National Treasury Director-General Dondo Mogajane says an instruction will be issued to government departments across all spheres to halt the emergency procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) as the State tightens the lid against corruption. At a joint virtual meeting of the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces Finance Committees on Wednesday, Mogajane said […]

COVID-19 has wrought havoc on poor households in countries across the world. In South Africa, more and more people are facing hunger resulting from mass job losses and small, poorly implemented supplementary cash grants. On top of this the pandemic has put in stark relief the country’s poorly understood food system, in which powerful firms […]

More than double the number of containers are being moved daily in the port of Cape Town compared to the end of May, and vessels at anchor are berthed in one day rather than 20, according to Western Cape Minister of Finance David Maynier. At the end of June, Maynier urgently requested the government deal […]

The rights of tobacco farmers were today represented in court by Saai (Southern African Agri Initiative) in the matter of British American Tobacco South Africa (BATSA) and nine others against the Minister of COGTA, Dr Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma, and two others in the Western Cape High Court. Saai explained in a statement that the ban […]

Dear Mr President The Covid-19 pandemic caught the entire globe by surprise, and despite this, South Africans willingly joined the fightback in March. The pandemic has had severe effects on the populations of the world – economic collapse, hunger, and poverty have been exacerbated in countries already struggling with internal issues such as inequality, high […]

Cash-strapped consumers in South Africa will have to dig deeper into their pockets as the price of petrol is set to go up by 5 cents a litre at midnight. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has announced a 5 cent increase from the current petrol price in both grades of 93 (ULP […]

It has been reported that “more than 35 rural black farmers” have so far been killed in eMangweni village in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, in violence linked to stock theft. The area has been beset with stock theft incidents fuelled by family rivalry and political in-fighting for decades. However a more sinister force could be involved […]

Eskom and the Special Investigating Unit today issued a summons in the North Gauteng High Court to recover R3.8 billion, lost to state capture, from former Eskom executives including Brian Molefe and Anoj Singh, former cabinet minister Mosebenzi Zwane, former board members, members of the Gupta family and others. “The funds were lost in a […]

Across the world, the higher education sector is changing because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Conversation Africa’s Nontobeko Mtshali asked vice-chancellors from three South African universities to share their insights about what these changes could mean for the country’s higher education landscape. What long-lasting changes to South Africa’s higher education sector has the pandemic brought? […]

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and the collapse of the restaurant and bar trade, Heineken South Africa has been forced to shut down production entirely… writes Penny Fourie. This has significantly impacted the company’s ambitious growth strategy, with the beer giant withdrawing its plans to expand its geographic footprint onto the North Coast. […]

This Sunday Carte Blanche Carte Blanche captures the amazing journey of Cape Town-based animation pioneers Triggerfish Studios… the award-winning studio behind two of the five highest-grossing South African Feature Films of all time. The current affairs show also investigates how an Investor’s dream became a financial nightmare, and the impact Covid 19 has had on […]

A second planeload of German engineers, technicians and other experts whose skills are urgently needed has arrived in Johannesburg, as Germany works with South Africa to kickstart the economy and assist in projects in the Eastern Cape and at Eskom, among others. “Second JumboJet with engineers, technicians and experts has just touched down in Jo‘burg.” […]

While the Gauteng government deals with a PPE tenderpreneur scandal, with everyone from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson and the MEC for Health for the province placed on special leave over questionable contracts, the Western Cape government today published the first of what it said would be regular procurement disclosure reports. The province’s Minister of Finance […]

Tourism and hospitality establishments across the country welcomed the news that leisure travel inside provinces has been opened up by government, and the 9 p.m. curfew has been extended to 10 p.m. to make it easier for restaurants to cater to customers. “Intra-provincial travel will go a long way in saving the livelihoods of many,: […]

The former Commissioner of Correctional Services, Linda Mti, and four others have appeared in the Pretoria Specialized Commercial Crimes Court in connection with charges relating to four tenders worth over R1.8 billion awarded to the now infamous Bosasa company of Gavin Watson, who died in a car crash late last year. The company allegedly went […]

British supermarket chain Waitrose has put its weight behind South African wines, launching a campaign to support the SA wine industry and farmers who are struggling under current strict regulations that ban the sale of alcohol in the country. As revealed in a Carte Blanche investigation in May, the Lockdown laws have cost the Cape […]

“If you see a [taxi] driver not wearing a mask during a trip, report him,” warns Themba Kubheka, secretary of the Greater North Taxi Association in Durban. Taxi bosses and associations have warned drivers to wear masks and practise good hygiene during trips. They are encouraging commuters to report drivers who are not adhering to […]

Toyota South Africa is to invest R2.5 billion on the production of ‘hybrid synergy drive’ or petro-electric cars at its Prospecton plant in Durban, its first hybrid in Africa, a move that was today welcomed by the KwaZulu-Natal government. Ebrahim Patel, the minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, said during his department’s budget vote last […]

Trucks are backed up in long queues at the Beitbridge border with Zimbabwe, with some drivers complaining that they have been stuck for three days. When GroundUp visited the area on Tuesday 28 July, the queue of trucks crossing into Zimbabwe or on their way to Zambia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania stretched […]

In support of World Tiger Day (29 July), Blood Lions has released an explosive video that puts the focus on the international trade in tiger body parts and makes the link to South Africa’s legal lion bone trade, in their latest campaign movement. Since 2008, nearly 7,000 lion skeletons weighing a total of around 70 […]

The National Lotteries Commission (NLC) has given more than R15 million in funding to a dormant organisation in rural Limpopo, some of it for a mysterious music festival in Mpumalanga. More than R15 million was paid to a dormant Limpopo organisation by the National Lotteries Commission in 2017 and 2019. About R5 million of it […]

Eskom welcomed the Johannesburg High Court judgement today for the power utility to recover a R69-billion equity injection, in a phased manner over a three-year period, ruling that NERSA may not deduct the injection from Eskom’s allowable revenue. The decision means Eskom may now apply to increase tariffs. Eskom said in a statement that prior […]

Three small businesses that won awards in 2019 for their innovation are among the tourism operators that Cape Town is helping weather the economic fallout of COVID-19. The board of Cape Town Tourism has also given their own salaries to fund small tourism businesses during the lockdown. African Authentic Experience, a tour operator; Tees and […]

The International Monetary Fund has approved a R70 billion ($4.2 billion) loan for South Africa to help the country manage the immediate consequences of the fallout from COVID-19. The Conversation Africa’s editor, Caroline Southey, asked Danny Bradlow at the University of Pretoria to shed some light on what South Africans should expect. What conditions has […]

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) executive board has approved South Africa’s request for a US$4.3 billion (R70 billion) loan to overcome the COVID-19 pandemic. The request for emergency financial support under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) will help the country to mitigate the adverse social and economic impact of the pandemic. In a statement issued […]