South Africa’s economy is projected to contract by 7.2 percent in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Finance Minister Tito Mboweni. “This is the largest contraction in nearly 90 years,” he said tabling the Supplementary Budget Review. Inflation will likely register 3 percent in 2020. “Commodity price increases and a weaker […]

National Treasury has set aside R21.5 billion for COVID‐19‐related healthcare spending for health and frontline services, it was announced by the Finance Minister Tito Mboweni when he delivered the Supplementary Budget on Wednesday. The budget was necessitated by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement that government would spend R500 billion to support the economy’s resuscitation following the […]

The leaking of official documents at the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa showed there was a “fight-back campaign” by highly placed officials unhappy about the cleaning up of corruption and maladministration at the state-owned enterprise, says administrator Bongisizwe Mpondo. Mpondo has directed the acting head of PRASA Security, Brigadier General Tebogo Rakau, to investigate […]

KASANE, Botswana – New research led by Elephants Without Borders reveals that poaching of African elephants for their ivory has not decreased since 2011 in Western, Southern, and Central Africa. As a result, continued efforts to combat poaching will be necessary to save elephant populations. The new study was published June 23rd in Scientific Reports […]

The Department of Public Enterprises has said it will oppose an application by SA Airlink to place South African Airways under provisional liquidation and finds the legal action “disturbing.” It was reported earlier today in Business Day that the private airline wanted to interdict a creditors meeting set for Thursday, and instead have the company […]

The new South African horror movie, “8,” now available on Netflix is getting great word of mouth and is trending among the top shows on the streaming channel. The supernatural thriller is grounded in South African folklore and mythology. It’s a dark story of atonement, rooted in traditional beliefs about ancestors and the spirit world. […]

Two suspects have been arrested in the killing of a young couple who were stranded on a Benoni road after running out of fuel in May 2019. The murdered couple were Johanco Fleischman, 19, and Jessica (Jess) Kuhn, 21. Kuhn was found shot in the bakkie and Fleischman, who had several gunshot wounds, was found […]

PRETORIA – Seven years after fleeing the country while awaiting trial for the murder of his girlfriend in Johannesburg, a South African has been caught in Rio de Janeiro, thanks to the combined work of the South African Police Service, Interpol, the National Prosecuting Authority and the Brazilian Federal Police. The suspect, 39-year-old Gerhard Jansen […]

“Think of it as the Amazon, the Alibaba or even the eBay of Coronavirus resources on the African continent, made in Africa by Africans, the fundamental difference being that on this platform, the buyer is not an individual but governments,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said. As chairman of the African Union, he said yesterday the new […]

More than 2 million litres of fuel have been stolen since April from Transnet’s pipelines that crisscross the country, the utility said in a statement this week. Transnet urged all stakeholders in the industry to fight against fuel theft, and to stop buying fule from unregistered traders. “The tampering and damage to the pipeline because […]

Transnet, the government utility controlling South Africa’s ports, freight trains and pipelines, has instituted a process of lifestyle audits for its employees, requiring them to declare their assets and credit history, as well as those of their immediate family. Transnet said in a statement today this was “part of efforts to ensure high standards of […]

As temperatures continue to plummet in Gauteng, Eskom said it would implement load reduction in certain areas, including parts of Soweto, in order to avoid network overloading from 5 p.m. until 10 p.m. today. Two days ago Eskom released a statement saying that repeated power failures were due to extreme network overloading and illegal connections. […]

Gauteng police have arrested a 31-year-old man in connection with the murder of Soweto mother-to-be, Tshegofatso Pule. The 28-year-old had been missing for four days when her body, covered in stab wounds, was found on Monday last week, hanging from a tree in a veld in Roodepoort. Pule was laid to rest last week in […]

In a sensational development, though long anticipated, the National Prosecuting Authority and the Hawks have arrested at least eight top people allegedly involved in the plundering of almost R2 billion from the defunct VBS Mutual Bank. The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation of the SA Police, also known as the Hawks, made the arrests early […]

South African youth from various formations have called on the Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Barbara Creecy, to ensure that economic recovery from Covid-19 is just, green, inclusive and youth and gender-responsive. Creecy today hosted a virtual Youth Environment and Sustainability Dialogue, where young South Africans presented a wide range of ideas and suggestions […]

The Western Cape government’s Hospital of Hope, created at the Cape Town International Conference Centre, is the largest COVID-dedicated hospital in Africa. The wards with 862 beds was created in 26 days, with staff working 24 hours a day. The hospital opened on 5 June. WATCH the time-lapse video of how it all came together. […]

While the Eastern Cape is going through a health crisis, unable to deal with the COVID pandemic, the ANC’s “delusional” health MEC has been showing off 100 scooters that won’t be able to handle rural roads, according to the Demoractic Alliance. Instead of focusing on the crisis at hand, said Jane Cowley, DA Eastern Cape […]

Showmax has since May been releasing “a whole pride” of programmes – series, reality shows and movies – celebrating the LGBTIAQ+ community, and the latest are six great African series and movies, five from South Africa, including “Kanarie” and “Inxeba (The Wound)”. “In the past few years, TV series and movies have made great strides […]

Over the past seven days, COVID-19 cases in Gauteng have doubled, with hospital admissions increasing and 20 more deaths, according to Premier David Makhura. “Gauteng has entered a new period in the battle against the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic is gaining momentum. We must face this reality head-on and mobilise all resources and energy to […]

China has outlawed the use of pangolin scales in traditional medicine and upgraded pangolins to the same first-tier protection status as pandas, in a significant move that will hopefully protect the seriously endangered species. The delisting of pangolins from the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) pharmacopoeia was reported by China’s Health Times newspaper, according to The […]

The Independent Electoral Commission has welcomed today’s judgment by the Constitutional Court declaring parts of the Electoral Act unconstitutional, notably regarding the law that only candidates of political parties can contest national and provincial elections. The court ruled, “The Electoral Act is unconstitutional to the extent that it requires adult citizens to be elected to […]

Joshua Buchalter, who normally works on cruise ships but came back home to Knysna during lockdown, wanted to use his time in South Africa helping out people in his community. The result was joining others to turn a 300-square-meter garbage dump into a vegetable garden that will supply a soup kitchen that serves up to […]

The mayor of Johannesburg, Geoff Makhubo, has gone into self-isolation after a member of his staff tested positive for COVID-19 after attending a funeral in the Western Cape. Makhubo earlier today visited a school in Johannesburg to see the safety preparations made for returning learners. Makhubo said that even though he had tested negative recently, […]

After years of South African train stations being subjected to unsolved arson attacks and hundreds of trains being burned, the Passenger Rail Agency of SA has dismissed four senior officials over their awarding of security-related tenders. Prasa said in a statement today that this followed a disciplinary enquiry of the executives, who were in its […]

The Western Cape needs about 30,000 beds as the number of Coronavirus infections in the province is expected to continue to surge, it was announced today when President Cyril Ramaphosa opened the 850-bed Hospital of Hope at the CTICC. Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize, who was on the visit with Ramaphosa and Western Cape Premier […]