A wealthy Johannesburg suburb is “under siege”, says Carte Blanche, as a string of break-ins – at least seven – with no forced entry sweep through the South African neighbourhood. Security Threats in Joburg Suburb, Break-ins and the Common Denominator The gun-wielding criminals are clinical, and they strike while the family is at home, gaining […]

South Africa‘s first black rugby captain Siya Kolisi may have made an even more positive impact on unity in the country than the iconic gesture of Nelson Mandela donning a Springboks jersey for the 1995 World Cup final, former flyhalf Joel Stransky says. Stransky put over the decisive drop-goal as South Africa beat New Zealand to win the Webb […]

Taste Holdings, owner of Starbucks and Domino’s Pizza franchises in South Africa, said on Friday it was abandoning the food business, and had already sold its 13 stores of the coffee chain to a consortium for R7 million ($464,000). The company said it was also in discussions around the sale of Domino’s and its two other food […]

CAPE TOWN – Photos of the rare minister flying economy class in South Africa are about to become the norm, as announced by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni today. The Treasury said South Africa’s budget deficit is going to rise to a nearly two-decade high and its gross debt is set to soar – as a […]

The South African comedian Coconut Kelz, well known for her lighthearted but at the same time satirical commentary on South African events, has outdone herself this week in her tiara-bedecked monologue about the chaos in the Democratic Alliance. Watch below as she references Mean Girls and makes fun of Helen Zille being given a leadership […]

The politicians who run South Africa’s official opposition, the Democratic Alliance (DA), have probably never heard of “imposter syndrome”. If they had, they might have a better grasp of the problems which confront their party – and its first black leader might not have been forced to resign. “Imposter syndrome” is a state of mind […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed the recently retired Constitutional Court Justice, Edwin Cameron, as the Inspecting Judge of the Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services. The appointment is for a three-year term with effect from 1 January 2020. The President has also – in terms of Section 86(1)(b) – reappointed the current Inspecting Judge, Justice Johann […]

South Africa’s state-run airports management company said on Thursday it had suspended Zimbabwe’s debt-strapped national airline from using the country’s airports over unpaid landing and parking fees. Air Zimbabwe owes foreign and domestic creditors more than $300 million. The Zimabwe government put the airline under administration last year and later invited bids from potential investors […]

Democratic Alliance (DA) John Steenhuisen is no longer Chief Whip as of today, and Interim Parliamentary Leader of the DA has been announced as Annelie Lotriet, following the resignation of Mmusi Maine from the DA, and as a Member of Parliament in South Africa. Lotriet made the announcement following a sitting of the DA’s Parliamentary […]

The former leader of South Africa’s official opposition Democratic Alliance, Mmusi Maimane, gave up his seat in parliament on Thursday after quitting the national leadership and plunging the traditionally white liberal party into crisis. Race and class remain highly divisive issues in South Africa, where the ruling African National Congress has been in power since […]

After Democratic Alliance (DA) leader Mmusi Maimane resigned yesterday as head of South Africa’s main opposition party, he has today announced his resignation from the DA party and from Parliament. Maimane announced his resignation as leader of the party on Wednesday after four years at the helm, citing difficulties making the traditionally white liberal party […]

SOCHI/MOSCOW – Russia landed two nuclear-capable bombers in South Africa on a training mission on Wednesday, a flight apparently timed to coincide with President Vladimir Putin’s opening of a flagship Russia-Africa summit designed to increase Russian influence. The two Tupolev Tu-160 strategic bombers touched down at Waterkloof air force base in Tshwane on Wednesday, the […]

Below is the full speech given by Mmusi Maimane on Wednesday 23 October 2019 as he announced his resignation as leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) party in South Africa: My fellow South Africans, When I was elected as leader of the Democratic Alliance (DA) in May 2015, just over four years ago, I set […]

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday that the government will soon announce a permanent chief executive for state-run Eskom after the struggling power utility reintroduced rolling blackouts – known as load-shedding in South Africa – last week. The crisis-hit utility, which produces more than 90% of South Africa’s electricity, has been hobbled by […]

Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba resigned from the Democratic Alliance (DA) on Monday morning, and therefore also from his role as the city’s mayor, citing changes in the DA for his decision… after the appointment of Helen Zille over the weekend – as the DA’s new Federal Council Chair. He said: “I am gravely concerned that […]

In this week’s episode, Carte Blanche participates in an undercover investigation to reveal an intricate car scam, finds out how South Africa’s ports have deteriorated, interviews world renowned author Deon Meyer and discovers dog therapy for abused children. Watch on Sunday 20 Oct on DStv Now if you’re in South Africa, and stream it from […]

South Africa’s plans for additional power generation over the next decade will involve a variety of energy sources, with coal still playing a significant role as well as more renewable energy, mines and energy minister Gwede Mantashe said on Friday. Mantashe said that while the government planned to extend the life of the Koeberg nuclear […]

The trial of former South African President Jacob Zuma has been postponed to 4 February next year. His trial will then proceed after a 15-year delay. The former president faces charges of corruption, money laundering and racketeering linked to the multi-billion rand arms deal at the Pietermaritzburg High Court. Today Zuma appeared alongside representatives of […]

Elections are moments of reckoning. They can either project a party onto a new trajectory or force a party into introspection. South Africa’s main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), has experienced both scenarios in the last two decades. In the 1999 elections it increased its support by almost 8%. For the next 14 years […]

On a frigid September morning in Mkumbi, a remote village in the Pondoland region of the Eastern Cape, 63-year-old Sizane Nompethu rose at dawn and walked at a brisk pace down a rocky path to work her family’s small plot of land, just as she had every day since she was 15. “I am old […]

In the hillside Pondoland village of Manhlaneni, a small delegation from the Eastern Cape Department of Rural Development and Agrarian Reform stepped into a dimly-lit rondavel where a group of women sat on upturned beer crates removing the leaves from dense bunches of cannabis. One of the women passed a large handful of green buds […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa arrived on Sunday in London, United Kingdom, for a two-day working visit. The President will deliver the opening address at the 6th Financial Times Africa Summit on Monday, 14 October 2019. The summit is being held at Claridge’s in London. On the sidelines of the summit, President Ramaphosa is expected to engage […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa has extended his warmest congratulations to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali of Ethiopia on being awarded the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize. Prime Minister Ahmed has been recognised by the Nobel Committee “for his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation, and in particular for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict […]

Since Zimbabwe’s land reform of 2000 – when around 8 million hectares of formerly large-scale commercial farmland was distributed to about 175,000 households – debates about the consequences for food security have raged. A standard narrative has been that Zimbabwe has turned from “food basket” to “basket case”. This year, following the devastating El Niño […]

Since the end of apartheid in South Africa in 1994, South Africa and Nigeria have never had an easy relationship. Over the years, as different presidents have come and gone, the two countries have often been at loggerheads for different reasons. But this was predated by Nigeria’s strong solidarity with black people when South Africa […]