The National Treasury has reiterated its stance that it will not bail out South African Airways, apparently in direct conflict with Pravin Gordhan, who seems hell bent on saving the airline from liquidation. In its response to public submissions to the Supplementary Budget, the treasury today released a brief programme on what the next steps […]

A teenage schoolgirl in South Africa, Anika de Beer, tragically died on Tuesday in an aircraft she was flying solo, just days before her 17th birthday… which is tomorrow. This was her second solo flight. Just recently Anika’s delighted mum Rika and dad Andries had presented their daughter with a traditional bottle of champagne after […]

An analysis of financial inclusion in South Africa shows that affordability limits poor households’ access to formal financial services. In our study, which looked at people’s use of financial goods and services between 2008 and 2015, we found that there was a general increase in use. But this was severely skewed to households with higher […]

Zackie Achmat, activist and co-founder of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC), stressed the need for more openness and activism during the Covid-19 crisis in South Africa. He was speaking during a webinar on Thursday in which he received the 2018 International AIDS Society (IAS) President’s Award. The award was handed to him, virtually, by outgoing […]

On their ninth wedding anniversary, Monaco’s Prince Albert II and his South African expat wife, Princess Charlène, have shared a few special family portraits on their social media channels. On the day of their anniversary – Thursday 2 July – they shared a gorgeous photo taken at the Royal Palace with their children, Prince Hereditary […]

This week, South Africa’s current affairs show Carte Blanche investigates how the outbreak of the deadly and highly contagious Parvovirus has led to the death now of around 100 puppies at a K9 police dog breeding facility in Gauteng. Killing Canines: The Parvovirus From vomiting to diarrhoea, the canine parvovirus (CPV) is a highly contagious […]

As positive cases of coronavirus peak in South Africa – with another 8,735 recorded on Thursday and 95 deaths, the country’s social media users have increasingly been urging each other to wear masks. This comes as Texas is making world headlines with a similar number of cases – over 8,000 on Wednesday – and introducing […]

To mark 100 days since Lockdown began in South Africa, Faried Swartz – has produced another of his brilliant parody videos. Faried says: “100 days… A Corona Fairytale”. The video is based on The Monkees’ “I’m a Believer” with Faried’s own lyrics, including smoking in a shebeen… and the classic “Then I saw her face, […]

“I was in my room washing. I asked them for one minute. Then they threw me outside.” Bulelani Qolani described how on Wednesday he was dragged naked from his home by City of Cape Town law enforcement officers sent to demolish shacks at a site called eThembeni, near Empolweni, in Khayelitsha. The video of Qolani […]

Four South African Airways unions and staff representatives have expressed an intention to sign voluntary severance packages offered as part of the airline’s business rescue and restructuring process. The three main unions, however, have so far not accepted the packages. These are the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), the SA Cabin Crew […]

The Ministry of Environmental Resources, Conservation and Tourism in Botswana has issued a press release about the recent mysterious deaths of elephants in the areas around Seronga. Since March 2020, National Park Rescue reports 356 elephant deaths of which the Botswana government said 275 elephant carcasses have been verified. Investigations into the unexplained deaths of […]

MTN South Africa has made a donation of R500,000 to a newly started relief fund to help journalists whose livelihoods have been devastated by COVID-19, and has exhorted other businesses to also help. A newly released report by the non-profit South African National Editors’ Forum, COVID19 Impact on Journalism, has highlighted the havoc that the […]

Described by friends, colleagues and family as a soft soul who got along with everybody, HIV/AIDS activist Nomandla Yako died on Sunday night in Groote Schuur hospital of renal failure as a result of being ill with Covid-19. She was 41. Nomandla Yako and her son were featured on Siyayinqoba in the mid-2000s. Yako lived […]

South Africa’s Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu says the SA government cannot afford to lose money because of neglect, inefficiencies or poor decision making. Makwetu said this when he released the report on the audit outcomes for municipalities for the financial year that ended in March 2019. “The levels of fruitless and wasteful expenditure have also increased. […]

South Africa recorded its deadliest 24 hours since the Coronavirus outbreak, with 128 fatalities on Tuesday, bringing the total to 2,657. Of the new deaths, 52 are from the Western Cape, 36 from Gauteng, 25 from the Eastern Cape, 11 from KwaZulu-Natal and four from Mpumalanga, bringing the death toll to 2,657. The number of […]

The African National Congress has, controversially, reinstated two of its members who figured prominently in a report exposing the R2 billion fraud committed at VBS Mutual Bank. Eight ringleaders of the fraud were arrested and charged two weeks ago. The decision to reinstate Limpopo provincial deputy chairperson Florence Radzilani and treasurer Danny Msiza was apparently taken […]

As the squandering of money by most municipalities went up yet again – from R25.2 billion to R32 billion – Auditor-General Kimi Makwetu in his latest report of the country’s municipalities singled out the Western Cape and Gauteng for having developed characteristics of good governance. Makwetu said many municipalities were spending money “in ways that […]

South Africa recorded its deadliest 24 hours since the Coronavirus outbreak, after 128 people succumbed to COVID-19 on Tuesday, the Department of Health announced on Wednesday. There have now been over 150,000 Covid-19 cases in SA. The Department urged the elderly and those with co-morbidities to stay home after it was revealed that 10,700 people […]

A powerful South African video has won the Music Video Category in an international film festival – the 2020 Moment Invitational Film Festival. The video, directed by Luke Bell, features Cape Town-based musician Phehello Makgoe performing his song ‘We Can’t Breathe’. And the guys would love your vote right now to make sure they win […]

Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu, has issued a stern warning to those in South Africa who have invaded – or plan to invade properties – to desist from the unlawful acts. “The department has noticed incidents in which people illegally occupy places of land, buildings and houses. Recent cases have been reported […]

The finalists for the prestigious 2020 Rhino Conservation Awards have been announced, featuring several South Africans. The winners will be celebrated in a virtual event on World Ranger Day on 31 July. These conservation heroes comprise the people and organisations who work constantly to reduce the threats and increase the sustainability of conservation efforts in […]

Three Critically Endangered African White-Backed Vultures have been successfully rehabilitated and released back into the wild by Wildlife ACT, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife and Raptor Rescue; through the Zululand Vulture Project. (See video at bottom of page.) The release last week, following fantastic collaborative efforts, came after a spate of poisoning incidences ravaged Zululand last year. […]

A nearly complete R281 million forensic pathology facility at Groote Schuur Hospital could help reduce South Africa’s high number of unsolved crimes and cold cases. The Observatory Forensic Pathology Institute will be more than just a mortuary, the University of Cape Town’s Department of Medicine says on its website, but will allow pathologists to be […]

South Africa’s COVID-19 cases are on a sharp and steady increase, with 6,130 new cases reported on Monday, bringing the total number to 144,264. “The numbers are picking up and the surge is on the way. Particularly in Gauteng, the numbers are locking up faster than anticipated,” said Health Minister Zweli Mkhize. “Western Cape started […]

With moviehouses across the country ready to open soon, the well-known Labia Theatre in Cape Town has announced that it will also start streaming a curated selection of movies that one can watch at home, in addition to those that will be available on its four screens. The Labia Home Screen offers six video-on-demand movies […]