This post will serve as a reminder of how our lives were blighted by apartheid whose graffiti was everywhere. And I mean everywhere! Also every day! It was relentless… writes author Shadley Fataar. The pictures used to represent a small selection of the many signs we were exposed to on a daily basis. A picture is worth a thousand […]

The world’s leading lion scientists argue that captive predator breeding has no conservation value. Successful reintroduction from captivity into the wild among large felids is extremely rare. Nonetheless, the captive predator breeding industry in South Africa operates on the pretext that reintroduction to the wild is a viable strategy and that it contributes to broader […]

Top executives in at least 24 government-funded agencies were paid more than R3-million in the 2017/18 financial year — more than the salary allocated to Jacob Zuma in his final year as state president. Five of the 24 executives were paid more than R5-million each. Three received packages worth over R7-million. GroundUp used official reports to analyse […]

Former SA Revenue Service (SARS) deputy commissioner Edward Kieswetter has been appointed as the new Commissioner for South African Revenue Service (SARS). President Cyril Ramaphosa announced on Wednesday that Kieswetter will lead the revenue service for the next five years starting on 1 May. The National Treasury was confident that the selection process that was […]

Going on safari in Africa offers tourists the opportunity to see some of the most spectacular wildlife on Earth – including African elephants (Loxodonta africana). Known for their complex social systems, long memory and high intelligence, this species is also threatened by poaching and shrinking habitats, so further disturbance to their precarious existence could have […]

Kenyans have taken to social media to protest against what they claim is illegal sand harvesting off Diani beach, one of the country’s most popular coastal areas. The Conversation Africa’s Moina Spooner spoke to David Obura about why this is an issue. Is sand harvesting a problem on the Kenyan coast? The harvesting of sand […]

JOHANNESBURG – Former South African president Jacob Zuma’s son Duduzane has pleaded not guilty in a Johannesburg court to culpable homicide and negligent driving relating to a fatal car accident in 2014. Duduzane appeared in the Randburg Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday. Driving a Porsche sports car, Duduzane crashed into a minivan taxi on a highway […]

It’s a common misconception that a manager is identical to a leader. While the two share similar characteristics, the roles have fundamental differences which set them apart from one another. Ultimately, the key difference between leaders and managers is: Managers oversee teams that work for them; Leaders head up teams that follow them. To maximise […]

With the electricity system gradually improving, no load shedding is anticipated for this week, says Eskom. “The improvement in plant performance, together with replenished diesel and water reserves over the last few days, as well as the increase of imports from Mozambique’s Cahora Bassa to 850MW, has positively shifted system performance,” said Eskom in a […]

In its efforts to ramp up the fight against racism, xenophobia and discrimination, the South African government has launched a tool to assist in combating these intolerances. The tool comes in the form of a 67-page document known as the National Action Plan (NAP). The plan, which takes its cue from the Declaration Programme of […]

The week got off to a fabulous start in Cape Town, South Africa, where a drizzly dawn was transformed by a bright double rainbow that seemed to stretch across the entire Mother City. Several Capetonians stopped on the side of the road to snap photographs of the exquisite double rainbow as it lit up their […]

The Marula tree (Sclerocarya birrea) is a local alternative to the Jacarandas and Madagascan Flamboyants. Jacarandas and Flamboyants are some of my pet peeves when it comes to gardening and trees. Not only are they aggressive invasives throughout Southern Africa, but they are also messy and destructive trees writes Nick Bredenkamp. Jacarandas roots are very […]

“While filming interviews for our story on the installation of suburb surveillance cameras, our presenter and crew were held at gunpoint and robbed!” says an incredulous Carte Blanche. The Carte Blanche team was filming an insert about tech platform Vumacam’s installation of CCTV cameras across Johannesburg (see above) in the latest fight against crime in […]

This year marks the 59th anniversary of the Sharpeville massacre in South Africa. On 21 March 1960 the apartheid police opened fire on unarmed marchers protesting against a law that forced black people to carry identity documents. Over 200 were injured and 69 killed. The following edited excerpt is from a new book featuring the […]

South Africa’s state utility Eskom will make more power cuts this week as it struggles with capacity shortages that threaten to stymie President Cyril Ramaphosa’s efforts to boost investments and economic growth. Eskom supplies more than 90 percent of the power in South Africa but has suffered repeated faults at its coal-fired power stations, along […]

“I have always prided myself in writing objective and truthful articles” says Tossie Beukes. One of four defamation cases against seven critics of controversial Australian mining company Mineral Commodities (MRC) and its South African operations has been dropped. A linked criminal defamation case against one of the seven has also been withdrawn. The cases, totalling […]

Marlon du Toit, one of South Africa’s finest wildlife photographers – and an International Expedition Leader – will be a guest star on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon tonight in the US. (Expats can watch on NBC on Monday evening, while South Africans back home can watch tomorrow on Comedy Central – see details […]

The 13th of March 2019 may have been an ordinary day for most but not for a 35-year-old male patient, who had previously lost his hearing in a car accident. In a pioneering surgical procedure using 3D-printed middle ear bones, developed by Professor Mashudu Tshifularo and his team at the University of Pretoria (UP), the […]

Recently a number of school boards and police services issued statements advising parents of an alleged cyberbullying threat called the Momo challenge. It’s unclear how many videos actually exist of the creepy-looking mask apparently telling children to harm themselves, or to what extent they have circulated, among children or elsewhere. While some experts suggest anxious […]

Rooibos is already popular in Europe and now it’s becoming a big deal in Japan – one of the largest tea-drinking nations in the world – with exports of our indigenous tea hitting record highs in 2018. More than 2 000 tons were shipped to Japan‘s shores last year – the largest consignment since Rooibos […]

South Africans abroad, who are registered to vote, have to submit the VEC10 form before the deadline of midnight (UTC +2:00) on Wednesday 13 March 2019… but so far tens of thousands who could vote, have not submitted the form! This is why…. 1. They don’t know about the VEC 10 Form! In order for […]

South African singer Selkii will be seen dazzling the judges of The Voice in America on Monday evening. As seen in a ‘sneak peek’ Blind Auditions 2019 video that The Voice released a few days ago, Selkii ‘stands out’ with her version of Macy Gray’s ‘I Try’. The sneak peek shows two judges turning around, […]

Research has shown that excess salt intake is harmful to people’s health. It can lead to high blood pressure and increase the risk of heart disease and stroke. Globally salt reduction programmes are gaining traction, whether through awareness campaigns or through governmental interventions. This has been true in South Africa too. Three years ago it […]

South Africans – like millions of people across the world – are seriously susceptible to religious abuse. The local media has once again been abuzz with a litany of shocking stories about manipulation, abuse and fraud by pastors. The latest one, a fake “resurrection” made headlines around the world. A video of Pastor Alph Lukau […]

Once upon a time… in a beautiful forest on the magical Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains… writes Sheryn Nader who took these beautiful photographs of nature’s delight in South Africa’s newest world heritage site. Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains in Mpumalanga was officially declared a World Heritage Site in July 2018, becoming South Africa’s 10th World Heritage site, and the […]