South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday that the government will soon announce a permanent chief executive for state-run Eskom after the struggling power utility reintroduced rolling blackouts – known as load-shedding in South Africa – last week. The crisis-hit utility, which produces more than 90% of South Africa’s electricity, has been hobbled by […]

In this week’s episode, Carte Blanche participates in an undercover investigation to reveal an intricate car scam, finds out how South Africa’s ports have deteriorated, interviews world renowned author Deon Meyer and discovers dog therapy for abused children. Watch on Sunday 20 Oct on DStv Now if you’re in South Africa, and stream it from […]

Eskom says it has had another major setback at its Medupi Power Station based near Lephalale in Limpopo and will be implementing Stage 1 load shedding from 9am to 12pm midday and thereafter revert to Stage 2 load shedding until 11pm. While last night Eskom Acting Group Chief Executive Officer Jabu Mabuza said the power […]

South Africa’s plans for additional power generation over the next decade will involve a variety of energy sources, with coal still playing a significant role as well as more renewable energy, mines and energy minister Gwede Mantashe said on Friday. Mantashe said that while the government planned to extend the life of the Koeberg nuclear […]

The time for making a decision on how to deal with the fundamental tax change for South Africans earning foreign income abroad is fast running out. The change to section 10(1)(o)(ii) – the foreign income exemption – will become effective in about six months’ time. South African tax residents will then be taxed on all […]

Two of Africa’s largest economies and its two biggest tourist destinations, South Africa and Morocco, put the official stamp on the re-establishment of diplomatic relations this week, when ambassador Youssef Amrani presented his credentials to President Cyril Ramaphosa. Amrani called it a “watershed.” Morocco’s last ambassador left 15 years ago, and relations have been icy, […]

So much has been happening on the train front in South Africa the last few months – new trains being built, shiny new blue engines and coaches spotted around the country, a government “war room” started to cut down delays and identify problems, plans announced to fence urban lines to stop vandalism – it’s hard […]

The trial of former South African President Jacob Zuma has been postponed to 4 February next year. His trial will then proceed after a 15-year delay. The former president faces charges of corruption, money laundering and racketeering linked to the multi-billion rand arms deal at the Pietermaritzburg High Court. Today Zuma appeared alongside representatives of […]

After taking a break over the cold winter months, the Mdzananda Animal Clinic in Khayelitsha in partnership with Lee-Ann Elliott Yoga is bringing Downward-Facing-Adopt-A-Dog back this spring. On Saturday the 26th of October, Yoga lovers and dog lovers alike are invited to join this special yoga class with homeless dogs. The class will be held […]

On a frigid September morning in Mkumbi, a remote village in the Pondoland region of the Eastern Cape, 63-year-old Sizane Nompethu rose at dawn and walked at a brisk pace down a rocky path to work her family’s small plot of land, just as she had every day since she was 15. “I am old […]

In the hillside Pondoland village of Manhlaneni, a small delegation from the Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform stepped into a dimly-lit rondavel where a group of women sat on upturned beer crates removing the leaves from dense bunches of cannabis. One of the women passed a large handful of green buds […]

LONDON – South Africa’s embattled state-owned airline is open to outside investment and in talks with a number of potential partners, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday. South Africa’s economy has come under ever growing pressure as the government grapples with lacklustre growth, high unemployment and a heavy debt burden, especially from state-owned enterprises such […]

LONDON – The Lord Mayor of London Peter Estlin will arrive in Johannesburg tomorrow for meetings with investment partners and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, kicking off a 5-day trip in South Africa and Kenya, the City of London said in a statement today. “The UK Government is seeking to become Africa’s biggest G7 investor, and […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa arrived on Sunday in London, United Kingdom, for a two-day working visit. The President will deliver the opening address at the 6th Financial Times Africa Summit on Monday, 14 October 2019. The summit is being held at Claridge’s in London. On the sidelines of the summit, President Ramaphosa is expected to engage […]

Since Zimbabwe’s land reform of 2000 – when around 8 million hectares of formerly large-scale commercial farmland was distributed to about 175,000 households – debates about the consequences for food security have raged. A standard narrative has been that Zimbabwe has turned from “food basket” to “basket case”. This year, following the devastating El Niño […]

Since the end of apartheid in South Africa in 1994, South Africa and Nigeria have never had an easy relationship. Over the years, as different presidents have come and gone, the two countries have often been at loggerheads for different reasons. But this was predated by Nigeria’s strong solidarity with black people when South Africa […]

Lack of accountability leads to wasteful expenditure and mismanagement, says activist. Contractors have abandoned more than 50 major school upgrade projects in the Eastern Cape after government departments failed to pay them on time. Many of these schools have been stripped of valuable materials and vandalised after being abandoned. One example is Makhanda’s Grahamstown Primary […]

On Monday charges were laid at the South African Police Service (SAPS) by AfriForum against the Tshwane Metro, Proco Management, Linked Thoughts Consulting and Faragamo Trading. The civil rights organisation said this follows Proco Management, Linked Thoughts Consulting and Faragamo Trading acting as go-between when three farms were sold to the Metro at prices significantly […]

The number of South Africans leaving the country on a permanent basis has increased “exponentially” and many are opting for the island life in Mauritius, not only for its beauty but certainly for greater financial and tax security. “The island seemingly offers a more stable political and financial climate, and its geographic location and affiliation […]

Some 30 electric charging points will be opening across the country in order to make sustainable driving in South Africa a more feasible option, it was announced as a caravan of electric cars crossed the country during Transport Month. #EVRTAfrica above the clouds. 🛑 Day 4, Stop 1: Sunrise drive to Valley of Desolation 🌅 […]

The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is set to receive a cash injection of R2.1 billion to help stabilise the public broadcaster. Communications and Digital Technologies Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams made the announcement at a media briefing on Friday. Ndabeni-Abrahams said of the eight preconditions set for the funding allocation by National Treasury, the public broadcaster […]

Tragically over 60,000 sheep from South Africa have set sail on a three-week journey to the Middle East. Most will suffer, some may die, along the way in overcrowded conditions that Carte Blanche said could only be described as “cruel and vile, to say the very least”. The sheep are forced to stand in their […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s struggling state-owned defence company, which had to be bailed out by the government last August, suffered an operating loss of R1.9 billion rand ($125 million) for the year to March 31, it said on Friday. Denel, which makes military kit for the South African armed forces and clients in Africa, the […]

Britain’s Prince Harry will on Tuesday visit a health centre in Malawi before leaving later in the day to join his family in Johannesburg, South Africa. Harry, his wife, Meghan, and their four-month-old son, Archie, have been in the region on their first official overseas tour, which has seen the Duke of Sussex visit four countries. Malawi […]

Cash-strapped consumers will have to dig even deeper into their pockets as the price of petrol is set to increase by 18 cents a litre next week. Announcing the price changes on Sunday, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy said a litre of 95 (ULP and LRP) will rise by 18 cents a litre […]