“We want to love the police, but they don’t want to love or respect us”, “Black Lives Matter” and ”Refugee Lives Matter” read some of the placards laid on the ground outside Parliament in Cape Town on Wednesday. Small groups of people trickled past to place flowers and banners in a show of solidarity against […]

The South African History Archive Trust has won an important victory for the constitutional right of access to information in the Supreme Court of Appeal. In a unanimous judgment, the court found that the Reserve Bank had unlawfully refused to provide SAHA with records in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA). […]

20 organisations ask state capture commission to issue interim report… Dear Judge Zondo, We write to you as concerned members of the Civil Society Working Group on State Capture, which comprises more than 20 civil society organisations. In February 2020, we presented an Agenda for Action to the Commission, which is based on detailed submissions […]

The South African government says it has observed the protests in the USA following the tragic death of George Floyd, and calls on all in America – especially the security forces – to exercise maximum restraint in responding to the anger and frustration felt by many of its citizens, friends and international partners. DIRCO Minister […]

Social media users are currently posting blank black images in solidarity with those protesting the death of George Floyd in the U.S. writes Tom Brown. But many of those well-wishers supporting the Blackout Tuesday movement are unintentionally obscuring vital information streams used by protesters… by including the #BlackLivesMatter and #BLM hashtag. The #BlackLivesMatter and #BLM […]

In six months’ time the world’s gaze will be trained on what is gearing up to be a contentious and hotly contested presidential election in the US. Irrespective of who emerges victorious between the incumbent President Donald Trump and the Democratic nominee, Joe Biden, South Africa needs to start thinking about what it stands to […]

The Democratic Alliance says its lawyers have written to the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, over the continuous ban on personal care services, such as hairdressers. In a press statement on Tuesday, Dean Macpherson – DA Shadow Minister of Trade and Industry, said: “The continued criminalisation of the personal […]

The ANC Caucus says that “unwarranted racist and misogynistic attacks” on COGTA Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma have continued unabated despite several condemnations by the ANC leadership and progressive sectors of society. This comes after a Western Cape social media user posted a morphed photo depicting Dr Dlamini-Zuma as an ape. The ANC says: “We will […]

There is intense pressure on the South African government to lift the lockdown and open the economy. Sustainably lifting out of the lockdown is critical. But there is no roadmap. The stakes are high and there are no right answers, just ones that juggle uncertain probabilities. Diminishing growth over the past decade has weakened industry […]

COGTA Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma’s Level 3 regulations for South Africa, released today, have been met with frustration and widespread shock and horror. The keyword in response seemed to be “irrational” with the DA adding that the regulations “lack scientific basis” and AfriForum demanding  the Minister recall them. The DA said it will use all […]

The Democratic Alliance has rejected as a sham the South African National Defence Force’s decision to exonerate the soldiers allegedly involved in the death of an Alexandra resident, Collins Khosa. It was reported yesterday that an internal SANDF probe exonerated the soldiers, although a police investigation is continuing. In papers before the North Gauteng High […]

The whole country will move to level 3 lockdown from 1 June, including areas identified as hotspots, according to Health Minister Zweli Mkhize. Mkhize clarified this after confusion was created when an old slide was presented stating hotspots would remain at level 4 and was also making rounds on social media. However, if these areas […]

South Africa is currently one of the world’s largest carbon emitters. And it’s increasingly being viewed as a pariah that isn’t contributing as much as it could to the international fight against global warming and climate change. With a lot of other countries now moving away from fossil fuel-based electricity, there’s considerable pressure for South […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Western Cape says it is saddened by the passing of one of its colleagues, Thandi Mpambo-Sibhukwana MP. She was a dedicated Member of Parliament since 2014, who served at the NCOP and then moved to the National Assembly in 2019 to date. She served on the Portfolio Committee on […]

A field hospital to deal with COVID-19 patients is being set up in Tshwane with the help of BMW, Nissan, and the embassies of Germany and Japan. Gauteng premier David Makhura made the announcement while visiting the two automakers’ manufacturing plants in Rosslyn to see how they were applying the COVID safety regulations during work […]

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) announced today that it has facilitated the repatriation by air of 5,239 South Africans stranded abroad. According to DIRCO Minister Naledi Pandor, hundreds more have also returned through the country’s land borders. As several countries went into lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19, an initial 3 637 requested […]

The National Health Insurance (NHI) has become an idealistic concept known as “imaginary.” It’s become the idea onto which all South Africa’s aspirations for healthcare have been projected. The dream of a system that is fairer, less divided and more efficient. It’s even been called “pie in the sky.” Steve Reid reports. It’s clear that […]

South Africa’s confirmed COVID-19 cases now stand at 16 433 with 475 071 tests having been conducted. In a statement on Monday, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said of the 475 071 tests conducted, 14 198 tests had been conducted in the last 24-hours. South Africa also reported a further 22 COVID-19 related deaths, bringing the total number of deaths […]

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of universal health coverage. That is the message underlined by President Cyril Ramaphosa who was addressing the virtual 73rd Session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) on Monday. The pandemic should propel countries to act with greater urgency to make it a reality. “In this final decade towards […]

Children are suffering increasingly from preventable infectious diseases, including TB and measles, due to missed vaccinations. When a novel coronavirus now known as SARS-CoV-2 first entered the world stage on the heels of the Chinese New Year in January 2020, little was known about it and its impact on people, health systems and countries. This […]

While stressing that Lockdown’s priority is to save lives, President Cyril Ramaphosa has conceded in his latest weekly letter to the nation, that each South African citizen has the right to pursue litigation if they are not happy with Lockdown. The President said that when asked recently by a journalist whether he was concerned at […]

Some surfers in Kommetjie near Cape Town, South Africa, broke the nation’s lockdown regulations to have a morning surf… while others respectfully remained out of the ocean. Local residents’ opinions were split – some pointing out that by flagrantly disregarding the regulations it could result in them becoming more stringent or lasting longer; whilst others […]

As government prepares for the further easing of the lockdown to level 3, Cabinet Ministers will undertake broad-ranging consultations with government, key sectors of the economy and civil society. Having appreciated the progress made towards levelling the  COVID-19 pandemic curve and capacitating the public health system to deal with an increase in infections, Cabinet approved […]

The North West province’s Department of Health has suspended four senior officials over allegations of tender irregularities, one of which amounts to almost R11 million. Two suspensions relate to a building contract at the Mmbatho Nursing College, the other two to a security contract whose financial loss is still being calculated. Two senior officials, including […]

This is an URGENT APPEAL for help… writes Sadhana (Sharon Ryan). [UPDATE 15 May 2020: Light at the end of the tunnel for South Africans stranded in India.] We are over 250 South Africans stranded all over India, since Lockdown started on 24 March, with no repatriation plans in sight yet by the South African […]