A South Africa court on Thursday awarded a second punitive costs order against the country’s top anti-corruption official, Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane, after finding an investigation conducted by her office showed “gross negligence”. Pretoria High Court Judge Ronel Tolmay ordered the Public Protector’s office to pay 85% of the costs of the Democratic Alliance and the Council for […]

The South African rand firmed early on Thursday, pulling back from a slide to its lowest in nearly 11 months as investors digested signs of global economic recession and looked to buy the currency at cheaper rates in anticipation of sharper falls. The rand was up almost 1% at 15.2250 against the U.S. dollar after a low of […]

South Africa published its draft National Health Insurance (NHI) bill on Thursday, with one senior official estimating universal healthcare for millions of poorer citizens would cost about 256 billion rand ($16.89 billion) to implement by 2022. The bill creating an NHI Fund paves the way for a comprehensive overhaul of South Africa‘s health system that would be one of […]

The two men convicted of murder in the Coligny sunflower case, Pieter Doorewaard and Phillip Schutte, have been granted special leave to appeal directly to the Court of Appeals in Bloemfontein. UPDATE 27 Nov 2020: Coligny 2, Pieter Doorewaard and Phillip Schutte acquitted on all charges. The father of one of the men broke the […]

South African expats have been subjected to vast amounts of conflicting information regarding the amended expat law change, causing uncertainty and panic in their preparations for 1 March 2020… writes Claudia Apicella, Head of Expatriate Tax Compliance at Tax Consulting SA. The cause for this is no doubt linked to the many “specialists” creeping out […]

Former acting CEO of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa), Mthuthuzeli Swartz and another accused Syed Nadhir Mohiudeen are facing charges of outlandish fraud allegedly involving the sale of a large chunk of Eastern Cape railway line that was not Swartz’s nor Mohiudeen’s to sell. The matter will return to the Specialised Commercial […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago said on Wednesday he will fight to protect the Reserve Bank’s independence if it is jeopardised by plans to bring it into public ownership. He has been vocal in expressing concerns over plans by the ruling African National Congress to nationalise the SARB, and some party […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s state power utility Eskom urgently needs a turnaround plan as its capital structure is unsustainable, credit ratings agency Moody’s said on Tuesday in a report which sent the rand to a two-month low. A week ago Eskom reported a mammoth R20.7 billion ($1.39 billion) annual loss, and its outgoing chief executive […]

The National Council of SPCAs has the formidable task of ensuring the nationwide protection of all animal species from abuse, neglect, and cruelty. One of the most effective ways to do this, is through the courts. Sadly, in the fight for justice, the plight of animals is often ignored or found at the bottom of […]

Small Business Development Minister Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has condemned the attack on law enforcement agencies in Johannesburg, describing it as an attack on the State, which cannot be accepted. “What happened [last] Thursday when law enforcement agencies were attacked with stones by street traders and hawkers, is not acceptable. Any attack on law enforcement agencies… cannot […]

JOHANNESBURG – Nedbank called for more urgent government action to fix South Africa’s struggling economy on Tuesday after first-half earnings at its main domestic operations flatlined. More of Nedbank’s corporate and retail clients defaulted on their debts or swerved riskier investments due to a tough economic environment as unemployment rose to an 11-year high and […]

Economic disparities, inequality and unemployment, particularly among young people, remain pervasive in South Africa. Lack of access to services and inadequate living conditions also affect people’s quality of life, health and well-being. Urban living holds the promise of improved conditions. But many people relocating to South Africa’s metropolitan areas have to contend with a host […]

Cash strapped South African consumers will have to fork out more at the pumps as the petrol price is set to increase by 11 cents on Wednesday. South Africa‘s Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe announced that a litre of 93 and 95 (ULP and LRP) will rise by 11 cents. The price […]

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has suspended three senior executives who face disciplinary action over serious misconduct allegations. The executives are: Hlengani Mathebula, Chief Officer: Governance, International Relations, Strategy and Communications. Teboho Mokoena, Chief Officer: Human Capital and Development. Luther Lebelo, Group Executive: Employee Relations. In a brief statement issued on Wednesday, SARS said […]

Back in February 2019, the Rand was – once again – crowned the world’s most volatile currency. It’s not a title desired by most South Africans, of course, but it is sometimes a reality of an emerging economy that the currency will be volatile, especially when the President of the United States can send a […]

JOHANNESBURG – Nicky Newton-King, Chief Executive Officer of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), has announced her retirement after eight years at the helm of Africa’s biggest securities exchange, the JSE said on Tuesday. Chairman Nonkululeko Nyembezi said in a statement: “During 2018 Nicky indicated to the board a desire to step down, both for reasons of […]

JOHANNESBURG – South African power utility Eskom announced on Tuesday that its annual loss has widened to R20.7-billion ($1.46-billion) in the 2018/19 financial year… a massive increase from the already discouraging R2.3-billion in the previous year. Eskom Chairman Jabu Mabuza said: “Today Eskom releases results that, while expected, are unfavourable. The organisation disappointingly incurred a […]

South African Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan announced on Monday that Jabu Mabuza has been appointed as acting group chief executive officer (GCEO) of Eskom following a board meeting earlier today. Gordhan said in a statement: I have informed the Eskom annual general meeting this afternoon of my decision to appoint Mr Jabu Mabuza as […]

In the face of news headlines in Australia claiming that Nando’s is in crisis with stores shutting down, and is a “very cruel” company that has left many of its franchisees broke, Nando’s South Africa told SAPeople the company in Australia has celebrated its most successful year yet, and has only closed underperforming restaurants. According […]

JOHANNESBURG – The Presidential Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture has proposed amending the South African Constitution to allow the government to seize land without compensation… but only in limited circumstances. The recommendations in the final report were released Sunday by Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister Thoko Didiza, and members of the […]

A new facility that rehabilitates wild animals that have been injured or abandoned, with a view to returning them to the wild, has been opened at Shamwari Private Game Reserve, outside Port Elizabeth. At the R5 million (or $350,000) facility, the animals are treated before being released back to the wild, Shamwari said in a […]

Here’s the line-up of hot South African topics that the Carte Blanche team are investigating this Sunday 28 July (and available for South Africans abroad in most countries to stream from Tuesday 30 July). Soweto’s Multi-Billion Rand Electricity Bill Eskom is facing a financial crisis with a debt of over R450 billion. South Africa’s power […]

The cigarette maker Philip Morris has opened a flagship store in Johannesburg, hoping to promote its heated tobacco product IQOS, according to the company. The store for IQOS, which stands for I Quit Ordinary Smoking, is in Sandton. South Africa, with an estimated 7 million smokers, is the only market in Africa where the company […]

Rating agency Moody’s said the South African government’s proposal to provide additional financial support to struggling state-run power firm Eskom was “credit negative” for the sovereign as it was a further drain on fiscal resources. Eskom, which supplies more than 90% of South Africa‘s power but had to implement power cuts earlier this year, is grappling with high debt […]

South Africa has lost yet another 16 endangered black rhino… but this time they fortunately weren’t poached. They were dehorned, and moved for their own protection across SA’s borders to eSwatini (formerly Swaziland) – to a habitat that is “ideal” – and safer, according to the eSwatini national wildlife authority. As South Africa has tragically […]