Gross domestic product for South Africa fell by just over 16 percent between the first and second quarters of 2020, giving an annualised growth rate of ‑51 percent, according to figures released today by Stats SA. The one sector to see good growth (15 percent) was agriculture. [Thread]Steep slump in #GDP as #COVID19 takes its […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the plunge in South Africa’s gross domestic product during the second quarter of 2020 reflects the severe impact of the global Coronavirus pandemic on the economy and should spur all South Africans to do all they can to help rebuild the economy.   While the 16.4% contraction in the second quarter […]

Clicks has announced Tuesday afternoon that it is delisting the TRESemmé brand with immediate effect, and has accepted the resignation of the senior executive responsible for offensive advert which caused hurt in South Africa and led to the EFF launching protests across the country against systematic racism. Clicks said in a media statement that all […]

The South African Government has expressed concern at the vandalising and torching of Clicks stores across the country, saying it goes against the spirit of peace and respect for human rights. In a statement on Monday, government said it noted the public outrage following the Clicks advertisement, where black hair is portrayed as “dry and […]

A campaign spearheaded by Western Cape photographer Angela Gorman has been launched to urgently save Muizenberg’s iconic Beach Huts before they “crumble into the sand”. Angela told SAPeople that despite being renovated in 2017, the usually photogenic and very Instagram-able huts, are now in a state of total disrepair… as can be seen from Angela’s […]

After 400 Clicks stores across the country were apparently shut by Economic Freedom Fighters supporters today, and seven damaged and/or petrol-bombed, charges are to be laid against the EFF, several of whose leaders exhorted members to “Attack” the pharmaceutical chain today over a controversial advertisement. Clicks apologised publicly on Friday for the TRESemme hair product […]

The water situation in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality has reached a crisis and prompted the City to finally declare it Day Zero. Nelson Mandela Bay has declared Day Zero as dam levels fall 19%. Water is being trucked in after some areas’ taps ran dry for six days. Businesses are struggling to operate. The […]

The National Consumer Commission (NCC) says it has received information from Pioneer Foods on its intention to recall a batch of Liqui fruit Red Grape Still 330ml cans. In a statement on Sunday, Pioneer Foods said it has received reports of small shards of glass in a single batch of Liqui Fruit Red Grape still […]

Did a senior High Court judge order the assassination of another judge?* We (GroundUp) have learnt that a report has been handed to the Minister of Justice that a senior judge may have ordered the assassination of another judge. The allegation was made by an awaiting trial prisoner. The report finds that the allegation cannot […]

Eskom today said two station chiefs had been suspended after Stage 4 loadshedding this week was responded to with “apathetic behaviour,” and said that urgent culture change at the utility had to be accelerated. The managers of the Tutuka and Kendal power stations were summarily suspended pending disciplinary enquiries, Eskom said in a statement. It […]

The Vaal Dam has continued to fall this week, hitting levels unseen since the beginning of 2017, when large parts of the country were in the grip of a devastating drought. But other dams feeding the north of the country have kept good levels. “As the Vaal Dam persists to drop week-on-week, it now hovers […]

In a bid to sell more South African wine overseas, a new matchmaking portal has been launched to bring together buyers and sellers of Western Cape wine. Cape Export Network is a platform for South African wine producers to freely advertise their products and connect them with international importers and buyers of wine, and has […]

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen says it is unfortunate that, in leaving the party he (until recently) wished to lead, John Moodey – who resigned as DA Gauteng Leader yesterday – has “spread blatant falsehoods which appear to be an attempt to justify his reasons for leaving”. Addressing the media today, Steenhuisen said it’s […]

Law enforcement agencies are working together to probe the breaches of the COVID-19 Temporary Employee/Employer Relief Scheme (TERS) in South Africa. The benefit scheme was established to provide much needed relief to employees, who have been laid-off work or unable to earn an income due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In his first special audit report […]

The Passenger Railways Association of South Africa, clawing its way back from years of mismanagement and corruption, has a new man in charge after a court order last week ruled that the appointment of an administrator in December last year was unlawful. “We are pleased that the National Treasury has appointed Mr Badisa Matshego as […]

Poor financial management by public institutions once again reared its ugly head in South Africa during the disbursement of COVID-19 relief scheme funds, an audit report has found. The synopsis is contained in Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu’s first of a series of special reports on the financial management of government’s R500 billion COVID-19 relief package. The […]

Despite Eskom’s inability to meet the country’s electricity needs and plunging everyone into darkness with loadshedding – taken to Stage 4 today – the government rejects alternatives because it wants Eskom to keep its monopoly, according to the Democratic Alliance. “At a time when the country desperately needs economic growth, Eskom once again plunges us […]

The chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development, Inkosi Zwelivelile Mandela, has warned that attacks on farms threaten food security, employment and the economy. “Both farm workers and farm owners are of equal importance in the agricultural chain,” Mandela said. He made the remarks following the recent attacks on four […]

Eskom has been ordered by the high court to restore full maximum electricity supply to several areas in the Free State and Mpumalanga provinces immediately. North Gauteng High Court Acting Judge Anthony Millar heard a combined urgent application at the end of August. Read the judgment here. Applicants were the Vaal River Development Association, which […]

Ministers, MECs and mayors should stay out of the administration of public services and let public servants do their work, and appointments should be made on qualifications not political considerations, according to a letter by President Cyril Ramaphosa to mark the start tomorrow of Public Service Month. “The civil service must be seen as a […]

When South Africans express shock at corruption, few seem to know that it is perhaps the country’s oldest tradition. Citizen anger about corruption, a constant theme in South African political debate, reacts to a very real problem. This was underlined recently by news that well-connected people had enriched themselves at the expense of efforts to […]

This Sunday Carte Blanche investigates the situation in Standerton, South Africa, that has shocked the nation. Video footage this week of the streets of Standerton in the Lekwa municipal district in Mpumalanga, showed how the residents and municipal workers are burning fires late into the night and dumping their rubbish right outside the municipal buildings. […]

In March three unemployed men from KwaNobuhle, Uitenhage, decided to start growing their own food. As it turned out, a week later the Covid-19 national lockdown started. Siyabulela Booysen, Sakhumzi Mbaduli and Mendo Vece had no experience. They started by collecting empty bottles from friends and family and selling them to get the money they […]

I have to admit, I have never spent more time avoiding “real work” to watch YouTube like I did this week, I bluffed myself that is was “sort of” real work as the content I was consuming was #StateCapture and the #ZondoCommission.   #Netflix may lose a subscriber if this type of content keeps pouring out. […]

Six men were arrested west of Johannesburg today, after a combined force of PRASA and the police caught them with railway assets worth R5.5 million, as well as equipment used in illegal mining. “This is fuelling suspicion that elements involved in illegal mining, known as the zama-zamas, are now targeting rail infrastructure,” PRASA said in […]