The housing crisis in Cape Town could be considerably reduced if underutilised land, currently occupied by the military, was released for social housing. This is according to a collective of civil society organisations who have called on the President to take action. Their calls echo those made by the City of Cape Town for at least a […]

The Western Cape Government says it is increasingly concerned over attacks on social workers as they try to go about their work. The matter was discussed at a Social Development Committee meeting in the provincial legislature on 17 March. The Western Cape Government says it is concerned over a rise in attacks on social workers […]

It is almost impossible nowadays to listen to the radio, watch TV or scroll through social media without being exposed to an advertisement telling us that all we need for a little happiness and love is a sugary drink or a fast-food snack. There’s nothing that a tasty, affordable, ready-made meal cannot fix, we are […]

In 2019 amapiano began to dominate South Africa’s dance floors to such an extent that, by 2021, the first South African Amapiano Awards were held to mark the rise of the country’s most infectious new music export. In 2022, the South African dance music genre continued to expand its galloping worldwide reach. The annual awards […]

From picking up pointers on YouTube to winning tournaments on the international circuit – 11-year-old golf champ Sim Tshabalala seems to have the eye of the tiger… Here’s what’s coming up on Carte Blanche this week. You can watch the show on Sunday 2 April in South Africa on DStv Now OR stream it overseas in most […]

The High Court in Johannesburg has ordered a financial services company to pay a client more than R800,000 stolen by fraudsters through email cybercrime. PSG Wealth Financial Planning has been ordered to pay a client more than R800,000 stolen by fraudsters through email cybercrime. The fraudsters had hacked a client’s email and requested via email for the […]

The first cohort of traffic trainees in the country, who just completed the ground-breaking three-year intensive training, are ready to be deployed on the roads to ensure that law and order are maintained. This as the first 21st Century Cadre of Traffic Officers have completed the three-year training programme, which has been accredited as an […]

The Electoral Amendment Bill currently on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s desk proposes major changes to the way we vote. But the Bill has serious flaws and should be referred back to Parliament or to the Constitutional Court. As we head to the 2024 national and provincial elections, the matter is urgent.  The Bill amends the Electoral […]

Three times a week, children living on farms in Stellenbosch gather at a small dam on Polkadraai road to play canoe polo, also known as kayak polo. This unique sport is water polo, played on kayaks. “Playing canoe polo helps me relax, to get rid of my stress,” says Camurin Abrahams, one of the team’s […]

The National Consumer Commission (NCC) has warned consumers against transacting with Manicaa, a scam operation online, purporting to be an online business. Acting National Consumer Commissioner, Thezi Mabuza, said the Commission has received several complaints from consumers alleging that they have purchased goods from Manicaa and did not receive their goods. “Others alleged that they […]

Pieter van Wyk, the Botanist at |Ai-|Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park has been announced as one of three worldwide winners of the prestigious Future For Nature (FFN) Award and will soon be accepting his prize in the Netherlands. Inspired by the Future For Nature Award winners, Wageningen University ecologists Ignas Heitkönig and Rascha Nuijten founded the Future […]

Residents of Makhaza in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, have welcomed the announcement that they will be allocated a satellite police station by October. Makhaza residents in Khayelitsha will finally be getting a police station on the vacant site identified nearly 20 years ago. But this will be temporary until a permanent station is built in the […]

A mathematical model played a vital role in the struggle for access to HIV medicines in the 2000s. It showed that antiretroviral medicines would save millions of lives. And studies based on the model showed it would be affordable. Activists used it to advocate for treatment and eventually policymakers were persuaded. UCT epidemiologist Dr Leigh […]

A luxury home paid for with Lottery money by actress Terry Pheto, star ofTsotsi and The Bold and the Beautiful, has been sold to an unidentified Johannesburg businessman for R3.9-million. The house, which was subject to a preservation order obtained by the National Prosecuting Authority’s Assets Forfeiture Unit, failed to attract any bids when it was put up for auction […]

Malawians living in South Africa are digging deep in their pockets to collect money and essential items to send home in the wake of the devastating cyclone Freddy earlier this month. A group of Malawians in South Africa are collecting money and essential goods to send to families in the wake of devastating Cyclone Freddy. […]

Convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester, who escaped from prison on 3 May 2022, has been running a scam construction company called “Arum Properties” with celebrity doctor Nandipha Magudumana. The couple convinced several people to pay millions of rands for construction projects, but never delivered the goods. Clients of Arum Properties told GroundUp that soon […]

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) — which is expected to create a continent-wide market comprising 1.3 billion people and a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of US$3.4 trillion — will make the continent an oyster for young entrepreneurs. This is the view of Silenx Director, Sifiso Nxumalo, whose company is in the process […]

An urgent meeting has been requested between the South African and United Arab Emirates’ central authorities as well as the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola and his counterpart in the UAE – to get an update on the status of an extradition application pertaining to Atul Gupta and Rajesh Gupta. The brothers […]

Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo, has paid tribute to the 102 595 nurses who lost their lives when they became the first line of defence to protect South Africans during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Let’s remember these fallen heroes and heroines with pride because they rolled up their sleeves and confronted the ever-mutating pandemic […]

The Department of Home Affairs (DHA) has extended the blanket concession for long-term visa or waiver applicants who are awaiting outcomes of their applications to 31 December 2023. This is as the department attempts to address the impact that processing backlogs are having on applicants. The DHA said the concession will last until the end […]

The Department of Health has expressed concern at the increasing number of locally acquired indigenous cholera cases following the four new cholera cases that were recorded over the last week in Gauteng. “Whilst there is an ongoing risk for imported cases following travel from other African countries currently experiencing cholera outbreaks (especially Malawi, Mozambique, Zambia […]

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an international arrest warrant for Russian president Vladimir Putin for alleged war crimes regarding the unlawful deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia. Such acts are war crimes under two articles of the Rome Statute, which established the court. ICC arrest warrants against sitting heads of state are […]

The Zimbabwean government says it has put in place a range of measures to help Zimbabweans returning from South Africa. But many say they are battling to make ends meet. With the expiry of the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit system looming in June, many Zimbabweans in South Africa are returning to Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe government says […]

Final-year Industrial Design student at the University of Johannesburg, Tshepiso Motau, has won the Furniture Design Competition in a ceremony hosted by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic). Motau, who hails from Centurion, designed an eye-catching and colourful room divider with Ndebele patterns inspired by internationally acclaimed artist, Dr Esther Mahlangu. The […]

If you grew up in the 90s and 00s, you may feel that sex education didn’t teach you much of practical value. Most sex education during this time followed a “prevention” approach, focusing on avoiding pregnancy and STIs, with most information largely targeted at heterosexual people. While some schools are now making their sex education […]