The prohibition of waste pickers from accessing the Coastal Park Landfill Site near Muizenberg saw an initial confrontation with security guards on Tuesday 18 February escalate to a group of about 100 people fighting to get in at about 7pm – sunset – last Wednesday 19 February. Reinforcements were called in the next day and […]

The Basic Education Department (DBE) has suspended with immediate effect the serving of canned pilchards as part of the national school nutrition menu across all schools in the country. The decision follows a recent order by the National Regulator for Compulsory Specifications that all formal wholesalers, retailers and informal traders remove and stop selling the […]

On Friday 28 February 2020, Capetonian marathon swimmer, musician and mother-of-three Carina Bruwer will attempt to swim approximately 20km to cross Nelson Mandela Bay in Port Elizabeth, in support of Muzukidz, an organisation that offers underprivileged children the opportunity to learn the violin. If successful, Carina will be the first woman and the second person […]

A Spar franchisee in South Africa has been ordered to pay millions of rands to workers for unlawful deductions on earnings, as well as non-compliance with the National Minimum Wage (NMW), said the Department of Employment and Labour.   On Monday, the department welcomed the outcome of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) […]

A raft of tax increases and curtailing the public sector wage bill are just some of the interventions anticipated to be announced by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni when he delivers the 2020 Budget. Amid South Africa’s precarious economic state, economists, in anticipation of the Budget, say Mboweni has the unenviable task of extricating the country […]

Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula has handed over 249 Shova Kalula bicycles to learners from six schools in De Aar in the Northern Cape, South Africa. The bicycles were distributed on Monday through the Department of Transport’s initiative, Shova Kalula bicycle programme, aimed at assisting learners who walk more than three kilometres — but less than […]

The Department of Employment and Labour says the new rate for the National Minimum Wage (NMW) for each ordinary hour worked will now be R20.76. In terms of a notice published in the Government Gazette and signed by Employment and Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi, the new rate will be applicable on 1 March 2020. The […]

About 150 protesters marched to Parliament on Monday to mark the first day of the two-day Real Jobs Summit, part of the Cry of the Xcluded campaign over unemployment. On Sunday participants in the campaign staged a performance of a play at the V&A Waterfront amphitheatre about unemployment, climate change and domestic violence. The play was […]

Abahlali baseMjondolo Movement (ABM) marched in support of land expropriation without compensation and amending the Constitution on Monday. Protesters handed over a submission, in the form of a memorandum, on the Amendment to Section 25 of the Constitution. Deadline for public comment is Friday. About 1,000 supporters marched from King Bhekuzulu Park to Durban City […]

While there has been no case of Coronavirus reported in South Africa, people who develop symptoms of respiratory illness during or after travel to countries where the outbreak is known to be circulating, have been advised to seek early medical care. The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) on Monday said it continues to monitor […]

A happy hippo cruising in to a garage on Sunday evening in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, has put a smile on locals’ faces. On Monday a video of the hippo’s casual stroll through a busy Engen Garage in St Lucia was shared on social media amongst South Africans everywhere. The OK Express at Engen St Lucia […]

A 59-year-old German tourist is alive and well today thanks to two unidentified Good Samaritans who rescued him after he was swept out to sea by rip currents at Herolds Bay in the Western Cape, South Africa, on Friday. The Good Samaritans were a surfer and body boarder who apparently used their boards as flotation […]

A Sedgefield couple are on a mission to help street children transition from vandalism and petty crime, to attending school and gaining an education to become positive contributors to society. We all know that the authorities and Education Department should be doing this… but until they do, South Africans can’t afford to waste time complaining […]

With everything stacked against him, there’s a little elephant in South Africa who’s survival is putting smiles in all our hearts and making news around the world. This Sunday Carte Blanche meets the wildlife heroes in South Africa who are saving a rare albino baby elephant who was severely injured by a poaching snare. You […]

Owing to unplanned breakdowns, Eskom will continue to implement rotational load shedding going into the weekend. In a statement on Friday, the power utility said unplanned breakdowns have increased the shortage in generation capacity. “Eskom will continue implementing Stage 2 rotational load shedding until Sunday at 6am owing to unplanned breakdowns that have increased the […]

South African expats watching the new winter series of the UK’s popular Love Island have been in hysterics over some of the things happening on the show… since it’s filmed in Cape Town, and as expats they have an insider’s knowledge! Juliet Searle from Irene in Pretoria, who is now living in West Sussex, penned […]

Echoes of apartheid-style exploitation of workers have resurfaced in recent years in South Africa. Debates around these malpractices were given fresh impetus four years ago with the release of a documentary, Bitter Grapes. Produced by Danish journalist Tom Heinemann, it featured workers from South Africa’s winelands. Bitter Grapes cast light on wide-ranging exploitation. Hardships included […]

David Scott from The Kiffness has penned an open letter to Woolworths after the South African multi-national retail chain announced its decision this week to stop playing copyright-protected music in their nationwide stores, in favour of royalty free soundtracks. According to SAMPRA, this effectively means South African music will no longer be played and promoted […]

Nearly 66% of this year’s SAFTA nominations in the TV categories are available to binge now on Showmax, with more to come soon. This includes more than 85% of the drama and over two-thirds of the soap and telenovela nominations, as well as both the most-nominated series overall and the most-nominated telenovela (The River, with 15 nominations), and the most-nominated drama […]

Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu is mostly known to the world for his highly prominent role in the campaign against apartheid in South Africa. This role was internationally recognised by the awarding of the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize. Tutu continued his activism even after the country’s democratic transition in South Africa in the early 1990s. Among […]

There are about 85 South Africans currently stuck in China, despite wanting to be evacuated and returned to South Africa in light of the outbreak of the new Coronavirus, according to the Democratic Alliance (DA). In a statement today, Darren Bergman MP – DA Shadow Minister of International Relations and Cooperation – said whilst the DA […]

“This is Jesse, he is a drifter who lives near the bridge in my area.  He owns nothing but a bike, a bird and a bag of about 10 items,” writes Tony Biggs. “Yesterday, while I was riding my bike down around the beach – which is about 5km from my house – I got […]

Egypt announced its first Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) case on Friday, making it Africa’s first documented infection. “This is not unexpected and South Africa remains vigilant for cases of COVID-19,” South Africa’s National Institute of Communicable Diseases (NICD) said in a tweet on Saturday. (Watch video below on how ready South Africa is for the […]

Cape Town Water Crisis déjà vu floods over me as I step into Shanghai’s Pingwu Road and see the long line of people outside the pharmacy. We’re eight days into our self-imposed Coronavirus quarantine and my husband and I have finally decided to leave the apartment… writes Anique Kruger who has been living and teaching […]

Anti-drug trafficking groups say an increasing number of South Africans are getting arrested abroad for drugs smuggled through O.R. Tambo International Airport. This Sunday Carte Blanche investigates the status quo at the airport, as well as celebrating Miss Universe Zozibini Tunzi, remembering Ladysmith Black Mambazo founder Joseph Shabalala and finding out why a popular Western […]