Dear Fellow South African…writes President Cyril Ramaphosa in his latest newsletter, ‘From the Desk of the President’ Tomorrow, the country will come together to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the release of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela from prison. This was a moment of great joy across the length and breadth of the country. I remember vividly […]

As South Africa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) approaches – Thursday 13 February at 19h00 – and South Africans long for some positive direction, here’s an open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa, penned by M&C Saatchi Abel Group founder Mike Abel… Dear Mr President, I write this letter on the last day of January […]

The spotlight will be firmly on South African President Cyril Ramaphosa as he runs the gauntlet of delivering the annual state of the nation address on behalf of the governing party, African National Congress (ANC), and his government on Thursday. This year’s speech is light-years removed from the promise of a new beginning he offered […]

False allegations and rumours about the coronavirus outbreak have been running riot on social media and in some mainstream media. Misinformation is rampant and conspiracy theories have added to the confusion. Examples include reports that the virus can kill a person in seconds, that Ghana has developed a successful vaccine and that HIV drugs have […]

RIP Beautiful, gentle Yaz… writes her friend and colleague Dr Veruschka Josè-Bryant.  Dr Yasmin Ibrahim was my Anaesthetist and friend for many years. Our team (at Fourways Life Hospital in Sandton, Johannesburg) is devastated. We condemn her senseless murder and are deeply upset. I have delayed writing this post – the pain and anger at […]

The National Lotteries Commission (NLC) says it intends to lay criminal charges against freelance journalist Raymond Joseph and GroundUp over an ongoing investigation into alleged fraud and corruption involving multimillion-rand Lottery grants. The threats were made in two separate letters from the NLC’s lawyers, Malatji and Co, which were received by email on Thursday and […]

Archiebold Zolile Ndindwa moved to Van Riebeeck Park near Cape Town’s city centre after he could no longer afford to pay his rent in Langa. For many homeless people finding work is hard, even harder if they are without documents. But with help from Streetscapes, Ndindwa recently obtained his ID and can now receive a […]

On Saturday morning I entered Kruger very early and had a breakfast appointment at Skukuza planned… writes Kurt Schultz.  Having worked in Kruger and guided and run www.kurtsafari.com for the last 10 years. I spend most of the week in an office, so weekends are my time to get my camera out and get into […]

When Siphamandla Ntshewula was studying for matric in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, his family used to tell him the bright ceiling lights stopped them sleeping. So the young South African came up with the idea of making desk lamps from plastic bottles. Ntshewula, from T Section in Site B, matriculated in 2017. Now 21, he says […]

In listing 32 wild animal species as farm animals under the Animal Improvement Act in 2019, the Department of Agriculture went against the recommendations of the government’s own scientific authority. The scientific report on wildlife breeding was called for by the former Minister of Environmental Affairs (DEFF) and authored by 14 of the country’s top wildlife scientists. […]

About 80 activists took part in an Extinction Rebellion protest outside The Westin hotel in Cape Town during the annual Southern African Coal Conference on Thursday. Business executives, lobbyists, and government officials gather every year to discuss the future of coal mining, processing and trading at the conference. The protesters want to encourage the switch […]

The South African Medical Association (SAMA) has condemned the senseless killing of Joburg anaesthetist, Dr Yasmin Ibrahim, who was allegedly shot and killed by her partner before shooting and killing himself a few days ago. “This is extremely distressing and disturbing news. Dr Ibrahim’s death again highlights the high level of gender-based violence in our […]

Siyamthanda Mtyeku studied for matric in the one-roomed shack he shares with four other people in Marikana informal settlement in Cape Town, South Africa – and passed with seven distinctions. The 18-year-old Siyamthanda Mtyeku had to contend with loud music pumping from the shebeen across the road. Some days the food he was given at […]

A company in which the wife of the Chief Operating Officer (COO) of the National Lotteries Commission is a director received R4.8 million from the Lottery in 2017. The grant was awarded to Zibsimanzi, a non-profit company. This was within months of Rebotile Malomane, the mother of three of NLC COO Phillemon Letwaba’s children, being […]

South Africa’s umbrella sports body, SASCOC, has responded to the news that Paralympian wheelchair tennis player Lucas Sithole has been suspended by the International Tennis Federation for two years. In a statement, the Acting President of SASCOC, Barry Hendricks said: ‘This decision comes at a crucial time with seven months to go to Tokyo 2020 […]

It will cost more than R1 billion just to make Cape Town’s vandalised Central Line secure, according to Richard Walker, manager of Metrorail Western Cape. He was speaking at a press conference with newly-appointed administrator of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA), Bongisizwe Mpondo, at Isivivana Centre in Khayelitsha on Thursday. Mpondo said […]

South Africa’s Olympic governing body, SASCOC, together with various sporting stakeholders in the country, have ushered in six months to go before the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. A press briefing at Olympic House in Johannesburg, outlined SASCOC’s milestones in terms of their preparation to the world’s biggest multi-coded sporting event, the Olympic Games. Some of […]

What are South Africans to make of the murmurs that its governing party, the African National Congress (ANC), plans to recall Cyril Ramaphosa as president of the republic at its next National General Council in June? That’s where the party will meet to review if government has implemented its policies. Apparently the motivation for the […]

The City of Cape Town is “subsidising the wealthy elite” by planning to extend the lease on the Rondebosch golf course for another ten years at a very low rental fee, says activist group Ndifuna Ukwazi. The City announced on Monday that it is seeking approval from the council to extend the lease. The golf course was […]

The world of work is changing constantly, profoundly, and faster. This is clear from the outsourcing of work, waves of technological advances, increasing automation in business, and big data analysis driving the growth of industries. The needs of industry are shifting constantly and the education system should be responding to provide needs-based support. Education theorists, […]

Since late last year, South Africans have, once again, been subjected to power cuts by the power utility, Eskom. The need for what’s called load-shedding – planned power outages – led to the recent resignation of Eskom’s chairperson and a flurry of concern about the current and future reliability of electricity supply. It has also […]

Kevin Anderson (33) may live in the USA, but the SA expat is playing with all his heart in Australia – representing South Africa!  On Monday in Brisbane, Anderson continued his strong start to the 2020 tennis year when he beat Chile’s No1 player Cristian Garin 6-0, 6-3 to deliver South Africa their first ATP […]

Most people know Robertson either as a small, drive-through town, or as the place of four fabulous wine festivals with names like Wacky Wine Weekend and Wine-on-River Festival… writes Cindy September. The town is aptly known as “The town of Wine and Roses”. But Robertson is so much more than that. It’s the town I […]

For a Western hunter to pay to kill an African animal and expatriate its parts is a form of objectification, dehumanising and therefore morally reprehensible. It may entrench a Western narrative of supremacy underpinned by chauvinistic, colonialist and crudely utilitarian anthropocentric attitudes… writes Ross Harvey. We are living in the sixth extinction. Birds are disappearing from North America, […]

To SAA Airlines, I flew out of LAGOS / NIGERIA with your airline last night – writes Louis de Jager – and I just wanted to say it was unbelievable!!! THE SERVICE WAS INCREDIBLY GOOD!!!! My back was hurting and I couldn’t walk, so I had to get help between flights – I had a […]