Following the announcement made by Mango Airlines on Thursday 22 April that the airline is preparing to enter business rescue and pause operations, the Flight Centre Travel Group says it strongly advises all their customers to book alternative carriers for their domestic and Zanzibar flights. News broke late on Thursday evening last week that Mango […]

LONDON (Reuters) – The rand has emerged as an unlikely winner among emerging market currencies since the COVID-19 pandemic swept the globe, despite South Africa’s unfortunately high levels of debt and unemployment. U.S. sanctions have rumbled Russian bond markets, Turkish assets have been hit by monetary policy concerns and other big developing countries such as […]

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Wednesday the governing party “could and should” have done more to prevent corruption under his predecessor Jacob Zuma, in highly anticipated testimony to the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture and corruption. Ramaphosa, Zuma’s former deputy, was appearing in his capacity as current leader […]

Noseweek Editor Martin Welz and his publishing company, Chaucer Publications, have been ordered to pay R330,000 in damages to attorney Leonard Katz for the publication of articles and a front cover alleging he was the “man who stole justice”. The articles related to allegations by Ian Brakspear, a Durban North businessman. Brakspear claimed that Katz, a […]

The DA has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to institute an urgent Special Investigating Unit (SIU) investigation into allegations that the Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, has wasted millions of taxpayers’ money on chartered flights and luxury accommodation. The DA also calls for the minister to be suspended without compensation pending the […]

The North Gauteng High Court on Monday granted an interdict to AfriForum and Solidarity that prevents the payment of any fees from the Department of Tourism’s equity fund. The two organisations had launched an urgent application to the court after the Minister of Tourism announced that the department’s fund for the recovery of the tourism […]

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has welcomed the arrest of Michael Lomas by the United Kingdom authorities in connection with Eskom’s R745 million Kusile power station corruption case. The businessman’s arrest in London earlier this month brings to five the number of people arrested in relation to the alleged crimes. He was granted a R1.7-million […]

A 15-hectare piece of land on Cape Town’s Liesbeek River has been identified as the location where Amazon will have its headquarters in Africa, and will include numerous names and landmarks dedicated to the Khoisan people. The announcement earlier this week that Amazon would be centering its Africa operations in Cape Town was followed up […]

The National Treasury and the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) have dismissed as a scam, reports of trillions of Rands donor funds going missing – after apparently being deposited at the central bank. The allegations were made by businessman and politician Tokyo Sexwale during an interview he had with eNCA on Sunday evening. During the […]

Amazon has announced that it will establish its South African headquarters in the City of Cape Town. The news has naturally been welcomed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) which governs the Western Cape. The Amazon project has the potential to create up to 19,000 jobs. The DA estimates that during the construction phase alone, there […]

ANC Chief Whip Pemmy Majodina says she “regrets” the involvement of her son, Mkhonto weSizwe Majodina, in the PPE Caucus procurement deal… which supplied thermometers worth R52 500 to ANC Constituency offices in January 2021, as reported by today’s Sunday Times, 18 April 2021. In a statement issued by the Chief Whip’s office, she said […]

For 32 years, there’s never been a dream that the Reach for A Dream Foundation has not tried to fulfil for children with life-threatening illnesses… until COVID-19 struck. Reach for Virtual Dreams Believing in the power of a dream and the imagination to fight disease and hopelessness, the foundation has brought joy to children from […]

The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) has named VELDSKOEN as the official off-field shoe of South African Olympians, for this year’s games in Tokyo… which is a wonderful full-circle moment for the founders of the company. Veldskoen Shoes was started because of a conversation between Nick Dreyer and Ross Zondagh about the […]

A fire broke out at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Hospital in Gauteng, South Africa, on Friday morning at around 11h15, according to the hospital management. Fortunately there were no casualties, but the incident has raised questions about the hospital’s maintenance and safety measures. Firefighters were called and staff were told to remove their cars. Surgery was […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has this week welcomed new Ambassadors and High Commissioners-Designate from nine countries, at a ceremony held at the Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guesthouse in Tshwane. The Ambassadors and High Commissioners-Designate were nominated by their respective governments to serve in diplomatic missions in South Africa. The Ambassadors are to advance diplomatic relations between their […]

There’s finally hope on the horizon for many thousands of South Africans around the world who inadvertently lost their SA citizenship when they applied for another country’s passport… without knowing they had to request permission from the SA government first and receive a Letter of Retention (which at the moment is not even possible due […]

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has urged a halt on the sale of live wild mammals in food markets, to prevent new diseases like COVID-19. The WHO said the banning could protect the health of both market workers and customers. In a guidance issued by WHO, together with the World Organisation for Animal Health and […]

South Africa’s National State of Disaster has been extended until 15 May 2021. Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma – Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) Minister – has gazetted the extension after consultations and Cabinet approval. The extension takes into account the need to continue augmenting the existing legislation and contingency arrangements to mitigate against the impact […]

South Africa’s Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, has announced the temporary and voluntary pause of the COVID-19 Johnson & Johnson (J&J) vaccine rollout in SA following reports of rare blood clots abroad. According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, Dr Mkhize has made the announcement following a recommendation from the FDA in the USA, […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the continent needs to build a vibrant and innovative African medical supplies manufacturing capability that meets the health needs of the Africa’s people. Addressing a conference on Africa’s Vaccine Manufacturing on Monday, the President said throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Africa has demonstrated that it has substantial capabilities, resources and skills to […]

Three years ago South Africa introduced Africa’s first major tax on sugar-sweetened beverages based on grams of sugar. The tax now stands at about 11% of the price per litre… by Karen Hofman, University of the Witwatersrand. We assessed the impact in recently published research. We found that the health promotion levy coincided with large […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says demands the immediate retraction of the racist statement issued by the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) on its twitter handle @DPE_ZA. “We also call for the immediate suspension of the DPE Director General, Mr Kgathatso Tlhakudi, in whose name the statement was issued,” said Ghaleb Cachalia MP – DA Shadow […]

According to President Cyril Ramaphosa, South Africa’s Presidential Employment Stimulus has assisted to create 8 000 new jobs. Launched in October last year in response to the economic impact of the pandemic, the Presidential Employment Stimulus is designed to support a spectrum of opportunities, focusing on job creation through public employment; job retention in vulnerable […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has met in Maputo with other high-level leaders of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to assess the growing Islamic State-linked threat in the region. Carte Blanche delves deeper this week, speaking to South Africans who survived the most recent horrific attack in Palma. This follows as eyewitness accounts and disturbing video […]

The South African government has welcomed the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) revised upward growth outlook of South Africa from 2.8% to 3.1% for 2021. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Ministry in the Presidency: Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, said the upgrade affirmed the robustness of the country’s economy and positive economic interventions despite tough […]