The South African Government says it is “very concerned and alarmed” at the announcement by President Donald Trump to cut funding to the World Health Organisation (WHO) with immediate effect. This comes as the global number of people with coronavirus surpasses 2 million. “South Africa is particularly alarmed that the decision is made amid a […]

A domestic worker in Johannesburg has donated R3,000 of her R7,500-a-month salary to families in distress because of the Covid-19 lockdown. Zimbabwean national Judy Murambinda used the money to assist other Zimbabweans in trouble. She said immigrants should help each other when living away from home. Murambinda, who came to South Africa in 2009, was […]

The South African Police Service (SAPS) in Kimberley is being commended for going above and beyond in the call of duty… and for bringing a good news cop story to social media. According to the SAPS, the local police in the Northern Cape town assisted residents to drain their homes which were flooded over the […]

Hundreds of residents from Govan Mbeki and Nkandla townships in Port Elizabeth took a stand against criminals to protect some immigrant-owned spaza shops from looters on Tuesday morning… writes Mkhuseli Sizani. In Govan Mbeki GroundUp spoke to Mule Wanaro, the owner of Mubarak Spaza shop in Area 20, who recounted a narrow escape from armed […]

The number of COVID-19 related deaths in South Africa has risen to 34, with infections now at 2,506. This comes after Health Minister Zweli Mkhize on Wednesday confirmed seven more deaths. Mkhize confirmed the increase during a press briefing in which government received much-needed personal protective equipment from Multichoice, Orlando Pirates and Kaizer Chiefs. Confirmed […]

A captain and the crew of his ship have been arrested in South Africa for attempted murder after throwing two stowaways overboard (with a makeshift life raft) in the middle of the Indian Ocean, over fears they had the coronavirus. The desperate stowaways had climbed up the anchor chain while the 600-foot long bulk carrier […]

A non-profit feeding scheme today said it would no longer hand out food parcels in a Pretoria township after chaos erupted and looters stole thousands of food parcels and damaged vehicles. The incident happened at Itireleng township in the west of Pretoria, at a feeding scheme run by a number of community groups from Laudium. […]

Many South Africans have been surprised, even outraged, by the ‘raw egg challenge’ that has swept South Africa during lockdown – but the latest twist it has taken has shocked and “disgusted” authorities and animal lovers nationwide. Three South African men have been filmed consuming live animals. The Raw Egg Challenge – brought on by […]

At least three factories in the Western Cape have turned their focus away from their normal production of clothing and liquor to turn out much-needed face masks and hand sanitiser. The companies are KWay, Reliance Clothing and Distell in Paarl. Agriculture MEC Ivan Meyer said in a statement yesterday that he had visited two places […]

The Surgeon General of the South African National Defence Force says the SANDF has recorded its first four positive cases of the COVID-19. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Surgeon General said three of the cases were in the Western Cape, while the fourth was recorded in Gauteng. “None of these members are uniformed […]

Watch the video below for some of the brilliant moments when online teaching just goes hilariously wrong! The footage, filmed by teachers from St John’s DSG in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, catches innocent, funny and wonderful family moments as teachers in SA get ready to teach school children remotely from Wednesday, during the Covid-19 lockdown. St […]

The Department of Home Affairs has outlined temporary measures that have been put in place to address immigration matters during the lockdown period. The temporary measures were introduced after President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a National State of Disaster on 15 March and subsequently a national lockdown from 27 March, extended until the end of April […]

We are a group of concerned citizens and educational activists and South African leaders, with the support of the National Association for Social Change Entities (NASCEE). We have heard Minister Motshekga’s interview on e.TV on 10 April, and understand that a Recovery Plan will be tabled to the Cabinet in the course of the week. […]

As the world staggers under the catastrophic impact of eating a wild animal, probably a pangolin, the South African government has reclassified 130 wild animals as meat. The next pandemic could be round the corner with its epicentre at the southern tip of Africa. South Africa has embarked on a mission to commercialise and commoditise […]

Residents of Tafelsig in Cape Town burnt tyres and blocked streets on Tuesday, demanding food parcels. When GroundUp arrived in the afternoon, a large contingent of police and the SANDF were on the scene. Traffic officers blocked sections of AZ Berman and Spine Road. Rocks and coils from burnt out mattresses littered the streets. Each […]

The total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in South Africa is 2 415, as of Tuesday, 14 March. Releasing the update of cases, the Health Department said the total number of tests conducted to date is 87 022. Gauteng has 909 cases, Western Cape 643, KwaZulu-Natal 489, Eastern Cape 174, Free State 98, Limpopo 24, […]

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the South African Reserve Bank has suddenly decided to cut the repo rate by 100 basis points. This takes the repo rate to 4.25% per annum, the Reserve Bank said in a press statement on Tuesday. The Bank said the May 2020 meeting of the MPC was moved earlier […]

South African Airways (SAA) has announced a flight from Frankfurt, Germany, on 18 April 2020 for stranded South Africans in UK and the rest of Europe. The SA High Commission in the UK has advised those Saffers still stuck in the UK to fly to Frankfurt, if they would like to board this flight. UPDATE: […]

An 11-year-old schoolboy in Heidelberg, South Africa, was tragically electrocuted and killed after playing on a bouncy castle that his parents had hired during the Coronavirus lockdown, to keep him and his little sister entertained. Gauteng couple Paul and Rhodine de Beer hired the inflatable for 11-year-old Pedre and his five-year-old sister Anele, 5 to […]

South Africa’s Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, has condemned the incidents of vandalism, burglary and destruction of schools across several provinces since the COVID-19 lockdown started. This follows break-ins at three schools in KwaZulu-Natal in 24 hours between Saturday and Sunday, where expensive learning equipment was stolen… the latest in a string of schools that […]

The Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, in partnership with the packaging industry, has secured a plan to assist waste pickers countrywide who have lost their livelihoods during the national lockdown period. “Working with industry and the waste reclaimers associations, we will be distributing electronic food vouchers to waste pickers’ cell phones over the coming […]

Gauteng MEC for Education and Youth Development, Panyaza Lesufi today visited the Lyttelton Homeless Shelter in Tshwane, following reports of escapees fleeing with mattresses… writes photojournalist Tom Brown. Images which were widely circulated on social media yesterday, including in a tweet by Lesufi, showed two men making off with multiple mattresses from the facility. City […]

The number of COVID-19 cases in South Africa rose to 2,272 on Monday, with two more deaths confirmed by Health Minister Zweli Mkhize. He said one of those deaths was a 57-year-old Gauteng man who had no recorded underlying diseases. The positive tests are an increase of 99 from the previous day. Total deaths stood […]

Professor Tim Noakes gave an interview to CCFM that has been widely circulated on social media. In it Noakes makes false and misleading statements… writes GroundUp editor Nathan Geffen. The interview starts off with Noakes admitting he is not a virus expert. If the interview had ended at this point it would have been accurate. […]

In the second week of March the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic. By mid-March the disease had spread rapidly in many countries around the world. Governments are taking drastic steps, including the complete lockdown of cities, as well as extensive health interventions to try and stem the disease which is caused by […]