Western Cape Premier, Alan Winde, today sent wishes for a speedy recovery to both his fellow premiers who have also been diagnosed positive for COVID-19, David Makhura of Gauteng and Job Mokgoro of North West. “I am sending my wishes for a speedy recovery to Premiers David Makhura of Gauteng and Job Mokgoro of North […]

The ANC government of the Eastern Cape’s “delusional” project to put 100 1920s-style scooters on the roads to deal with COVID-19, launched with much fanfare last month, is under investigation. The so-called Scooter Scandal, or Scootergate, was launched by Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize in June, who said, “These multi-purpose units are extremely versatile and […]

As a massive cold front descends on South Africa from the Atlantic, a number of severe weather alerts have been issued for Friday by the SA Weather Service, including flooding, snow and fire, in different parts of the country. The service said that heavy rain could lead to flooding over the western and southwestern parts […]

The population of South Africa stands at 59.6 million, according to Stats South Africa, with more than a quarter of it in Gauteng. StatsSA said that in the period 2016 – 2021, Gauteng and Western Cape showed the largest inflow of migrants, 1,553,162 and 468,568, respectively. StatsSA said Gauteng has about 15.5 million people (26 […]

Clearing one last major hurdle in the creation of a new South African Airways, all but one labour union, representing the pilots, have agreed to accept voluntary severance packages for up to 2,700 people, which will cost about R2.27 billion, according to a statement by the Department of Public Enterprises. The business rescue plan put […]

A corner restaurant in Johannesburg well known for its brunches and its name, Pablo Eggs-Go-Bar, has become the latest victim in the food industry of an economy devastated by the COVID pandemic. Other well-known restaurants, especially in Cape Town, like the popular Jason Bakery on Bree Street, Karen Dudley’s very popular The Kitchen in Woodstock […]

An amateur astronomer in Centurion, South Africa, has discovered a new storm over the planet Jupiter that is now being called after him, Clyde’s Spot, according to NASA. On May 31, Clyde Foster was imaging Jupiter with his telescope when he noticed a new oval-shaped spot in an area where several storms, including the Great […]

Four policemen in Worcester were arrested after allegedly taking money from shopkeepers to avoid being arrested for selling cigarettes. The police said today that detectives from the Western Cape Provincial Anti-Corruption Unit arrested two Warrant Officers, aged 45 and 48, and two Sergeants,, aged 43 and 53 on Monday. The policemen were identified and linked […]

The mayor of Johannesburg, Geoff Makhubo, has been accused by his predecessor Herman Mashaba of giving himself a raise while cutting the budgets of numerous urgently needed services in the city. “This proposed budget is nothing short of a disaster for the residents of Johannesburg, and promises the complete collapse of service delivery infrastructure,” said […]

More than 30,000 illegal firearms taken off the streets have been destroyed in smelters in Vereeniging, the South African Police said today. Over 33,000 firearms have been destroyed in the first half of 2020, including 30,913 handguns, 1,452 rifles and 894 shotguns, as well as 725 firearm parts. Most of the guns were seized during […]

The eighth suspect arrested over allegations of the R2 billion fraud at VBS Mutual Bank, Phillip Truter, appeared in the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes court today to face 47 charges of fraud, theft, money laundering, corruption and racketeering. Truter, the former Chief Financial Officer of VBS, was in quarantine when the other seven, including […]

At least 1,544 public servants who were involved in doing business with the state are to have action taken against them, according to the minister of Public Service and Administration Senzo Mchunu. In June Mchunu said he had written to the government departments about employees who had failed to disclose their financial interests or the […]

Several hardhitting videos on Twitter by businessman and global speaker Vusi Thembekwayo have gone viral, with him blaming ANC government corruption for the devastation the country now faces and saying that South Africa could otherwise have survived the COVID pandemic.  The videos originated from one longer video he had filmed live on Facebook Watch on […]

A new TV campaign brought out by Proudly South African and voiced by actor John Kani is encouraging people to buy local, in order to create jobs and sustain them, especially as many businesses try to lift themselves out of the economic hole created by the COVID-19 pandemic. “The second half is about to begin,” […]

The National Treasury has reiterated its stance that it will not bail out South African Airways, apparently in direct conflict with Pravin Gordhan, who seems hell bent on saving the airline from liquidation. In its response to public submissions to the Supplementary Budget, the treasury today released a brief programme on what the next steps […]

Four South African Airways unions and staff representatives have expressed an intention to sign voluntary severance packages offered as part of the airline’s business rescue and restructuring process. The three main unions, however, have so far not accepted the packages. These are the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), the SA Cabin Crew […]

The African National Congress has, controversially, reinstated two of its members who figured prominently in a report exposing the R2 billion fraud committed at VBS Mutual Bank. Eight ringleaders of the fraud were arrested and charged two weeks ago. The decision to reinstate Limpopo provincial deputy chairperson Florence Radzilani and treasurer Danny Msiza was apparently taken […]

As the squandering of money by most municipalities went up yet again – from R25.2 billion to R32 billion – Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu in his latest report of the country’s municipalities singled out the Western Cape and Gauteng for having developed characteristics of good governance. Makwetu said many municipalities were spending money “in ways that […]

A nearly complete R281 million forensic pathology facility at Groote Schuur Hospital could help reduce South Africa’s high number of unsolved crimes and cold cases. The Observatory Forensic Pathology Institute will be more than just a mortuary, the University of Cape Town’s Department of Medicine says on its website, but will allow pathologists to be […]

With moviehouses across the country ready to open soon, the well-known Labia Theatre in Cape Town has announced that it will also start streaming a curated selection of movies that one can watch at home, in addition to those that will be available on its four screens. The Labia Home Screen offers six video-on-demand movies […]

As many as two dozen ships at a time could be seen lying anchored in Table Bay the last few weeks, while berths in the harbour were almost empty. The Western Cape government said it has requested a meeting with Minister Pravin Gordhan to deal with the challenges facing Cape Town harbour that are losing […]

The South African cabinet has said it supports the establishment of a new airline out of South African Airways and has backed the concerted efforts to mobilise funding from various sources that could see the proposed carrier take off. The mobilising of funding would include potential equity partners, government said in a post-Cabinet meeting statement. […]

Zeblon Vilakazi, a professor who is “globally recognised for his scientific work,” has been selected to replace Professor Adam Habib as the next vice-chancellor and principal of the University of Witwatersrand. He will take over his role on 1 January. Professor Vilakazi’s appointment was announced today by the Council of the University of the Witwatersrand […]

The government has promised that the calamitous journey of its Medupi power plant, said to be the fourth-biggest in the world and first started in 2007, will be over this year and its sister plant Kusile completed in 2023. This was stated when Deputy President David Mabuza answered a question in Parliament today. He said […]

The government will need to borrow $7 billion from international finance institutions as one of the measures to cover the budget hole brought about by South Africa’s response to COVID-19, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said today during his supplementary budget. “Debt is our weakness. We have accumulated far too much debt. This downturn will add […]