South Africans are facing another round of power cuts despite promises from South Africa’s power utility, Eskom, that it would keep the lights on. Unexpected breakdowns and scheduled maintenance at various generation plants have been blamed for reduced generation capacity. These have compromised the stability of the national power grid. Since this affects everyone in […]

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has announced a massive fuel hike from Wednesday this week. According to the department, petrol (both 93 and 95) will go up by R1.21 per litre, while the price of diesel (0.05% and 0.005% sulphur) will increase by R1.48 per little. In addition, a litre of illuminating paraffin […]

South Africa’s power utility Eskom has warned that it may have to implement load shedding (power cuts) at short notice after experiencing breakdowns at its power stations. Urging the public to use electricity sparingly, Eskom in a statement said the power system was “severely constrained”. The country last week experienced week-long rolling blackouts after Eskom […]

DA Federal Council Chair Helen Zille has posted a Facebook message, detailing her side of the story of what took place today in Nelson Mandela Bay when she was reportedly dragged out of a voting station. Here is Zille’s message in full: Journalists are currently trying to contact me for details of the snippet of […]

GAUTENG – The South African Police Service (SAPS) say they were forced to remove a television journalist and a cameraman from a polling station at a primary school in Orlando East, Soweto, after the Newzroom Afrika team allegedly interfered with the work of the presiding officer at that station. In Newzroom405’s video (watch below), a […]

South African dancer Johannes Radebe, who is currently starring in the UK on ‘Strictly Come Dancing‘ says he is stopped “all the time” by British police, and has subsequently tried to change the way he dresses. The ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ professional dancer, 34, has opened up about how crucial it is to consider location and […]

Eskom has announced that “regretfully Stage 4 loadshedding will be implemented from 12:00 on Wednesday until 05:00 on Friday”, but that it’s no cause for alarm (although it’s certainly alarming for businesses and matric learners who need to study online). Stage 2 loadshedding will continue from Friday at 05:00 until 05:00 on Saturday. South Africa’s […]

Nando’s has responded to the Gareth Cliff / Burning Platform viral video that has caused outrage across South Africa, posting a statement on social media about an hour before midnight on Friday evening. (UPDATE: Nando’s terminates sponsorship of Gareth Cliff’s The Burning Platform) The offending video includes just over two minutes of footage from an […]

South African wildlife conservationist Dewet du Toit has become the first person to swim to Dyer Island in the Western Cape, South Africa, and back… an incredible feat he accomplished on Wednesday (20 October) on behalf of the Great White Shark. The 7.7km swim to and from Dyer Island has never been done before because […]

American actor Alec Baldwin has accidentally killed a cinematographer and wounded a film director with a prop gun on the set of indie film, Rust, which is currently being filmed in New Mexico, USA. Please see Update at bottom of article with Alec Baldwin’s tweets on Friday evening (SA time). The local Sheriff’s department said […]

Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has responded to frustrated citizens who are queueing outside Home Affairs’ offices long before dawn, and even then they might not be served. The need for IDs as the local government elections loom and also the school holidays has added demand. Meanwhile the department has been reducing active staff due to Covid […]

Fikile Ntshangase was at home with her grandson Buyile in Ophondweni, Kwazulu-Natal province, South Africa, when three unknown men walked in and shot her dead in her living room. Fikile was a mother and grandmother, a campaigner, and a leader, who had been opposing the extension of Tendele Coal mine in Northern KZN. Friday the […]

Viewfinder analyses 47,000 cases of police brutality, and the results are horrifying. By Daneel Knoetze… On average, police in South Africa kill someone every day. Viewfinder has now published the police watchdog’s database on these killings, along with other complaints of police brutality and corruption: more than 47,000 cases registered between 2012 and 2020. The […]

Sixty thousands books that were meant to be distributed to libraries across the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) province in South Africa, have instead been sitting gathering dust at the Head Office for Library Services… since 2019, according to the DA. There are also concerns that there has been a misuse of funds by the KZN Department of […]

Eight foreign nationals, aged between 33 and 52, were arrested in the early hours of Tuesday morning for their links to an alleged R100-million internet scam during a large-scale operation in Cape Town. The group was arrested in a joint operation led by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the United States Secret Service (USSS) […]

The use of Russia’s Sputnik V COVID-19 vaccine will remain “not approved” by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) amid concerns that it may increase the risk of HIV contraction among vaccinated males. Please see UPDATE from the Gamaleya Research Institution of Epidemiology and Microbiology further down the page. In the statement on […]

Four suspected rhino poachers were arrested over the weekend (15-18 October) in the Kruger National Park, thanks to the brave efforts of members of the Rangers Corp, assisted by the K9 Unit and the Aviators of the Airwing. The arrests – as well as one fatality – took place in the Stolznek section of the […]

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – In South Africa’s Franschhoek mountains a helicopter drops off abseilers to cut down invasive pine trees that are choking off water supplies to millions of Cape Town residents already facing climate change-induced shortages. By Wendell Roelf. The crews are there to help to remove 54,000 hectares of alien trees by 2025, […]

Hippos and crocodile are being covered in human faeces and toilet paper in the Lake Mzingazi region, near Richard’s Bay in KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), South Africa, according to the Democratic Alliance (DA). South Africa’s biggest opposition party said it conducted an oversight inspection of the area which revealed the “utter degradation” of the lake and associated […]

A 36-year-old man in Bloemfontein in the Free State, South Africa, has been arrested for being in possession of valuable goods including Kruger Rands and antique watches. The suspect was arrested by the Parkweg Tracing Intervention Unit. The South African Police Service (SAPS) said their team received intelligence-driven information about the suspect being in possession […]

Dear Family and Friends, When it started raining at dusk and went on all night I knew I had a problem… writes Cathy Buckle in her latest Letter from Zimbabwe. With a friend on the banks of a river in a mountainous area where the roads are all steep hills, sharp corners and red soil […]

A special police task force in South Africa has reportedly stormed a hotel in Pretoria, using teargas, to rescue Defence Minister Thandi Modise and two other ministers who were allegedly held hostage by disgruntled military veterans. Modise had been at St George’s Hotel with Deputy Defence Minister Thabang Makwetla, and Minister in the Presidency Mondli […]

Road rage incident sparks violent clashes between taxi operators and shop owners… By Joseph Chirume, GroundUp. Several minibus taxis and a car were torched in Korsten, Gqeberha on Wednesday. This followed after an accident between a taxi driver and a motorist turned into an altercation. Other taxi operators got involved and are alleged to have […]

KZN Filmmaker Anthony George Kirkwood has created a hard-hitting short film about the recent unrest in South Africa. The film has been submitted to the My RØDE Reel 2021 Short Film Competition, the world’s largest short film contest. Anthony’s filming of the ‘apocalyptic’ events in July began on the first day when he assisted the […]

Curfew could be reinstated if hospital beds start running out… By GroundUp Editors   There is no scientific basis for the continued 12am to 4am curfew. It should be ended. The third wave is over and this restriction does not mitigate the Covid pandemic. If Covid hospitalisations start ticking up again, a temporary curfew may […]