Thabo Mbeki, who succeeded Nelson Mandela as South Africa’s second post-apartheid president, celebrated his 80th birthday on 18 June 2022. Following Mandela’s era of multiracial and multicultural rainbowism, Mbeki had to squarely address the challenges of acute inequality and the numerous grievances of the black majority caused by colonialism and apartheid. This was tough work […]

South Africa’s annual consumer price inflation (CPI) reached 7.4% in June 2022, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) says. This is a 0.9% increase from the 6.5% recorded in May 2022. Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke on Wednesday said this was the highest rate since May 2009 when the rate was 8.0%. “The consumer price index increased by […]

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment has released proposed regulations for onshore oil and gas exploration and production, including the use of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”)… which has raised concern for South Africans who have fought against fracking. “The scale and magnitude of drilling and fracking operations have proven to be beyond the grasp of […]

In what has been described as a turning point in a community grappling with violent crime, high-levels of Gender Based Violence (GBV) alcohol and drug abuse, residents of Khayelitsha are forging stronger ties with law enforcement to keep their community safe. In a crime Imbizo with Police Minister Bheki Cele, community policing structures in the […]

The ANC Parliamentary Caucus says it has learnt with a “sense of deep shock and sadness” of the death of its Deputy Secretary-General (DSG), Jessie Duarte, early this morning, Sunday 17 July 2022, following an 8-month illness. Duarte had been diagnosed with cancer in November last year (2021). According to the ANC, she was hospitalised […]

Eighteen tax branches of the South Africa Revenue Service (SARS) are not in operation today (Tuesday) as SARS staff embark on a wage strike. In a statement, SARS said: “(We) apologise for any inconvenience caused but due to Industrial Action taking place across SARS, we are experiencing delays in servicing our taxpayers.” The revenue collector […]

South Africa’s judicial probe into state capture and corruption, the Zondo Commission, has concluded that the State Security Agency was integral to the capture of the state by corrupt elements. These included former president Jacob Zuma’s friends, the Gupta family. The agency has been unstable for some time. Previous investigations have made findings to improve […]

As devastated families in the Eastern Cape buried their loved ones this week, South Africa is still in shock over the 21 young lives lost at a local tavern in East London. Police investigations into the cause of death have still not concluded. Some witnesses told The New York Times that “after 12:30 a.m., the […]

I have today written to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, calling for Parliament to reconvene… writes DA Leader John Steenhuisen. It is inconceivable that Parliament is shut during this time of national crisis. It should be meeting around the clock to find solutions to the multiple crises hitting our nation simultaneously at […]

In its ongoing clean-up operations, the Department of Home Affairs has dismissed two employees for fraud relating to the selling of South African identities to foreign nationals who do not deserve such documents. The generation of fake SA IDs and passports has led to travel challenges for genuine South Africans, with the Ryan Air Afrikaans […]

South Africa’s failure to support the United Nations resolution calling for Russia to withdraw from Ukraine was a low-point in our foreign policy. By Nathan Geffen   No person who thinks of themself as progressive, left, or pro-democracy can in good faith be neutral about Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia faced no existential threat from […]

The DA has today – Wed 29 June – laid criminal charges, requesting that the ANC be investigated for systemic and calculated racketeering activities over a multitude of years. In a press statement, DA MPs Cilliers Brink and Natasha Mazzone said the ANC has “acted like a criminal syndicate”. “Exactly a week ago, the final […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday arrived in Bavaria, in Germany, to participate in the G7 Leaders’ Summit at the invitation of the host, Chancellor Olaf Scholz. The G7 has been making headlines as the leaders (from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, US and EU) forged a stronger resolve to support Ukraine in ending […]

Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla is being called on to issue an immediate public apology to South Africans for his Department’s insults to those who opposed the draft health regulations relating to Covid-19. ‘Anti-progressive’, ‘instigating terrorism’ and ‘sabotage’ is how the Health Department officials called about 300 000 law-abiding SA citizens who exercised their democratic […]

The infamous Guptas – a family on the run from the long arm of the law. Now, they could be just months away from extradition to South Africa. It was the scandal that broke a presidency, and rocked a nation to its core, starting with the landing of a private plane at the Waterkloof Air […]

“I want to reassure, and indeed remind this House that accountability is a responsibility I have never shirked or shied away from,” South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Friday, during his reply on The Presidency Budget Vote Debate 2022 in Parliament, Cape Town. “When I was elected four years ago, I promised I would […]

While South Africa’s Deputy President David Mabuza stressed yesterday that law enforcement agencies should be allowed to investigate the robbery at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s farm without any interference, and Justice Minister Ronald Lamola reminded South Africans that the President, as a victim of crime, has a right to be treated fairly by the justice system… […]

(Reuters) – South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has suspended the country’s top anti-corruption official – Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane – to pave the way for an inquiry by a parliamentary group into her ability to hold office, the government said on Thursday. Public Protector Mkhwebane, a constitutionally mandated anti-corruption official, was appointed in 2016 by Ramaphosa’s […]

UN Climate Change News – This year’s Bonn annual UN Climate Change Conference kicked off today, designed to lay the groundwork for success at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. Governments are meeting for the first time since the conclusion of the UN Climate Change Conference COP26 in Glasgow last November, at which the operational details of […]

The President is facing a crisis of credibility and cannot hide behind procedural smokescreens to avoid presenting South Africans with the full truth around the money that was stolen from his farm (Phala Phala), and the subsequent cover-up… writes DA Leader John Steenhuisen. There is no aspect of any police or other investigation that prevents him […]

Security Agencies are investigating a death threat, sent to Director-General in the Presidency, Phindile Baleni, by mail last week. While the government has reiterated its commitment to fight corruption, even in the face of threats of violence, the decision to share the death threat letter and a bullet with the world has been questioned. The […]

Russia’s ‘brutal war’ on Ukraine must stop as soon as possible, Germany’s Chancellor Olaf Scholz said today – Tuesday 24 May – during his official visit to South Africa. With host, President Cyril Ramaphosa, besides him, the German leader said he looked forward to discussions with SA’s President about some of the huge issues facing […]

There have been calls in South Africa – on social media and in the political arena – for swift action over the video of a student urinating over the belongings of another student at Stellenbosch University in the Western Cape. Most are calling for the perpetrator’s expulsion, and a petition on Change.org has already gathered […]

South Africa’s judicial commission into state capture, known as the Zondo Commission, recently handed over the fourth part of its voluminous and scathing findings to President Cyril Ramaphosa. As a fact-finding commission, it had to determine if there were facts that were relevant for prosecutorial purposes related to “state capture” and corruption during the reign […]

The court record in AfriForum’s case against the R50 million Cuba donation, shows the grand total of the donation to actually be R350 million and not just R50 million. This was revealed after Afriforum’s legal team requested the court record as part of its review application. According to the record, the government has agreed to […]