National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete announced at a press briefing in Parliament on Monday – with a cough and a splutter – that the vote in the Motion of No Confidence in President Jacob Zuma will be held by Secret Ballot. The occasion was so momentous – and perhaps being a little fearful of an […]

In an unprecedented move, and due to the huge interest from the public, National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete has called for a press meeting, to announce her decision on the Secret Ballot, rather than simply issuing a statement. Watch if live below. UPDATE: The press briefing is over. Baleka Mbete has determined that the vote […]

Relying on one event to change a country usually ends in tears – particularly when you pin so much on it that you endanger your future. The event on which many in the South African mainstream are pinning their hopes is the motion of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma proposed by opposition parties and […]

South African comedian Trevor Noah got serious this morning on a radio show, back home in SA, after a news bulletin about the country’s Deputy Minister of Higher Education allegedly assaulting two women at a club over the weekend. Trevor, whose mother was shot and injured by Trevor’s step-father in 2009, said: “One thing I […]

South African Airways (SAA) is due to face the music in Parliament today as reports of its imminent bankruptcy and billions in “irregular contracts” make international headlines. According to the BBC, the airline is “haemorrhaging cash” and needs a R792-million bailout from the government. SAA has reported financial losses over the past seven years, and […]

Several South Africans on social media have been sharing an article about President Donald Trump threatening to send ‘more troops’ to South Africa. (See also: President Donald Trump has NOT spoken out about Farm Murders in South Africa.) The rumour began on a South African gossip site a few days ago, with a screenshot of […]

South African national, Stephen McGown, who was kidnapped by Islamist militants in Mali has been released, government announced on Thursday. McGown was kidnapped in November 2011 while touring in Timbuktu together with Swedish national Johan Gustaffsson – who was freed earlier this year. “We are happy to announce that finally these efforts have culminated in […]

Residents of Klipspruit West in Soweto barricaded the K43 highway with burning tyres on Thursday morning, and torched a bus. The community is angry over the appointment of a black principal at Klipspruit West Secondary School, and the larger context in which the appointment was made. According to Anthony Williams, from Patriots for Equality, they […]

The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) has urged the public not to speculate on what caused the accident that resulted in the death of a Member of Parliament (MP) and seriously injured three MPs. “RTMC crash investigating team will work with other law enforcement authorities to investigate and establish the root cause of the crash.” […]

One Member of Parliament (MP) has died in a car accident in the Western Cape, South Africa, while three other MPs were seriously injured on Wednesday morning. In a statement the South African Parliament said it had “just learned with shock and devastation that four Members of Parliament (MPs) in the National Assembly belonging to […]

The prognosis that the South African economy is in dire straits is pretty obvious even to the untrained eye. The solution to the country’s present predicament is also pretty much understood. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recently produced a comprehensive view which deserves to be considered. The IMF identifies three key ailments as causes […]

Opposition parties have called on South Africans to join a mass march on 8 August, when Parliament meets to decide on whether to recall President Jacob Zuma or not. Economic Freedom Fighter (EFF) leader, Julius Malema, tweeted: “South Africa, No work & No business on the 08 August 2017 in support of motion of no […]

Over 2,000 people marched from Keizersgracht Street in Cape Town, South Africa, to Parliament chanting “Free, free Palestine!” and “Down Netanyahu, down!” on Wednesday. They were marching against the installation of metal detectors and other security measures at the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Protesters said recent security measures at al-Aqsa, including the use of security cameras, […]

The suggestion by the ANC that an amnesty deal should be granted to President Jacob Zuma for the corruption charges against him as this will unify the factionalised party, is outrageous and should be dismissed with the contempt that it deserves, according to opposition party, the DA (Democratic Alliance). The DA’s Chairman James Selfe said […]

In an old Australian TV interview, before he was made President of South Africa, Jacob Zuma spoke candidly about the “propaganda” against him and his book-keeping skills, about the views of others that he was corrupt and about the name his father gave him. Zuma said he loved the people and had “dedicated my life […]

The Gupta Family’s former PR agency – Bell Pottinger – will be facing the music on 18 August 2017, in a disciplinary hearing scheduled by UK regulatory body PRCA (Public Relations and Communications Association), it was announced on Tuesday. Francis Ingham MPRCA, Director General of the PRCA, said: “As previously announced, the complaint filed by […]

CNBC International has produced a show about South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma, explaining the backstory and the current political situation, and possible future outcomes… in a clear and concise manner that has even South Africans sharing the post. So if you’d like to catch up on South Africa’s current political situation under Zuma, watch below. […]

The Speaker of the National Assembly has received submissions from political parties in Parliament stating their views regarding the appropriate voting procedure to be followed next month – when the Motion of No Confidence in South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma is debated on 8 August 2017. The South African Parliament announced in a statement Sunday […]

Disgraced UK PR firm, Bell Pottinger, has until the close of business today to respond to the DA’s complaint that it has violated the Public Relations and Communications Association’s (PRCA) Professional Charter and Code of Conduct, by which the company is bound. And South Africans in the UK are urged to attend a picket at […]

The British PR agency – and ‘international reputation management’ company – that recently dropped the Gupta Family’s Oakbay Capital as a client, have sort of come clean with a statement today, admitting their horror at discovering some of the accusations levelled at them by angry South Africans (never mess with a South African!) are in […]

The DA-led City of Tshwane has announced plans to sell the mayoral mansion it inherited from the previous ANC administration. It says the sale is “in order to prioritise bringing better services to Tshwane residents, particularly those living in informal settlements”. I am happy to announce that the City will officially be selling the Mayoral […]

People from Imizamo Yethu – who are in temporary shelters – say the City must make good on its promises Residents protest the lack of progress reblocking Imizamo Yethu. Photo: Ashraf Hendricks Protests in Imizamo Yethu in Hout Bay continued for the third day yesterday (Monday 3 July). Residents displaced by the devastating fire earlier this year […]

South African President Jacob Zuma has delivered the opening address at the ANC’s fifth annual National Policy Conference (NPC), quoting the words of former ANC leader Oliver Tambo that it’s harder to stay in power than to win power. In fact, Zuma repeated them to make sure everyone got the message… Zuma said one of […]

The latest shocking #GuptaLeaks revelations allege that the bill for the lavish and controversial Sun City wedding of Gupta niece, Vega Gupta, in 2013 was paid for by the Free State provincial government… in a process that involved money laundering and the Vrede Dairy Project (in which the Guptas have always denied involvement). The latest […]

South African journalist Suna Venter has tragically passed away at the age of just 32. She was one of the ‘SABC 8’, and although her family has not given the exact cause of her death, they did say in a media release that she was recently diagnosed with ‘Broken Heart Syndrome’. In the media statement, […]