A Spar supermarket in Cape Town, South Africa, has made the ultimate sacrifice to support small business owners in its area. The Palm Grove Spar announced on Friday that it would be closing its stationery section the following day (Saturday), and asking customers to instead support “Hein and his team at PenCafe Stationers. The thoughtful […]

This week, Carte Blanche investigates how the Corona Virus turned our world upside down. You can watch the show on Sunday 3 May in South Africa on DStv Now or stream it overseas in most countries from Tues 5 May if you’re abroad. COVID-19 in Wastewater – Early Warning of Infection? With the virus that causes […]

Re-emerging from the ruins of the economy-crippling COVID-19 pandemic presents South Africa with an opportunity to arise with a renewed economy that addresses the country’s social deficiencies. This was the potent message delivered by President Cyril Ramaphosa in a livestreamed address on Workers’ Day. President @CyrilRamaphosa delivers #WorkersDay message https://t.co/sfInIsdact — Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 (@CyrilRamaphosa) […]

At the start of lockdown South Africans rallied to support President Ramaphosa, grateful for his leadership in steering the nation away from disaster and tragedy. But now, it appears, many are starting to get impatient… perhaps disappointed by the rewardless transition to Level Four, which – apart from a three-hour jogging window early in the […]

Alcohol consumers in South Africa are getting plastered on pineapples after the nationwide alcohol ban in lockdown sparked a craze of turning the tropical fruit into powerful home-brew. Supermarket bosses have revealed that TEN times as many pineapples are being sold at TWICE the price since off-licences and bars were closed down 5 weeks ago […]

The South African government has expressed disappointment at rating agency S&P’s decision to downgrade South Africa’s sovereign rating amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement on Wednesday night, government said it noted the decision by the rating agency to lower South Africa’s long term foreign and local currency debt ratings further into non-investment grade to […]

While some will now breathe a sigh of relief that their lives will slowly return to normalcy, the road ahead is still steeped with sacrifices and curfews that need to be obeyed. The country may be moving to less harsh lockdown restrictions, but government says this is no call for a free reign for all […]

If you’re confused about what is and is not allowed as South Africa transitions tomorrow – Friday 1 May 2020 – from Level 5 to Level 4 Regulations, here’s a handy description of the new restrictions, compiled by award-winning journalist and author Mandy Wiener. Between 8pm and 5am you have to be at home unless […]

The South African government has outlined the process for the application of the COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress Grant for individuals who are currently unemployed. Addressing a media briefing on Wednesday in Pretoria, Social Development Minister Lindiwe Zulu said the qualifying applicants will be paid R350 per month from May – October 2020. The grant […]

The legal global wildlife trade is worth roughly $300 billion. Of more than 31,500 listed terrestrial birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles, approximately 5,500 are traded. Research predicts that a further 3,196 species may be traded in the future, placing a possible 8,775 species at risk of extinction. Serious attempts to regulate the trade in wildlife […]

About 1.5 million more South Africans will from 1 May return to work as government begins to lift a fraction of COVID-19 lockdown regulations. This comes as government gradually eases the economy back into activity as announced this week by President Cyril Ramaphosa. The regulations were introduced last month as government sought to counter the […]

A generous-hearted group of South Africans in Cape Town have been cooking, collecting and dishing out food to hundreds of people in township communities who may otherwise be starving. It started small just a week ago but is now reaching thousands, after Western Cape resident Helen During rallied her friends to help donate food because […]

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has provided more details on the second set of measures that are aimed at assisting individuals and businesses through the COVID-19 pandemic. “There is a critical need for government interventions to assist with job retention and support businesses that may be experiencing significant distress,” the National Treasury said in a statement […]

The physical distancing measures announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on 15 March followed by an extended lockdown may have bought us time to prepare for Covid-19. Good leadership has helped the response, but the current lockdown is not sustainable. In city centres and middle-class suburbs there is largely adherence, but in many marginalised areas the lockdown […]

In an effort to curb COVID-19 infections, the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) has dispersed 1265 tankers and 134 water trucks throughout the Free State province. This is to ensure people are able to wash their hands, a critical measure in preventing the spread of the virus. The department is not only supplying municipalities […]

A shopkeeper, one of his customers, and a former police officer – who they call their ‘Godmother’ – have been keeping people in Merriespruit, Free State, feeling merry with generous hand-outs of food parcels during South Africa’s lockdown. The three unlikely amigos in Virginia have been helping put food on the table, and a smile […]

The South African government should massively ramp up its “insufficient” spending to cushion the country from the economic and social ravages of the Covid-19 lockdown and the pandemic, says the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) in a policy document. The think tank has released a detailed emergency rescue package which it says the state should […]

As the taxi industry counts the costs of the COVID-19 pandemic, intergovernmental consultations on a Taxi Industry Relief intervention are at an advanced stage. This was confirmed by Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula during a virtual meeting with the National Taxi Alliance (NTA) on Sunday. “The Departments of Transport, Small Business, Labour, Trade and Competition as […]

Albert Camus was a 20th century French Algerian thinker who won the Nobel Prize for his literary works. These days it is his novel The Plague that has naturally been receiving attention. In this essay I instead consider what Camus’ philosophical classic, The Myth of Sisyphus, reveals about the status of our lives with COVID-19. […]

What strategy should South Africa follow to contain the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 virus after the current 35-day lockdown? Any strategy should be informed by the trajectory of the disease, the effectiveness – or otherwise – of the current lockdown and how the particularities of the country will interact with the virus. These include high […]

Loyal South African Airways (SAA) staff are begging the South African public to please support them in persuading the government to not turn its back on the airline. Listen below to a heartbreaking message from one of the airline’s pilots to South Africans to take to social media and help #SAVESAA. According to reports, the […]

With this week’s arrest of the Gupta brothers in Dubai, it’s worth watching ‘How to Steal A Country’ – a fascinating and shocking documentary, by an Emmy award-winning filmmaker, on the rise and fall of the Gupta family and how they managed to ‘steal’ South Africa. (Updated 8 June 2022) As hard as it is […]

Any person or small business in the tourism sector, regardless of their skin colour, can apply for financial relief from the Tourism Relief Fund, says Tourism Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi-Ngubane. The minister said this following Afriforum’s announcement that it had served the department with court papers calling for the review of the Tourism Relief Fund. There […]

Cape Town has become the biggest city in South Africa to offer commercial and private property owners rates relief if they can prove that their income has been negatively affected by the Coronavirus crisis. In a statement today the leader of the Democratic Alliance John Steenhuisen congratulated Cape Town “for offering much needed property rates […]

The city of Zhuhai – known as the ‘Chinese Riviera’ – has become the second city in mainland China to ban the consumption of dog and cat meat, and of wildlife, in what campaigners at animal charity Humane Society International (HSI) hope will be the start of a domino effect of progressive legislation across China […]