South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered the country’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) tonight, 11 February 2021. Below is the full transcript of the President’s speech: On this day, 31 years ago, President Nelson Mandela walked out of the gates of Victor Verster prison a free person, a living embodiment of the resilience and […]

Long-held traditions associated with the State of the Nation Address (SONA) will not be on display tonight as President Cyril Ramaphosa addresses the nation at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have an impact on everyday life. What has not changed is that the President will still deliver the annual address at 7pm […]

DJ Fresh and Euphonik have announced in a joint statement that they are parting ways with popular South African radio station 947. In mid-January 48-year-old DJ Fresh (Thato Sikwane) and 37-year-old DJ Euphonic (Themba Nkosi) were taken off the air at the music station as they faced rape allegations, dating back to 2011. The South […]

South Africa represents the biggest percentage of hunting outfitter exhibitors at the Dallas Safari Club (DSC) annual convention, according to the Humane Society International (HSI). The DSC, a Texas-based trophy hunting industry organisation, hosts the USA’s biggest industry hunting event, which is being held online this year. Based on research conducted by both the HSI […]

Eskom is once again switching off the lights for South Africans, although this time it’s implementing Stage 3 load shedding. It began at 1pm Wednesday afternoon and is scheduled to last until 6am tomorrow. “This load shedding is necessary as the power generation system is still severely constrained due to high generation unit breakdowns during […]

The R14.25m defamation action being brought by Australian mining interests against six South Africans – three environmental lawyers, two community activists and a social worker – suffered a major set-back with an adverse High Court judgment on Tuesday. Western Cape Deputy Judge President Patricia Goliath has ruled that the defamation action brought by Australian mining […]

Lights in South Africa will be out from 10pm tonight until 5am on Wednesday as Eskom continues to experience system constraints. According to power utility, the load shedding stage 2 is necessary to preserve and replenish the emergency generation reserves and to maximise the capacity available during the daytime hours. “The power generation system is […]

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is expected to decide on the emergency use listing of the AstraZeneca vaccine, for the two sites in India and the Republic of Korea, which will produce it for COVAX. The announcement comes after results showed that the two-dose regimen of the University of Oxford’s AstraZeneca vaccine offers minimal protection […]

Pick n Pay is today launching a fantastic new recycled shopping bag to raise funds for the ‘Save our Beach Huts’ initiative, a project aimed at restoring the iconic 36 beach huts in Muizenberg and St James which have fallen into disrepair. The huts, which are strongly rooted in Cape Town’s heritage, are featured frequently […]

Coca-Cola Beverages South Africa (CCBSA) has increased its Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE) ownership to a revised 20% target, with a significant worker ownership component. “This updated agreement will result in employees increasing their current holding of around 5% in CCBSA to an approximate 15% shareholding in CCBSA,” CCBSA Managing Director Velaphi Ratshefola said. Coca-Cola […]

The DA has written to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Thandi Modise, requesting a full investigation into exactly how and who paid for an “extravagant” trip by Economic Freedom Fighter (EFF) Julius Malema and others to the home of former South African President Jacob Zuma in Nkandla, KwaZulu-Natal, on Friday. The insinuation is that […]

Bad drivers in South Africa will no longer be able to get away with misbehaving as mounting demerit points could see them lose their licences. Are you ready for the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act to be rolled out nationally this year? Carte Blanche investigates whether AARTO can finally make the nation’s roads […]

Tourism Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane has suspended the Tourism Equity Fund’s (TEF) activities until discussions have taken place with AfriForum and Solidarity. This decision comes after the two institutions sent an urgent letter to the Minister about the fund, which intends to only offer financing to black-owned tourism businesses. In the Minister’s reply, she announced that […]

The impact of heavy rains, caused by tropical storm Eloise, has resulted in Stage 2 load shedding in South Africa that will continue through the weekend. Eskom says the loadshedding, which has been implemented from noon today, has been exacerbated by the forced shutdown of five generating units at the Medupi Power Station. The power cuts […]

The National Consumer Commission (NCC) has launched an investigation into allegations of price gouging in South Africa, relating to garlic and ginger. What is price gouging? “The law defines price gouging as an unfair or unreasonable price increase that does not correspond to or is not equivalent to the increase in the cost of providing […]

Whisky Magazine announced today (4 February) that Andy Watts, Distell Master Distiller of a range of proudly South African whiskies, Bain’s Cape Mountain Whisky and Three Ships Whisky, will be bestowed the great honour of being inducted into Whisky Magazine’s Whisky Hall of Fame! The induction will take place on 25 March during an online […]

If people who work for the government tell us our safety depends on us not knowing what they do, we might suspect that they wanted to cover up wrong-doing. Unless, it seems, they work for state security agencies. South Africa’s media are awash with shock at “bombshell” revelations about the country’s security services at the […]

South African National Parks (SANParks) today, 04 February 2021, says it welcomes the decision by the Constitutional Court – dated 1 February 2021 – to dismiss the application for leave to appeal a High Court decision allowing for the Skukuza Regional Court to continue operating inside the Kruger National Park (KNP). The application for leave […]

Greyhound and Citiliner have announced they will be closing operations on 14 February 2021, after 37 years in South Africa… another casualty to Lockdown and the Coronavirus Pandemic. The company thanked its customers and said: “It has been our pleasure connecting you across Southern Africa for the past 37 years.” Chris Hunsinger – DA Shadow […]

There are many reasons for the global spotlight to be on South Africa, but right now the country is gaining a lot of attention because of its interest in cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrencies, particularly Bitcoin (BTC), are rising considerably in popularity in South Africa to such a massive extent that many crypto space experts consider the country […]

Ford Motor Company this morning announced an investment of $1.05 billion (R15.8 billion) in its South African manufacturing operations. This marks the biggest investment in Ford’s 97-year history in South Africa, the company said. The South African government welcomed the announcement, which is one of the largest-ever investments in the South African automotive industry. It […]

Sport, Arts and Culture Minister, Nathi Mthethwa, has expressed sadness at the passing of sport broadcaster, Sandile kaNqose. The popular broadcaster, who always had a ready smile, reportedly passed away on Monday at the age of 42. A die-hard sport fan, who had an insatiable passion for broadcasting, Nqose resumed his career at eNCA in […]

Traders who missed the peak tourist season say that despite the announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday night that beaches are now open once again, the damage has been done. Thembisile Ngidi, who has plied her wares on Durban beachfront for 15 years, says the busiest days of the year are in December, and this season they […]

The head of the Passenger Rail Agency of SA’s legal division, Martha Ngoye, who probably saved PRASA billions, has been fired, according to a statement by the chairman of the board of control, Leonard Ramatlakane. Two other executives have also been dismissed, on what look like spurious grounds. On Saturday 30 January, Ramatlakane announced that […]

South African consumers will have to dig deeper into their pockets as the price of petrol is set to increase by 81 cents a litre this week. In a statement on Monday, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) said the price of 93 (ULP and LRP) and 95 (ULP and LRP) will increase […]