JOHANNESBURG – South Africa’s largest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), launched its manifesto for May’s general elections on Saturday with pledges to create jobs and set up an anti-corruption unit. The DA faces a resurgent ruling African National Congress (ANC) under new President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has also vowed to root out corruption and […]

Government is looking at developing the biggest tech hub in Africa, a coding and programming academy as well as co-working and co-creation spaces for the youth and start-ups in particular. “Through the Small Enterprise Development Agency (seda), my department, in partnership with the Department of Telecommunication and Postal Services, has started a conversation to develop […]

Rescuers have retrieved another 13 bodies from a disused South African coal mine following a gas blast there around two weeks ago, police said on Friday, raising the confirmed death toll to 18. More than 20 people were trapped underground in early February when a gas pipe exploded after they entered the mine to steal […]

The National Assembly has adopted a resolution to dissolve the Fifth Parliament, whose five-year term ends on 10 May. This is in line with section 50 of the Constitution, which deals specifically with the “dissolution of National Assembly before the expiry of its term”. By law, elections cannot be held during the term of office of […]

In his maiden budget speech, South Africa’s Finance Minister Tito Mboweni confirmed the depth of the financial crisis at South Africa’s power utility Eskom. He also underscored the serious risks this poses to economic recovery in the country. Mboweni allocated R23bn a year over the next three years to Eskom, to be extended over the […]

As custodians of culture, traditional leaders are ideally placed within communities to expose myths around patriarchy and notions of ownership over the bodies of women that continue to persist. This is according to the Minister of Women Bathabile Dlamini, who on Thursday addressed a dialogue with traditional leaders. The Minister said her department supports and […]

Rating agency Moody’s said on Thursday that it did not believe that South Africa’s decision in its 2019 budget to raise the expenditure ceiling by around R16 billion ($1.14 billion) over three years would weaken fiscal policy credibility. Moody’s, the last of the big three rating agencies to rate South Africa in investment grade, is […]

South Africa’s support plan for struggling state-owned electricity firm Eskom will put further strain on the country’s finances, rating agency S & P Global said on Thursday, although it should be offset to a degree by easing external pressures. In his maiden budget speech on Wednesday Finance Minister Tito Mboweni outlined a 69 billion rand […]

Vulnerable communities have lost their land to the state and mining companies in the past decade. In 2018, the political stage was dominated by the question of whether government has or should have the power to expropriate property without compensation – and use it. Some hailed this as the silver bullet that would lift millions […]

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is intensifying its effort to identify and bring to book tax dodgers. This comes after revelation that the revenue collector is launching units aimed at tackling the illicit tobacco industry and big business. The illicit economics unit was launched late last year, while the large business unit is expected […]

Deutsche Bank is hiring 26 people in South Africa, a spokesman said on Wednesday, less than a year after scaling back the operation in a broad restructuring of its investment bank. The spokesman said the lender had appointed a new head of corporate finance coverage in South Africa and the remaining hires would mostly be […]

The Department of Women has lauded government’s efforts to support South Africa’s star athlete Caster Semenya through her legal challenge of the International Association of Athletics Federation’s ruling. The department said it is appalled at the IAAF ruling, which expects certain athletes to reduce natural testosterone levels through artificial chemical processes. The federation wants women […]

Ministers have widely welcomed Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s 2019 Budget, saying he had done well in the largely unstable economic climate. Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister Zweli Mkhize said Mboweni had a difficult budget amid rising debt and stunted economic growth. “The Minister has tried everything that can be done. It’s a very […]

South Africa is supposed to be a secular state, but one can perhaps forgive Tito Mboweni, the Minister of Finance, for quoting numerous biblical verses in his 2019 Budget Speech. After all, South Africa’s fiscal situation is enough to make many people hope for divine intervention. The 2019 budget numbers show that the past year […]

“There are many opportunities in our townships, it is just a matter of finding them.” Unemployed for three years with nothing promising coming his way, 38-year-old Thulani Ngwenya has started giving tours through Gugulethu. “There are many opportunities in our townships, it is just a matter of finding them. Look at Khayelitsha for instance, there is […]

Government’s Infrastructure Fund is set to receive a R100 billion over the next decade as the state steps up its infrastructure programme by partnering with the private sector. “Government is stepping up its infrastructure build programme by partnering with the private sector, development finance institutions and multilateral development banks to create an infrastructure fund,” said […]

In the 2019/20 financial year Government will AGAIN increase excise duties on alcohol and tobacco in an effort to raise much-needed revenue for the national fiscus, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said on Wednesday. According to the National Treasury’s 2019 Budget Review report, the adjustments will lead to an excise burden slightly above the targeted levels. […]

Work is afoot to reconfigure the South African electricity sector by addressing challenges faced by Eskom, with the board of the first subsidiary of the power utility to be appointed by mid-2019, Treasury said on Wednesday. Following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address (SONA) last month in which he announced government’s plan to […]

South Africa will inject 23 billion rand ($1.63 billion) a year over the next three years into state power utility Eskom but will NOT take on 100 billion rand of debt as requested by the struggling firm, the national budget showed on Wednesday. The Treasury said the first step in a plan announced by President […]

Tabling a difficult budget that required him to weigh priorities against a need for fiscal consolidation, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni kicked off his speech by saying that by doing things right, the country can return to “plum” times. A part-time farmer himself, Mboweni told the nation on Wednesday afternoon that it is time for the […]

A rescue package for Eskom, South Africa’s most important state firm, is expected to dominate Finance Minister Tito Mboweni’s budget speech on Wednesday, with the struggling power utility at risk of collapse without a large bailout. Eskom supplies 90 percent of South Africa’s electricity but is drowning in 420 billion rand ($30 billion) of debt […]

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the government has asked traditional leaders to rally behind government to ensure that the five urgent priority tasks that he announced in his State of the Nation Address, are implemented. The President said this when he addressed the official opening of the National House of Traditional Leaders at the Old Assembly […]

With the General Elections fast approaching, International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu, has called on Heads of Mission around the world to rally behind the Electoral Commission (IEC) to allow for smooth elections for South Africans living abroad. “I have directed all Heads of Mission and Consular Generals to ensure that the IEC […]

The Saldanha Bay Industrial Development Zone has signed new investment agreements, which bring the total number of signed investors to eight and investment value to over R3 billion. These investors include international stakeholders from the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East and Africa, with the rest being local companies. All these investors are investing in […]

South African billionaire Patrice Motsepe said on Monday that he would NOT buy any assets which struggling state power firm Eskom puts up for sale, in response to speculation that he was eyeing an Eskom financial subsidiary. President Cyril Ramaphosa, who is Motsepe’s brother-in-law, this month unveiled a plan to split Eskom into three units […]