The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the South African Reserve Bank has suddenly decided to cut the repo rate by 100 basis points. This takes the repo rate to 4.25% per annum, the Reserve Bank said in a press statement on Tuesday. The Bank said the May 2020 meeting of the MPC was moved earlier […]

South African Airways (SAA) has announced a flight from Frankfurt, Germany, on 18 April 2020 for stranded South Africans in UK and the rest of Europe. The SA High Commission in the UK has advised those Saffers still stuck in the UK to fly to Frankfurt, if they would like to board this flight. UPDATE: […]

An 11-year-old schoolboy in Heidelberg, South Africa, was tragically electrocuted and killed after playing on a bouncy castle that his parents had hired during the Coronavirus lockdown, to keep him and his little sister entertained. Gauteng couple Paul and Rhodine de Beer hired the inflatable for 11-year-old Pedre and his five-year-old sister Anele, 5 to […]

South Africa’s Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, has condemned the incidents of vandalism, burglary and destruction of schools across several provinces since the COVID-19 lockdown started. This follows break-ins at three schools in KwaZulu-Natal in 24 hours between Saturday and Sunday, where expensive learning equipment was stolen… the latest in a string of schools that […]

The Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, in partnership with the packaging industry, has secured a plan to assist waste pickers countrywide who have lost their livelihoods during the national lockdown period. “Working with industry and the waste reclaimers associations, we will be distributing electronic food vouchers to waste pickers’ cell phones over the coming […]

The number of COVID-19 cases in South Africa rose to 2,272 on Monday, with two more deaths confirmed by Health Minister Zweli Mkhize. He said one of those deaths was a 57-year-old Gauteng man who had no recorded underlying diseases. The positive tests are an increase of 99 from the previous day. Total deaths stood […]

Police Minister Bheki Cele has condemned the burglary and looting of at least 16 liquor outlets in the Western Cape since the COVID-19 nationwide lockdown. Minister Cele visited the province on Saturday and was accompanied by Deputy Minister Cassel Mathale, the National Commissioner of the SAPS, General Kehla Sitole and Deputy National Commissioner, Lieutenant General […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s says he has a message for those “callous criminals” trying to take advantage during Lockdown. “The criminal justice system is not on leave,” the President tweeted on Monday morning. “You will be arrested, you will be tried and you will be put behind bars.” In the President’s latest letter to fellow South […]

As of Sunday, 12 April 2020, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Africa is 2 173, with no reported increase in deaths. Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize said this is an increase of 145 cases from the previously reported cases on Saturday. The number of deaths still stand at 25. He said […]

South African Airways (SAA) is involved in the ongoing repatriation of thousands of foreign nationals to reunite them with their families in their respective home countries, after getting stuck in SA by the national lockdown, which came into effect at midnight on 26 March 2020. SAA acting General Manager for Operations Tebogo Tsimane said “we […]

South Africa has 2028 confirmed cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19), with 25 deaths, the country’s health minister has announced in the latest update. “The total number of COVID-19 tests conducted to date is 75 053,” Minister of Health Dr Zweli Mkhize said in a statement on Saturday. The Minister said he was sad to reveal another […]

Three members of the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) have tested positive for COVID-19. “Thus far, from a total number of 184 suspected cases, 125 tests have been conducted,105 came back negative and only 3 positive,” said SANDF Surgeon General Lieutenant General Zola Dabula. In a statement on Saturday, Dabula said 15 more SANDF […]

On Easter Sunday (April 12, 2020), you can watch Italian global music icon Andrea Bocelli performing live at the magnificent Duomo cathedral of Milan (we’ve got the video for you at the bottom of the page – you can set a reminder for 7pm SA time). Here’s a taste of what you can expect: https://www.facebook.com/andreabocelli/videos/334935860800275/ […]

South Africa has recorded 410 recoveries from Coronavirus, according to Minister of Health, Dr Zweli Mkhize. Speaking on Friday, Dr Mkhize said that SA currently has 2,003 confirmed cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) with sadly 24 deaths. Since the lockdown came into effect at midnight on 26 March, the rate at which new cases have been […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has encouraged the millions of South Africans, who are commemorating Good Friday, to take courage and strength from the message of Easter as the country deals with COVID-19. The President on Thursday, 9 April announced a two-week extension of the previously announced 21-day national lockdown, which is part of efforts to slow […]

DA Leader John Steenhuisen says the Democratic Alliance would prefer a “gradual phasing out of the current lockdown over the coming weeks, as opposed to a continuation of the severe and economically-crippling regulations we currently see.” Steenhuisen’s statement follows President Ramaphosa’s announcement that South Africa’s lockdown will be extended to the end of April. The […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa and his Cabinet will over the next three months take a pay cut of 33% in their salaries – as government ups the ante on the fight against the impact of COVID-19 on the economy. The drastic move was announced by President Ramaphosa on Thursday evening, while addressing the nation on the […]

Watch South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa below as he addresses the nation on Day 14 of SA’s 21-day Lockdown, which began at midnight on 26 March, to curb the spread of the deadly Coronavirus. UPDATE: South Africa’s Lockdown period extended by 2 weeks to end April, and Ministers Take Pay Cut! WATCH LIVE | Day […]

The Bambazi High School in Bergville, KwaZulu-Natal went up in flames on Wednesday late afternoon, before 17h00; sadly not the first South African school that’s been torched during SA’s 21-day lockdown. Elijah Mhlanga, Spokesperson for the Department of Basic Education, tweeted on Wednesday evening that “so many schools (have been) destroyed during this lockdown. It’s […]

The public broadcaster and the Department of Basic Education have launched a COVID-19 learner support initiative in an effort to limit the impact of the lockdown on the school calendar. The multimedia learner support initiative, the SABC and the DBE said in a joint statement, is part of the broader efforts to prevent the total […]

South Africa’s COVID-19 related deaths have risen to 18. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize announced the latest Coronavirus figure on Wednesday, after five more deaths were sadly recorded. As at 8 April, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases stands at 1,845. This is an increase of 96 from the previously reported cases. Gauteng leads with […]

Environment minister Barbara Creecy’s decision to allow vastly expanded West Coast beach mining in South Africa has prompted sharp criticism from environmentalists, reports John Yeld for GroundUp. Appointed at the end of May last year, Creecy, minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, was seen as a new broom, particularly after making a number of […]

South Africans who have found themselves stranded and destitute in London, when their flights home were cancelled on or around 26 March (when Lockdown began at midnight on that Thursday), are to be repatriated to South Africa. After we received several queries on Wednesday morning, DIRCO spokesperson Penny Ehlers confirmed to SAPeople that an SAA […]

Homeless people at the Strandfontein Sports Grounds, Cape Town, were shot at with rubber bullets by police after they began to protest about conditions at the tent camp set up as part of the national lockdown to disrupt the spread of Covid-19. The protest possibly broke out after some people who were moved to the […]

DIRCO Minister Naledi Pandor has asked South Africans stranded abroad to please be patient as the Department of International Relations is doing all it can under unprecedented and challenging circumstances to arrange for them to be repatriated. “It’s a very difficult situation,” Pandor told 702 on Tuesday evening. “Travel arrangements are difficult. Communication is difficult. […]