It’s happened again. In spite of holding all necessary legal documentation from the South African Embassy in China, 23 South Africans have been refused permission to board a connecting flight on Air Asia from Guangzhou in China to Kuala Lumpur, after which they would be repatriated home to SA. Some, who had spent their last […]

Zeblon Vilakazi, a professor who is “globally recognised for his scientific work,” has been selected to replace Professor Adam Habib as the next vice-chancellor and principal of the University of Witwatersrand. He will take over his role on 1 January. Professor Vilakazi’s appointment was announced today by the Council of the University of the Witwatersrand […]

The government has promised that the calamitous journey of its Medupi power plant, said to be the fourth-biggest in the world and first started in 2007, will be over this year and its sister plant Kusile completed in 2023. This was stated when Deputy President David Mabuza answered a question in Parliament today. He said […]

Two nurses at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, yesterday shared the heartbreaking reality of their working lives right now, during these Covid-19 times… when a coronavirus cure is still but a dream, and being admitted to ICU is a nightmare for the patients, their family who can’t visit and the medical staff […]

After the arrest of eight of the top officials of VBS Mutual Bank last week for their alleged involvement in the plundering of R2 billion from the bank, the first member of a municipality has been arrested. The acting CFO of the Merafong Municipality west of Johannesburg, Thys Wienekus, was arrested earlier today for his […]

The number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in South Africa is increasing exponentially since the relaxation of stringent regulations, as the economy opens for more industries to operate, says the SA government.   South Africa recorded 103 more deaths and 5 688 new positive cases on Wednesday – the country’s single biggest jump since the Coronavirus […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has requested a debate in the National Assembly on the “scourge” of farm attacks and murders across rural South Africa, many of which have been “particularly heinous in nature with brutal torture”. These attacks, they say, are a “national emergency” which must be addressed as a matter of urgency. In a […]

On Monday it was announced that President Cyril Ramaphosa had referred the contentious Copyright Amendment Bill back to Parliament on the basis that a number of its provisions are unconstitutional. This was 15 months after it had been passed by Parliament, more than 3 years after it had been formally introduced, and 9 years after […]

The Department of Public Enterprises has welcomed the court judgment, which will see the creditors’ meeting to vote on the #SAA business rescue plan, go ahead as planned today. The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) has welcomed the judgment to strike off the roll an urgent court application by SA Airlink. The airline this week […]

Two female officers and one senior male officer from the Tshwane Metro Police Department have tested positive for COVID-19. The 51-year-old, a senior superintendent and a 37-year-old female constable, tested positive on 17 June 2020 at Number 1 Madiba Street. The building was closed for two days to allow for the disinfection process to take […]

South African Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa has approved plans for the resumption of football. “The plans of the Premier Soccer League have been approved, considering the mitigation strategies and plans in relation to the level 3 risk adjusted strategy in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic,” the Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture said […]

Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia de Lille says the South African government has so far spent R17-million to procure quarantine sites. Responding to a question when Ministers in the Economic Cluster fielded oral questions in the National Assembly, De Lille said there was a need to find a bigger balance between finding private and […]

World Animal Protection has issued a statement on Wednesday in response to news of the African Swine Fever outbreak in Nigeria, which is predicted to kill a quarter of all pigs in the world.. Dr Victor Yamo, Farming Campaigns Manager at World Animal Protection says: “We are facing unprecedented times with the outbreak of zoonotic […]

The government will need to borrow $7 billion from international finance institutions as one of the measures to cover the budget hole brought about by South Africa’s response to COVID-19, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said today during his supplementary budget. “Debt is our weakness. We have accumulated far too much debt. This downturn will add […]

South Africa’s economy is projected to contract by 7.2 percent in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Finance Minister Tito Mboweni. “This is the largest contraction in nearly 90 years,” he said tabling the Supplementary Budget Review. Inflation will likely register 3 percent in 2020. “Commodity price increases and a weaker […]

National Treasury has set aside R21.5 billion for COVID‐19‐related healthcare spending for health and frontline services, it was announced by the Finance Minister Tito Mboweni when he delivered the Supplementary Budget on Wednesday. The budget was necessitated by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement that government would spend R500 billion to support the economy’s resuscitation following the […]

Fees charged by liquidators and business rescue practitioners, and the impact they can have on bottom-line payouts to affected employees, came under the spotlight at Monday’s meeting to consider a business rescue model for Edcon. 22,000 jobs are at stake if the rescue plan for Edcon does not work. Business rescue practitioners propose backdating and […]

A school staff taxi, transporting teachers to work at Masijabule High School near Wartburg, in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, was the target of a fatal attack earlier today. According to Elijah Mhlanga, Spokesperson for the Department of Basic Education, the 35-year-old driver of the taxi was killed while three teachers (aged 40 to 53) were critically […]

Ambassador Bridgette Motsepe has hit back at what she calls “baseless allegations” implicating her of money-laundering, as announced by AfriForum on Tuesday morning, 23 June. Motsepe says she rejects the allegations as “preposterous”, and says they were already proved untrue six months ago. She has also appointed an international law firm, led by Cherie Blair, […]

The leaking of official documents at the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa showed there was a “fight-back campaign” by highly placed officials unhappy about the cleaning up of corruption and maladministration at the state-owned enterprise, says administrator Bongisizwe Mpondo. Mpondo has directed the acting head of PRASA Security, Brigadier General Tebogo Rakau, to investigate […]

KASANE, Botswana – New research led by Elephants Without Borders reveals that poaching of African elephants for their ivory has not decreased since 2011 in Western, Southern, and Central Africa. As a result, continued efforts to combat poaching will be necessary to save elephant populations. The new study was published June 23rd in Scientific Reports […]

It’s goodbye to bad hair days as salons and many other personal beauty services are now free to operate, although under strict conditions, after almost three months of lockdown. These include hairdressing, barbering, nail and toe treatment, facial treatment and make-up, body massage, tattooing and body piercing. The Minister of Small Business Development, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, […]

Unemployment in South Africa has unfortunately risen to 30.1% in the first three months of 2020, Statistics South Africa has revealed. The results are contained in the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) released by Stats SA on Tuesday. They show that employment decreased by 38 000 to 16.4 million in the first quarter of 2020. “The […]

The first participants in South Africa’s first clinical trial for a vaccine against COVID-19 will be vaccinated this week. The first clinical trial in South Africa and on the continent for a COVID-19 vaccine was announced on Tuesday during a virtual press conference hosted by the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (Wits). Wits University is […]

Between 12 and 20 rare roan antelope tragically died last year in the Kruger National Park, South Africa, due to dehydration in the Nwaxitsumbe Roan Breeding Camp, the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries has revealed. A senior ranger has been dismissed for gross negligence in this regard. The information was given in response to […]