South Africa’s Constitutional Court has ruled Monday morning that the appointment of National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), Shaun Abrahams, was “constitutionally invalid”, upholding a decision by the lower court that the NDPP boss had been improperly appointed after former President Jacob Zuma removed his predecessor, Mxolisi Nxasana. Abrahams and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) […]

The South African Constitutional Court is expected to rule this morning on whether the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP), Shaun Abrahams, should vacate his position. Last year, the North Gauteng High Court declared that former President Jacob Zuma acted unconstitutionally in terminating former prosecutions boss Mxolisi Nxasana and replacing him with Abrahams. The application […]

South African independent business organisation, Sakeliga says it is studying a list leaked to AfriForum of 195 properties identified for expropriation without compensation. Sakeliga says it will in the meantime continue with its PAIA (Promotion of Access to Information Act) application to obtain the list of 139 properties supposedly identified as “expropriation targets” by the […]

Afriforum has today published a list on its website of farms that are apparently identified by the South African government to be expropriated without compensation in the weeks to come. This follows the ruling ANC’s announcement earlier in the week that the party had identified 139 farms for this purpose. The list of farms was […]

Ever since South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa announced last week that the ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), has resolved to make an amendment to the constitution to explicitly allow for conditional expropriation of land without compensation, tensions have run high in the country. While Ramaphosa was very clear that the reforms will NOT […]

Hell hath no fury like a vested interest threatened… writes Magnus Heystek. It’s a common lament that when an investment scheme collapses the victims always try to find someone to blame. How often have we heard the mournful cry of thousands of investors, now badly out of pocket and in some cases penniless, that “someone should […]

The African National Congress (ANC) says it has learned with “shock” of the alleged, attempted assassination of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela’s President, Nicolas Maduro. “The abhorrent attack reportedly happened as President Madura was delivering a keynote address on the 81st anniversary of the National Bolivarian Guard. “At least two explosions in aerial devices (drones) reportedly […]

Mmusi Maimane, Leader of the Democratic Alliance, has announced that the DA and Patricia de Lille have reached a mutual agreement which resolves the question of the leadership of the DA government in Cape Town. The agreement is that De Lille has agreed to officially resign as the mayor of Cape Town, effective 31 October […]

Summerwood Primary School, a well-resourced government school in Port Elizabeth’s Summerstrand suburb, failed to honour a netball match at John Masiza Primary in Walmer Township on 30 July, with coaches and parents citing safety concerns. In a leaked Whatsapp group conversation between parents and the school — which is in GroundUp’s possession — the grade […]

HARARE (Reuters) – Zimbabwean riot police chased away journalists waiting for a news conference by opposition leader Nelson Chamisa on Friday, shouting “out, out,” a Reuters witness said. Chamisa has questioned the outcome of Monday’s presidential election, in which he lost out to President Emmerson Mnangagwa (75) from the ruling Zanu-PF party. According to Reuters, […]

The South African medical field continues to perform pioneering surgeries… with this week’s Carte Blanche highlighting a brain surgery technique that’s changing lives. This week’s episode also looks at how South Africans are facing a challenging year! The programme investigated the knock-on effects of the core increases in our tough economy… with buying power slashed […]

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has on Friday urged all Zimbabweans to accept the election of Emmerson Mnangagwa (75) as president, after polls – which began peacefully – turned to violence in the aftermath, and led to the tragic death of six people. The South African Presidency said in a statement: “President Ramaphosa has appealed […]

HARARE – Both leading contestants in Zimbabwe’s disputed presidential election indicated they had won on Thursday as a tense nation awaited official results three days after voting… however by Thursday evening current President Emmerson Mnangagwa was well ahead. International observers urged the electoral commission to release the tally as soon as possible to avoid further […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South Africa’s struggling state-owned power firm Eskom offered investors up to $1.5 billion of 10-year bonds on Thursday, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. Separately, Eskom spokesman Khulu Phasiwe said Eskom was planning a foreign bond sale and that the firm’s chief executive and treasury team were currently on a […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s white farmers on Wednesday criticised the ruling African National Congress’ (ANC) decision to endorse constitutional changes to allow the state to seize land without compensation, saying the move would be “catastrophic”. However, others have pointed out that President Cyril Ramaphosa has made it clear there will be “no Zimbabwe-style land seizures”, […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has handed over the oversight of South African Airways (SAA) to his close ally, Pravin Gordhan, which many will see as a step in the right direction for the national airline. Ramaphosa on Wednesday transferred the responsibility of SAA from the Finance Ministry to the Public Enterprises Ministry, which is led by […]

JOHANNESBURG – As we all now know, South Africa’s ruling African National Congress (ANC) is forging ahead with plans to change the constitution to allow the expropriation of land without compensation. President Cyril Ramaphosa made the announcement late on Tuesday in a televised address to the nation, underscoring the political significance of the move. The […]

Following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement last night that the African National Congress (ANC) will support a proposed amendment to the Constitution – allowing for land expropriation without compensation – the South African Rand has fallen. The Rand was trading at 13.3525 on Wednesday at 07h12 local time, 0.58% weaker than at close on Tuesday. Government […]

Say what you want about Helen Zille, but here is a reminder that you can’t say what you want about Helen Zille, at least not on a public platform… writes Gus Silber. Well, you can, constitutionally speaking, but it may come at a price, the bill, in this case, being R93,218.09, plus interest. That’s the […]

The South Gauteng High Court today found that the SA government’s decision to grant Grace Mugabe diplomatic immunity should be set aside… paving the way for Mrs Mugabe to be prosecuted for allegedly assaulting a South African model in Johannesburg last year. The earlier decision to grant former President Robert Mugabe’s wife immunity had been […]

The voting polls in Zimbabwe are now officially opened for voters. This is a historic moment for the Zimbabwean people, who will cast their vote without former President, Robert Mugabe’s name on the ballot paper for the first time in decades. The people have been queuing since early morning in the hope of casting their […]

Zimbabwe’s former president, Robert Mugabe, has broken his silence on Sunday afternoon ahead of the country’s elections on Monday. Mugabe was addressing the media in an off the cuff speech which lasted over an hour, outside his mansion in the capital city, Harare. The former president, who was removed from his position, says he will […]

Economic Freedom Fighter (EFF) Leader Julius Malema has lashed out at South African business mogul, Patrice Motsepe. Malema warned that Motsepe is leading another form of state capture. The EFF chief commander was addressing a crowd in Mdantsane in the Eastern Cape, during the party’s fifth anniversary celebration. Malema said that South Africa is not […]

JOHANNESBURG – Russian President Vladimir Putin raised the issue of a nuclear power deal at a private meeting with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in Johannesburg on Thursday, but his host said Pretoria could not sign such a deal for now, Ramaphosa’s spokeswoman said. “Our economy is stagnant, it is not growing at the rate […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa cannot afford large-scale expansion of its nuclear power fleet but would still be open to future nuclear deals with Russia, the ruling party’s Treasurer General said on Thursday shortly before President Vladimir Putin arrived for the BRICS summit. The nuclear project was prioritised by former President Jacob Zuma but new President […]