The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of universal health coverage. That is the message underlined by President Cyril Ramaphosa who was addressing the virtual 73rd Session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) on Monday. The pandemic should propel countries to act with greater urgency to make it a reality. “In this final decade towards […]

With the sale of alcohol banned for over seven weeks, the illegal booze trade has mushroomed and prices rocketed. People who used to frequent shebeens in the southern Cape, say syndicates have stepped in and are charging exorbitant prices for conventional brands of alcohol. In response, people have started to brew their own liquor at […]

Small, medium and macro enterprises in South Africa should watch out for fraudulent agencies purporting to be entities of the Department of Small Business Development and trying to extract fees out of them. “It has come to the attention of the department that an unknown company is requesting food producers and agro-processors to send through […]

Crime in the Cape Town city centre during lockdown has dropped by 73 percent compared with last year, according to statistics released by the Cape Town Central City Improvement District. Only 94 crime incidents were reported from 26 March 2020 to 15 May 2020, compared with 340 during the same period last year, said CCID […]

More than 15,000 small-scale farmers in South Africa have been approved for the COVID-19 Agricultural Disaster Fund, says Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister, Thoko Didiza. Didiza said that 55,155 applications were received from smallholder and communal farmers, with the highest number of applications received from the Eastern Cape Province, followed by the Northern […]

Children are suffering increasingly from preventable infectious diseases, including TB and measles, due to missed vaccinations. When a novel coronavirus now known as SARS-CoV-2 first entered the world stage on the heels of the Chinese New Year in January 2020, little was known about it and its impact on people, health systems and countries. This […]

A young 13-year-old in Cape Town is baking up a storm to help make sure that other kids don’t go starving. As of yesterday she has donated R7,200 to a soup kitchen in Langa. And her buns are so in demand that a friend has now joined the team to bake even more. Teenager Tam […]

The Covid-19 global pandemic has unprecedented health and socio-economic consequences for millions of people across the world. Each country affected has introduced numerous measures, including public health interventions, restrictions on movement, as well as state and other relief and stimulus packages to reduce its impact. South Africa has a history of grand corruption and low […]

This Sunday Carte Blanche investigates how the lockdown is affecting the wine industry in the Cape Winelands, South Africa… and what it will take to recover. With around 600 wineries affected by lockdown, the iconic Cape winelands that earn R49 billion for the country annually are bleeding revenue, jobs and prospects. COVID-19 lockdown regulations saw […]

As government prepares for the further easing of the lockdown to level 3, Cabinet Ministers will undertake broad-ranging consultations with government, key sectors of the economy and civil society. Having appreciated the progress made towards levelling the  COVID-19 pandemic curve and capacitating the public health system to deal with an increase in infections, Cabinet approved […]

Spaza shop owner in South Africa says ban on alcohol and tobacco has cost him R25,000. By Mosa Damane… “I think the government is violating the rights of smokers by banning cigarettes. It is my money and health and I have a right to decide when to quit,” says Veli Hlongwane from Maliwa street, Mzimhlophe […]

The staff at a hotel in Sea Point have rallied together to help feed over 200 people currently housed at a designated safe space under Culemborg bridge in Cape Town, South Africa. The staff at Peninsula All-Suite Hotel launched their  ‘Culemborg Mission’, as they refer to it, last Friday (7 May). It entails a mass […]

John Steenhuisen – Leader of the Democratic Alliance – was one of many South Africans who were not impressed with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s address to the nation on Wednesday evening. “President Ramaphosa delivered a speech but said very little,” Steenhuisen said in a statement on Wednesday night. “Essentially, he doubled down on what has been […]

T-shirts, closed-toe shoes and crop bottoms were the buzz words on South African social media today, after the Minister of Trade Industry and Competition, Ebrahim Patel, released a bizarre and inexplicable list of clothing you can and cannot buy under Level 4 lockdown regulations. “Bizarre,” “Kafkaesque,” “mad,” “Soviet-type regulations,” “petty,” “monumental embarrassment,” “a mockery,” “East […]

This is an URGENT APPEAL for help… writes Sadhana (Sharon Ryan). [UPDATE 15 May 2020: Light at the end of the tunnel for South Africans stranded in India.] We are over 250 South Africans stranded all over India, since Lockdown started on 24 March, with no repatriation plans in sight yet by the South African […]

While the South African government plans to steadily reduce the COVID-19 alert level by stabilising infection and anticipating the inevitable increase in cases, President Ramaphosa has warned the virus might be around for another year. South Africa moved to Level 4 of the national lockdown on 1 May. The lockdown is aimed at curbing the […]

South Africa’s confirmed COVID-19 cases have risen to 10 015. Regrettably, the Health Department has reported eight more COVID-19 related deaths: 3 from the Western Cape, 1 from the Eastern Cape, and 4 from Gauteng. This brings the total national deaths to 194. “We wish to express our condolences to the loved ones of the […]

I don’t know about you, but I’m getting worried… writes Alan Knott-Craig. The Corona-virus lockdown is getting me down. It’s getting me depressed. It’s making me a bit scared. It’s not the curfew, or the lack of exercise, or too much time in a confined space with my family, or the alcohol & cigarette ban, […]

The Mdzananda Animal Clinic based in Khayelitsha was robbed at gunpoint earlier today… when a gang barged through a gate that had been opened to return a large dog to its owner. “We keep our gates closed during lockdown to reduce people coming on site and spreading the Coronavirus. We take pets at the gate […]

M&C Saatchi Abel Group founder Mike Abel – who wrote an open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa in February, post-SONA and pre-Lockdown – has penned another open letter. This one is to Ministers Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma (Cogta), Ebrahim Patel (Trade) and Bheki Cele (Police). It is cc’d to President Ramaphosa, Dr Zweli Mkhize (Health) and all South […]

South Africa has once again come joint first with New Zealand in the 2019 Open Budget Index (OBI), conducted by the International Budget Partnership (IBP) through an Open Budget Survey. SA ranked first out of 117 countries. The global results reflect a modest improvement in budget transparency, reversing the decline seen in 2017 results and […]

A slew of countries ranging from the US to Brazil to Singapore to South Africa have decided to give people money in response to the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. While the amounts and details of the grants have varied, these governments have all made it clear that such payments are a short-term […]

The South African Post Office (SAPO) has commenced with the process of rolling out cashless ATMs that will serve as additional payment points for the payment of the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) grants. On Monday, the Post Office unveiled the first cashless ATM to pay SASSA social grants within the premises of Kagiso […]

An earlier decision by government to allow the sale of cigarettes during the COVID-19 lockdown was rescinded after the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) consulted medical experts and various role-players. President Cyril Ramaphosa said this on Monday after sections of society implied that Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma had arbitrarily gazetted the […]

With a number of workers set to return to work from Monday under level 4 of lockdown, the Labour Department has drafted the minimum guidelines for employers to ensure the workplace is safe for returning employees. These guidelines come as government gradually reopens the economy under level 4 of lockdown while ensuring that the spread […]