part of the South African authorities. This year was no exception. In their latest release of crime statistics, the South African Police Service seem to have tried to downplay crime rate increases (and exaggerate crime rate […]

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Tuesday there was no reason to believe that any country would impose sanctions on South Africa over the government’s plans to redistribute land to address racial disparities in ownership. Ramaphosa announced in late July that the ruling African National Congress (ANC) plans to change the constitution […]

In delivering today’s Crime Statistics for the 2017/2018 financial year, Police Minister Bheki Cele called the rate of murder “scary”. Fifty-seven people are murdered in South Africa every day, a statistic – he says – that requires more stringent action by the police. Sounding despondent, he said the stats are “nothing to write home about, […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene said on Monday that there is a significant downside risk to revenue collection due to a recession and problems in tax collection by the revenue service. “There is now additional downside risk to the tax revenue projected at the beginning of the year because of the […]

The African National Congress (ANC) say it rejects the South African Sunday Times’ story claiming former president, Jacob Zuma, and other top ANC officials have held secret meetings to topple President Cyril Ramaphosa. In a statement on Sunday, the ANC said that the story – titled “Exposed: Zuma plot to oust Cyril” – was “sensational […]

According to a report in South Africa’s Sunday Times today, former President Jacob Zuma and a handful of top ANC officials, are secretly plotting to topple President Cyril Ramaphosa. The ANC officials are named by the paper as including ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule, former North West Premier Supra Mahumapelo, ANC Women’s League Secretary-General Meokgo Matuba […]

CAPE TOWN – South Africa’s plans to change the constitution to allow the expropriation of land without compensation could hit property prices and trigger a banking crisis, the chief executive of Nedbank warned parliament on Friday. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Aug. 1 that the ruling African National Congress (ANC) planned to change the constitution […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa authorised a new investigation into a water ministry contract with German software firm SAP on Thursday, citing allegations that public money was spent unlawfully. The investigation by South Africa’s Special Investigating Unit (SIU) comes after the country’s anti-graft agency said in March it was conducting its own […]

SASOLBURG, South Africa (Reuters) – About 100 workers from South Africa’s mainly white Solidarity union staged a brief protest outside Sasol’s chemicals plant in Sasolburg on Wednesday over a share scheme offered exclusively to black staff. Solidarity union leaders, who say the scheme is discriminatory because it excludes white workers, handed over a memorandum criticising […]

The African National Congress says the latest figures from Statistics SA represent an urgent call to action for all South Africans to rally behind a common vision of growing the economy and job creation. The figures show that the South African economy moved back into a technical recession with a negative growth rate of (-0.7%) […]

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) on Tuesday revealed the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures fell by 0,7% in the second quarter of the year 2018… and, judging from the comments on Twitter, South Africans realised they can no longer blame former President Jacob Zuma. These latest figures have pushed the country into a recession – […]

The ANC says it welcomes the withdrawal of the Expropriation Bill by the South African National Assembly today. Section 25 of the Constitution is currently being reviewed by Parliament… which is expected to add clarity to the controversial issue of land expropriation without compensation. ANC Chief Whip, Jackson Mthembu, pointed out that the withdrawal of […]

GOMA, Democratic Republic of Congo (Reuters) – Two South African peacekeepers were wounded in a rebel ambush near the epicentre of an Ebola outbreak in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, their U.N. mission said on Tuesday. The attack on Monday, on the outskirts of the city of Beni, underscored the challenges authorities face in tackling […]

PRETORIA (Reuters) – South Africa entered recession in the second quarter for the first time since 2009, data showed on Tuesday, in a stinging blow to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s efforts to revive the economy after a decade of stagnation. Statistics South Africa said the economy contracted by 0.7 percent quarter-on-quarter, led by declines in the […]

Forgive the political tone – I am trying to keep it in check, but I fail… writes South African musician Albert Combrink. Dear Friends, I love you dearly. But I just CAN’T with all this negativity about South Africa all the time. When I look at the quality of your lives, and the quality of […]

BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinese President Xi Jinping offered another $60 billion in financing for Africa on Monday and said Chinese companies will be encouraged to invest no less than $10 billion over the next three years, but he also warned against “vanity projects”. Speaking at the opening of a major summit with African leaders, Xi […]

Carte Blanche looks into why the Democratic Alliance lost Nelson Mandela Bay and if this the beginning of the end for the rest of the DA-run municipalities? Also why Henri van Breda brutally attacked his family, the baboon killings in the Western Cape vineyards, and how Lewis Pugh swam a distance of 560kms in just 50 […]

PRETORIA (Reuters) – The International Monetary Fund gave its full backing to South Africa’s land reform plan on Thursday, as long as the highly contentious process is transparent and based on the constitution. The Fund’s senior resident representative in South Africa – Montfort Mlachila – told Reuters that the reform must not damage farm output […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says today was a victory for “good governance and service delivery” in Tshwane, as the motion to remove Mayor Solly Msimanga failed (the ANC withdrew its motion of no confidence, and said it’s going to court)… but that it will request an urgent meeting with the Economic Freedom Fighters’ leaders. In […]

The civil rights organisation AfriForum has formally requested the National Police Commissioner, General Khehla Sitole, to investigate the claims made by a member of a notorious prison gang that Julius Malema, leader of the EFF, came to see them in prison to encourage the committing of farm murders. In a recorded interview between an agent […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) said on Tuesday an expropriation bill passed by parliament in 2016, enabling the state to make compulsory purchases of land to redress racial disparities in land ownership, has been withdrawn. The bill, which had not been signed into law, was withdrawn to allow an ongoing process […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s mainly white Solidarity union has given Sasol a 48-hour notice to strike over the energy giant’s plan to launch a share ownership scheme exclusively for black staff, the union said on Tuesday. Sasol plans to sell 25 % of its local operations to mainly qualifying black employees in a R21-billion […]