The economic outlook for 2020 is gloomy for us in South Africa… writes Andrew Robinson. Our GDP is shrinking, our economy is stagnant and we’re teetering on a rating downgrade. Our state-owned enterprises are failing, we have an above-average public sector wage bill and substantial budget deficit. And while the official stats don’t show an […]

Incessant rains which hit the country last week are impacting coal handling and operations, could lead to load shedding for the rest of the week, Eskom said on Monday. “We are beginning to experience flooding at some power stations, which is impacting coal handling and operations which could further lead to capacity load losses and […]

The DA’s Mayor Stevens Mokgalapa and Speaker Katlego Mathebe are back in their offices in Tshwane today, after being removed at a Special Council yesterday in a vote of no confidence. This morning the North Gauteng High Court suspended the resolutions taken by the African National Congress (ANC) and Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) at the […]

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has lost its second metro in two days, as Mayor Stevens Mokgalapa was voted out of office in Tshwane in a motion of no confidence on Thursday evening. Yesterday, the DA-led coalition lost its hold in Johannesburg after the ANC’s Geoff Makhubo was elected the city’s new mayor (to replace the […]

Mongameli Bobani was today ousted as Nelson Mandela Bay’s mayor after the majority of parties voted in favour of a motion of no-confidence, which had been brought by DA Councillor Morne Steyn. Many Port Elizabeth residents have welcomed the news, saying he left a “trail of destruction”. Nelson Mandela Bay Caucus Chairperson Athol Trollip (who […]

Geoff Makhubo has been elected new mayor of Johannesburg, putting the city back in the hands of the ANC, after the DA’s Herman Mashaba resigned in October. Mashaba resigned following the appointment of Helen Zille in a top DA position (which also led to the resignation of DA leader Mmusi Maimane). Of the 268 votes […]

Passions are running high in South Africa about a proposed new curriculum for education about sexuality in schools. Aimed at children in grades 4 to 12, it’s intended for roll out in public schools in 2020. Concerns raised by parents, schools and civil society organisations include that elements of the curriculum are not appropriate for […]

Namibia’s incumbent President Hage Geingob has won the 2019 presidential election – following Wednesday’s vote – with 56.3% of the vote, the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) said on Saturday Nov. 30, 2019. Geingob, Namibia’s third leader since the sparsely populated and mostly arid country freed itself from South Africa in 1990, was seeking a […]

South Africa’s Karoo region has always been parched – it means land of thirst in the language of its earliest inhabitants, the Khoisan hunter gatherers. Yet nothing prepared residents of its oldest town, Graaff-Reinet, for their worst drought in more than a century. As the dry spell entered its fourth year, tap water turned brown […]

JOHNANNESBURG – A South African court on Friday rejected an appeal by former president Jacob Zuma that sought to prevent his prosecution on corruption charges over a $2 billion arms deal. The ruling paves the way for Zuma’s long-awaited trial to start in February 2020. Zuma, in office from 2009-2018, had previously applied for a […]

Tom Moyane, former commissioner of South African Revenue Service (SARS), appeared for the first time in the Roodepoort Magistrate’s Court today in the private prosecution case against him. Advocate Gerrie Nel, Head of AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit, is prosecuting Moyane in this case. The date for Moyane’s first appearance has been set for 11 December […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has reiterated that the South African government’s attempts to reconfigure and split Eskom into three divisions is not aimed at privatising the embattled power utility. These measures, he said, are rather aimed at stabilising the utility and getting it back on its feet. “We are not going to privatise Eskom,” he said, […]

South Africa’s rand firmed in early trade on Monday, as traders continued to chase the high yield offered by local assets after S&P Global Ratings decided to downgrade the country’s credit outlook instead of lowering its sovereign rating. The rand was 0.41% firmer at 14.6750 per dollar by 0620 GMT, compared with an opening level […]

HARARE – Zimbabwean Vice President Constantino Chiwenga returned home on Saturday after spending four months in China receiving medical treatment for an unknown illness, state-owned media reported. Chiwenga, the 63-year-old former general who led a coup against the late Robert Mugabe two years ago, has spent a large part of the year away from work, […]

The Office of the Chief Whip in Parliament has issued a statement following the arrest of ANC Member of Parliament and Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, Bongani Bongo, who was arrested this morning in Cape Town, South Africa. “We are aware that the MP was arrested by the Hawks on allegations of […]

JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s Democratic Alliance (DA) on Sunday appointed John Steenhuisen as interim leader a month after the country’s main opposition party was thrown into chaos by the sudden resignation of Mmusi Maimane. Maimane, who was appointed as leader to broaden the traditionally white liberal party’s appeal to black voters, quit in October in […]

Cuba has unveiled a statue of South Africa’s late President Nelson Mandela in Havana, to commemorate the historic ties between the two countries. Fernando Gonzalez, President of the NGO Cuban Institution of Friendship with Peoples, said: “For us it is a very special moment… we had been waiting a long time for the bust here. […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa will lead a South African delegation to the 11th BRICS Summit to be held in Brasilia, Brazil, from 13 – 14 November 2019. BRICS is the association of the five major emerging countries – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – which together represent about 42% of the global population, 23% […]

ArcelorMittal’s South Africa unit said on Monday it would close its steel operations at Saldanha Works in the south of the country because it could no longer compete in export markets. The company, majority-owned by ArcelorMittal, announced in September that it could close some operations as part of a review aimed at strengthening long-term sustainability amid cheap imports, rising costs […]

South African lender Absa said on Monday its representative office in New York should be operational by the end of the year, after it received the necessary regulatory approvals. The office is aimed at enabling Absa to better serve clients, including international corporations and institutions, that invest or work in Africa. The bank has already opened a representative office […]

South Africa’s rand was weaker early on Friday after Eskom’s nationwide loadshedding (electricity blackouts) spooked investors and reignited worries about the economy. At 0645 GMT the rand was down 0.23% at 14.7700 per dollar, compared with the previous session’s best of 14.6630. Power firm Eskom implemented stage 2 power cuts, or load shedding, shaving off […]

A few days ago, I got off a plane after a very tough whirlwind visit back to South Africa. I hit the ground running back “home” in New York with kids, work commitments, parent teacher meetings and frantic Halloween preparations writes Margaux Nissen Gray. I was out until late on Friday night and yet something […]

The Rugby World Cup 2019 is done and dusted, with South Africa securing victory over England in the final match. But a question still lingers: was it a burden for some, maybe many, South Africans who supported their national team but also had to show support for the Springbok emblem? In the days before the […]

The South African rand and government bonds jumped on Monday after ratings agency Moody’s kept the country’s last investment-grade credit rating intact, but many investors expected the rally could fade soon. Moody’s decision on Friday to leave South Africa’s sovereign debt at Baa3, the lowest rung of investment grade, was a relief to beleaguered President […]

South African comedian Trevor Noah has been awarded the prestigious Leadership in Democracy Award in the United States, an accolade that recognises those people or organisations – all around the world – who are “working for democracy and making democracy work” through innovative or non-traditional means. The award is granted by the National Democracy Institute […]