South Africa’s Minister of Basic Education announced a 2018 matric pass rate of 78.2% in the first week of January as well as a number of other significant achievements. These are academic results of students in their final year of high school. The results are used to gauge the state of the country’s education system. […]

Condolences have poured in for OR Tambo District Municipality Mayor, Nomakhosazana Meth, after she suffered a double tragedy this weekend when her two sons were killed in a car crash late Friday night in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. The two boys had been out celebrating their matric results when the accident happened in the early […]

Half of all South African pupils who attended school for five years can’t do basic calculations. This is according to a 2015 TIMMS report on mathematics achievements among Grade 5 learners in South Africa. At the same time, it’s calculated that 10% of the country’s teachers are absent from school each day, while research found […]

Brand South Africa has welcomed South Africa’s improvement in the 2018 Index of Economic Freedom. This comes after the Heritage Foundation has ranked South African 77th out of 100 world countries in terms of economic freedom. In terms of economic freedom, the Heritage Foundation indicates that with a world rank of 77/180, South Africa is […]

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Three former Credit Suisse Group AG bankers were arrested in London on Thursday on U.S. charges that they took part in a fraud scheme involving $2 billion in loans to state-owned companies in Mozambique, a spokesman for U.S. prosecutors said. Andrew Pearse, 49; Surjan Singh, 44; and Detelina Subeva, 37 were […]

One of South Africa’s great liberal stalwarts, Rupert Lorimer, has passed away. Lorimer was elected as a Member of Parliament for the Progressive Party in 1974 and joined Helen Suzman in Parliament in the fight against the brutal apartheid regime. Democratic Alliance National Spokesperson Refiloe Nt’sekhe said the DA is saddened by Lorimer’s passing, and […]

Devotion, that’s the recipe to become a top matriculant according to one of the 2018 top performing learners, Rowan Crafford. The blind student from Prinshof School was among the cream of the crop invited to a ministerial breakfast hosted by Basic Education (DBE) Minister Angie Motshekga and Vodacom as a sponsor on Thursday morning. The […]

The Department of Home Affairs has announced that several of its offices across the country will operate from 7am to 7pm shift from 2 to 11 January 2019 to ensure clients are not turned away from offices during this busy period. Home Affairs normal shifts are from 8am to 3.30pm during the week. In a […]

It seems New Year’s Day brought out the best in South Africans as yet another story of brave heroes diving into the ocean to rescue strangers in distress is going viral. Capetonian Ricardo Rossouw published a post yesterday saying that on 1 Jan he “witnessed the true meaning of humanity… the true spirit of Ubuntu” […]

Alex Kuier from Switzerland has always been passionate about South Africa, since she lived in our country a few years ago… but she never realised how much that love for SA would one day help her recover from a traumatic accident. After living in SA for six years and being a regular SAPeople contributor, Alex […]

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) has confirmed the resignation of Deputy Governor Francois Groepe. Groepe tendered his resignation during December to pursue “outside opportunities”, the central bank said on Wednesday. His resignation is effective from 31 January. “The SARB wishes to thank Deputy Governor Groepe for his 14 years of service, seven served as […]

Presidency Director-General Dr Cassius Lubisi has received a memorandum from #FeesMustFall activists demanding blanket amnesty for activists who have been convicted of crimes arising from the #FeesMustFall protest in 2017. Activists arrived at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on Wednesday, 2 January following a march from KwaZulu-Natal to Leeukop correctional centre in Gauteng, where activist […]

Following the stamp of approval by the council for quality assurance in education and training, Umalusi, the class of 2018 will find out how they fared in the National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations later today. Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga will announce the overall NSC results this evening, while individual results will be released on […]

The wife of a South African man charged in Mozambique on terror-related activities has scoffed at the charges, and says her husband – Andre Mayer Hanekom – is being framed by influential people who want to get their hands on his beach property. South Africa’s International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) Minister Lindiwe Sisulu has called […]

The South African government has encouraged the Khoisan community – six of whom have been staging a peaceful protest at the Union Buildings in Pretoria – to participate in shaping legislation as Parliament considers the Traditional and Khoisan Leadership Bill. The Presidency said Sunday that it recently engaged with a few members of the Khoisan […]

South Africa has sent its condolences to the people of United Arab Emirates (UAE) following a helicopter crash that claimed the lives of four people in the North-Eastern region of the country, including a South African paramedic. “The government and people of South Africa wish to extend its sincere condolences to the Government and people of the UAE […]

A couple of months ago, as I flew along the Overberg coast I could not fail to notice a fair amount of what I suspect to be poaching activity… writes marine conservation photographer Jean Tresfon. I counted six inflatable boats, all carrying multiple divers, spare cylinders and sackfuls of what looks suspiciously like abalone. Also […]

Motorists will usher in the New Year with a little more in their pockets thanks to news today that the petrol price is set to come down in January. The Department of Energy on Friday announced that both grades of petrol 93 (ULP and LRP) and 95 (ULP and LRP) will decrease by R1.22 and R1.23 […]

Siphon suction pumps will be used to further lower the Middle Lake Dam level in Benoni after part of the dam caved in earlier this week. Local, provincial and national government worked together to establish the operation to avert the possible loss of lives and serious damage to infrastructure following the caving in of a […]

Initiation deaths were at the centre of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Zweli Mkhize’s meeting with Eastern Cape traditional leaders. Held at the Nqadu Great Place in Willowvale on Thursday, the meeting between the parties discussed ways of curbing further deaths of initiates during the traditional ritual of ulwaluko. The country has seen a […]

The City of Cape Town, South Africa has on Thursday reiterated its stance that public amenities are available to all members of the public. In a statement the City noted ongoing reports about an incident that occurred on Clifton Fourth Beach on Christmas Eve where beachgoers were apparently instructed to leave the beach by private […]

Public health facilities across Gauteng were abuzz with excitement as 324 healthy babies were delivered on Christmas Day. As in previous years, the Soweto-based Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic hospital had the highest number of deliveries with 47 babies while Rahima Moosa Mother and Child hospital had 32 babies -including a set of twins. Another set […]

Coming up on South Africa’s favourite current affairs show Carte Blanche on Sunday 23 Dec in South Africa, it’s a feel-good episode filled with success stories – all available to stream from Tues 25 Dec for South Africans abroad. (14-day Free Trial): I’m Possible He continues to astound doctors and his loved ones. Grant Lottering, the ultra-endurance […]

Between 2015 and 2017 South Africa’s South Western Cape region experienced three of its lowest rainfall years on record. This led to the progressive depletion of water supply reservoirs and by the summer of 2017/18 there was a real danger that – without drastic reductions in water use – the region, and especially the city […]

South African conservationist Gareth James Legg and his team have just returned from a very successful expedition to Everest base camp where they created some incredible awareness around the plight of the world’s big cats and the environment. During the trek the three passionate South African conservationists – who are all qualified safari guides – […]