JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s rand firmed below the 14.00 threshold on Wednesday for the first time in six weeks as a softer dollar boosted investor appetite for emerging markets. On the bourse, the financial and retail sectors topped the JSE after S&P Global Ratings stable economic outlook, while miner Sibanye-Stillwater took a blow after selling […]

JOHANNESBURG – Soon many more motorists around the world will be driving Nissan vehicles produced in South Africa. The SA arm of Nissan will spend R3 billion ($213 million) equipping its local plant to build the Japanese carmaker’s new Navara model, the unit’s boss said on Wednesday. Capacity at Nissan’s plant in Rosslyn, near Pretoria, […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged South Africans living abroad to return to their country of birth. He also expressed a desire to stem the flow of young white South Africans to overseas destinations, joking that if he could, he would tie them to a tree to keep them in SA. The South African president was […]

You’ve probably seen Africa by Toto covered a thousand times, performed by famous musicians and actors (lip syncing on safari in Africa), and the beautiful Angel city Chorale… but there’s something incredibly charming about this simple acoustic version… performed by two random guys – Jeff Hall and Mike Masse – in a pizza place in […]

A Cape Town mother whose heart is overflowing with gratitude has penned a poignant thank you message to the family who gave a lifesaving gift to her 25-year-old daughter last night, during their darkest hour. Christine Jonker wrote: “To the family who lost a loved one yesterday and during their time of grieving acted selflessly […]

South African YouTuber Lasizwe (Dambuza) points out the differences between the EFF, DA and ANC (or FFE, DNA and NAC)… For the few who don’t possess good old fashioned South African humour, Lasizwe stresses: “This is a PARODY!” He also says he is not affiliated to any political party. WATCH The Difference Between the ANC, […]

Tanzania plans to ban the production, importation, sale and use of all single-use plastic bags by July, to help tackle pollution from non-biodegradable waste… which will be a relief to South African expats in the country who have long voiced concern over the mounting plastic bag crisis, with winds blowing thousands of discarded plastic bags […]

Harambee Youth Employment Accelerator, a youth training scheme in South Africa, will be presented with a fantastic $1.5-million award in Oxford this week at Britain’s leading event for social enterprise, the Skoll World Forum. Harambee is one of five social businesses around the world to each receive the $1.5 million prize from the Skoll Foundation, […]

Sandton’s skyline in Johannesburg, South Africa, is rapidly changing, with one particular new building standing proud as it’s set to soon become Africa’s tallest building when it’s completed later this year. All photos on this page captured by CHARLES JOHNSTONE – Johannesburg based professional photographer. The Leonardo, which is located in downtown Sandton (known for being […]

Most children are afraid of monsters, the scary ones hiding in their closet or under their bed. But Gideonette De La Rey (Anchen du Plessis) has a different fear in award-winning Meerkat Maantuig (now streaming on Showmax): she fears death. Or rather falling victim to the De La Rey Curse, where everyone named Gideon dies […]

An American tourist and her driver have been rescued unharmed after being kidnapped in a national park in southwestern Uganda last week, the Ugandan authorities said on Sunday. Kimberley Sue Endecott, 35, was abducted by gunmen in Queen Elizabeth National Park, near the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, on April 4. The kidnappers […]

There’s good news for South Africans living in the Vaal Triangle, as the government says it has set aside R341 million for the rehabilitation of all wastewater treatment infrastructure in the region. In an expose by Carte Blanche last year,  the current affairs show found that the situation at the Vaal River – which provides […]

The Olympics’ official page on Twitter has posted a video of South African swimmer Natalie du Toit which is inspiring many people around the world. Watch below. At 14 Natalie was already swimming for South Africa internationally… but then the Wynberg Girls’ High School student was hit by a car in 2001, whilst riding her […]

JOHANNESBURG – Woolworths Holdings launched a limited edition makeup line in collaboration with Beyonce’s make-up artist Sir John on Thursday, seeking to strengthen its private label brand in its first international collaboration. The South African department chain has invested heavily, like its peers, in its beauty business by partnering luxury international brands such as House […]

Legendary KwaZulu-Natal rugby player, Beast Mtawarira, will reach an incredible milestone tonight when he sets the record for being the most capped South African rugby player in Super Rugby history. The Sharks said in a statement on their website that Beast has become a “firm crowd favourite” with his never-say-die attitude over the course of […]

On Saturday the 13th of April, the Mdzananda Animal Clinic will be hosting its third Downward-Facing-Adopt-A-Dog yoga event in Cape Town, South Africa. Yoga lovers and dog lovers alike are invited to join this one of a kind yoga class with homeless dogs. The class will be held under the trees in the beautiful outdoor […]

Extreme weather events, such as Cyclone Idai that has recently devastated Beira, Mozambique, and Hurricane Harvey that hit Houston, USA, in 2017 are the types of climate extremes that cities increasingly have to prepare for. Cities, particularly those with extensive informal settlements in the developing world, are being hit hard by these new climatic realities. […]

Hugh Masekela is today being celebrated by Google who is treating users in the UK, US, South Africa and a few other countries to a special Hugh Masekela doodle on what would have been the late jazz musician’s birthday. The ‘Father of South African Jazz’ would have turned 80 today, 4 April 2019. The musician […]

CAPE TOWN – South African Rugby has turned a corner and recorded a small post-tax profit of R2-million ($141,122.35) in 2018 thanks to aggressive cost-cutting and an increase in revenue, reversing heavy losses from the previous two years. SA Rugby managed to keep its expenses in line with projections, but enjoyed a 9.5 percent rise […]

A KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) graduate has made sure everyone knows just how happy and proud she is to graduate, by performing a traditional Zulu dance on stage. The University of KZN said Bachelor of Social Science graduate Zandile Sanele Shange “had the crowd on their feet” with her impromptu dance. Twitter user uNdlunkulu Xoli said: “Every year, […]

In a victory on the war on rhino poaching, three members of the notorious Ndlovu rhino poaching gang have each been handed a sentence of 25 years imprisonment in South Africa today. (Update 24 Nov ’20: Ndlovu rhino poaching gang to hear judgment on Appeal.) Judge Pickering handed down the sentences at the High Court […]

Lunchtime at the V&A Waterfront in Cape Town, South Africa, was made all the more beautiful today by the appearance of a school of dolphins. SAPeople contributor Alan Rudnicki was one of those lucky enough to witness the dolphins swimming amongst the boats. “It was amazing to see them so close to the jetty, and […]

A legendary charity swimmer has thrown his rubber cap and goggles in the ring, signing up for a “wild swim” to promote alternatives to heavy minerals mining on South Africa’s pristine Wild Coast. (See GroundUp articles on Xolobeni.) Stan Kozlowski, who has helped collect more than R12 million for conservation and other good causes over […]

CAPE TOWN – The development bank of the BRICS group of emerging economies has approved funding of $790 million for three South African projects, the bank’s president said on Monday. “We plan to end the year with total loan approvals of about $2.3 billion in South Africa,” New Development Bank president Kundapur Vaman Kamath told […]

Miniaturised frogs form a fascinating but poorly understood group of amphibians. They have been exceptionally prone to taxonomic underestimation because when frogs evolve small body size they start to look remarkably similar – so it is easy to underestimate how diverse they really are. As part of my PhD I have been studying frogs and […]