Anti-corruption activist Paul Holden has done South Africa a great favour by summarising the work of the judicial commission that probed massive corruption under former president Jacob Zuma. No one except academics will read the commission’s 4,750 page report, but many will read Holden’s book, Zondo at your Fingertips. Holden is a former director of […]

The last, relatively pristine section of Western Cape coastline between the Olifants River and the Northern Cape border is threatened by two new mining-related applications.

A “gagging order” obtained by the Moti Group against investigative news agency amaBhungane has been set aside in its entirety. The Gauteng High Court has set aside the “gagging order” brought against amaBhungane by the Moti Group. Judge Roland Sutherland said the Moti Group had abused the court process by bringing an unjustified ex parte […]

To avoid paying administration fees to renew a vehicle licence disc online, motorists can make use of the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) online service. The only fee charged is the R99 courier fee, which other online service providers also charge. “The R72 transaction fee, which has been referred to, is a legislated fee, which […]

Motorists are in for more relief this month, as both grades of fuel are expected to decrease for the second month in a row. Illuminating paraffin and LP Gas are also expected to decrease, with an increase in the price of both grades of diesel. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has announced […]

As the world population has grown older, Alzheimer’s disease has become increasingly common. Alzheimer’s disease is the most prevalent form of dementia. Dementia is a term used to describe a range of symptoms linked to the decline in brain function with age. Symptoms include memory loss, communication difficulties, problem-solving struggles, and personality or behavioural changes. […]

Metrorail services in and around Cape Town have yet to fully recover from theft and vandalism that happened during the Covid lockdown period when trains stopped running. Already long before the pandemic, the service was crumbling. GroundUp had been documenting Metrorail’s steady demise since 2013. The Central Line, which was the busiest and served commuters from the […]

When it was time for story reading in her Grade 3 class Anna Machaka (24), always wondered if authors were real-life people who sit and write books. That was when the dream of being an author of children’s books started. “I always imagined children reading my book in a classroom setting,” Machaka said. In 2019 […]

The Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, has appointed Yanga Mputa as the Tax Ombud effective from 1 July 2023 for a period of five years. Mputa is South Africa’s first female Tax Ombud. She takes over from Professor Thabo Legwaila, who has been acting in the role since October 2022, after the term of the […]

A man was arrested at the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 23 June 2023 with five lion carcasses in his luggage. He was about to board a flight to Vietnam, where the use of lion bones in traditional medicines is practised. The seizure is commendable but highlights South Africa’s controversial legal […]

Many people start going to the gym in the hopes of achieving what has long been seen as the holy grail of health and fitness: six-pack abdominal muscles (abs). But as many people who have tried will attest – including celebrities, such as comedian Eric André – this can be far more challenging than expected. […]

South Africa’s National Health Insurance (NHI) bill has passed the first hurdle towards becoming law, getting the country closer to its vision of achieving universal access to healthcare. Section 27 of the country’s constitution states that everyone has the right to access to healthcare. The NHI bill, which has been passed by the national assembly, […]

The decision by the Minister of Home Affairs to terminate the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit programme has been declared unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid. The decision by the Minister of Home Affairs to terminate the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) has been declared unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid. The Pretoria High Court has directed the minister to reconsider the […]

It has taken two years for an acting judge in the Cape Town Labour Court to come to the aid of a Cape wine farm worker, who was fired after she gave an interview to a Swedish journalist about her working conditions. Claudine van Wyk, a wine farm worker, was fired in October 2020 after […]

The traditional approach to weight loss is to count calories and try to reduce the number consumed each day. This is a time-consuming and error-prone process – often with disappointing results. Intermittent fasting – and the popular version known as time-restricted eating – could be a simpler option for people wanting to achieve a healthy […]

It was hard to imagine a more obvious attempt at bullying than the “gagging” case brought by the Moti Group against amaBhungane, its counsel, Advocate Steven Budlender said on Tuesday. Arguments from the amaBhungane Centre for Investigative Journalism to overturn a “gagging” order against them reporting on the Moti Group were heard in court on […]

The wife of former National Lotteries Commission chief operating office Philemon Letwaba has claimed under oath that her company loaned R3-million to then-sports minister Fikile Mbalula to help him buy a luxury home in the upmarket suburb of Bryanston in Johannesburg. The brother of the former chief operating officer (COO) of the Lottery is seeking […]

The Hout Bay harbour is set to get an upgrade and a “state of the art” fish processing and packaging facility, and long-awaited, 15-year fishing rights will be allocated in the Western Cape by October “at the latest” in time for the West Coast lobster season. This was announced at an intergovernmental community meeting in Hout Bay last […]

Minister in the Presidency responsible for Electricity Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa and German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck have signed a joint declaration of intent to establish the South African German Hydrogen Task Force. The green hydrogen economy has been billed as a new frontier for clean energy as it emits low carbon emissions with a global […]

Nketoane Local Municipality in the Free State paid contractors nearly R15-million for a sports facility in Ntha, Lindley. But the stadium is a lifeless shell – vandalised, unmaintained, incomplete and unused. In the opinion of one councillor, what has been built so far does not come close to what has been spent. Nketoane Local Municipality […]

The credit rating industry in Africa is dominated by the three international agencies: Moody’s, S&P and Fitch. Together they control an estimated 95% of the credit rating business globally. Credit rating agencies are institutions that assess a borrower’s creditworthiness in general terms, or with respect to a particular debt or financial obligation. A credit rating […]

Body mass index has long been used by doctors as the standard method for measuring health – and often still is. But earlier this month, the American Medical Association (AMA) adopted a new policy that cautions medical professionals from using the body mass index (BMI) as a stand-alone clinical tool during patient consultations. In 2022, […]

Families that illegally occupied land in Driftsands, Cape Town, to form Covid informal settlement have been living for three years without basic services such as tap water, sanitation or electricity. Worse still, the settlement has been flooded, knee-deep, in some places chest-deep, for two weeks now because of the heavy rainfall in the Cape. Covid […]

Home Affairs Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi has approved a temporary extension of operating times at front offices by two hours. This according to the department, is to deal with the high demand for smart ID cards and passport services at Home Affairs offices. This extension, from 08:00 to 17:30 with effect from Tuesday, applies to […]

The Department of Employment and Labour’s Inspection and Enforcement Services (IES) branch is today conducting an advocacy seminar in the Eastern Cape to create awareness of compliance with labour laws. The four-day seminar, which will be held at Hotel Savoy in Mthatha aims to create awareness on compliance with labour laws as well as to […]