August 14, 2023
South Africa: Azikhwelwa! Apartheid History Shows the Way to Beat the Domineering Taxi Mafia
Apartheid segregation created the far-flung living areas that make commuting hell for most workers. The resistance to apartheid public transport may hold lessons for the problem of… Read more »
South Africa: Moving Makhanda High Court to Bhisho Is a Grave Strategic Injustice - Residents Will Resist
The decision to relocate the seat of the Makhanda High Court is not based on the will of the people. We therefore demand that the ANC government backs off and abandons this… Read more »
August 13, 2023
South Africa: 'Protecting the Economy' - Ramokgopa Defends Spending Billions On Emergency Diesel
Eskom has spent R12.4bn on diesel since April, a cost that Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has said is necessary to protect South Africa's economy. Read more »
August 14, 2023
South Africa: Eskom Still Investigating R400m Tutuka Tender, 19 Months After Whistle-Blower Complaint
In January 2022, a whistle-blower expressed concerns over a R400-million tender to rehabilitate the Tutuka Power Station in Mpumalanga. Now 19 months later, Eskom's forensic and… Read more »
August 13, 2023
South Africa: Three Ballot Papers Will Be a First for Democratic South Africa During Next Year's General Polls
The South African electorate is approaching its seventh democratic national election in 2024, one which is being touted as a watershed moment. This election is expected to be… Read more »
South Africa: SA's First Electric Taxi Is 'A Stepping Stone' for Lagging EV Industry
While South Africa's electric vehicle industry lags behind many other countries, a team from Stellenbosch University wants to push the sector forward - starting with minibus taxis. Read more »
South Africa: Remitting Zuma's Jail Sentence Was the Least Worst Option By Far
Jacob Zuma was saved from more prison time by an anomalous constitutional provision with historical roots in the powers of the British monarch. A closer look at the provision shows… Read more »
South Africa: SA-Russia Trade Is Minuscule Even Among Brics Members
Data show that Russia is an insignificant trade partner of South Africa. In terms of economic partnerships, it is a clapped-out Lada vehicle, a lemon with not much juice to be… Read more »
August 10, 2023
Nigeria: 'A List to Bring Wonder' - 2023 Booker Prize Longlist Announced, Including Ayobami Adebayo and Tan Twan Eng
The 2023 Booker Prize longlist has been announced, offering 'startling portraits of the current'. Read more »
South Africa: Taxi Council Calls Off Western Cape Strike
Santaco called off its taxi strike in the Western Cape on Thursday evening, saying it would use the next 14 days to work on releasing vehicles that had been wrongfully impounded. Read more »
South Africa: Highly Regarded Duncan Pieterse Appointed As Director General of National Treasury
Duncan Pieterse has been appointed as the new Director-General of the National Treasury. Unlike many government departments, the Treasury and the Finance Ministry are mostly… Read more »
South Africa: Captive Lion Industry Breeds Crime Syndicates, Says New Investigative Report
A new investigative report on SA's lion farming industry comes to a damning conclusion: 'This new intelligence gathered by brave sources confirms what was previously suspected -… Read more »
South Africa: Robust SA June Manufacturing, Mining Data Underscore Private Power Generation, Hold Promise for Q2 Growth
Relatively robust mining and manufacturing data for June suggest that South Africa's economy probably expanded again in the second quarter (Q2) though it's still not shooting the… Read more »
South Africa: Changing of the Guard - Public Protector Set to (Ignominiously) Bow Out While Another Steps in
The ignoble end to Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane's stint -- her unprecedented impeachment inquiry has upheld four misconduct and incompetence counts -- coincides with the… Read more »
South Africa: Millions of Litres of Poo a Day Never Even Reach SA's Failing, Underserviced Sewage Plants
A significant portion of our untreated sewage never even gets to our sewage plants. It goes straight into streams, rivers, dams, groundwater, and ultimately the ocean -- untreated… Read more »
South Africa: Unisa Vice-Chancellor's Fate in the Balance After Nzimande Plans to Put Institution Under Administration
Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande wants to place the University of South Africa under administration and is awaiting the university council's response. Read more »
South Africa: Correctional Services Boss Set to Decide Whether Zuma Goes Back to Prison
Correctional Services Commissioner Makgothi Samuel Thobakgale is expected to announce on Thursday, 10 August whether former president Jacob Zuma must return to prison to complete… Read more »
August 09, 2023
South Africa: Microcosm of a Fractured Society - Taxi Operators' Strike Is Not a Simple Black and White Issue
The Western Cape taxi operators' strike and its associated violence reveal much about our country and its politics. Suffering in the middle are commuters and bystanders -- ordinary… Read more »
August 10, 2023
South Africa: Karpowership Offers to Chop 20-Year Energy Deal to Five Years - But There's a New Price
Following the extended controversy over the merits of procuring power from Karpowership, the Turkish company says it's willing to enter into a five-year deal. Read more »
August 09, 2023
South Africa: Taxi Strike Affects Service Delivery in Western Cape Municipalities
One of the effects of the now week-long taxi strike in the Western Cape is delays in service delivery. While some communities were already having service delivery issues, the… Read more »
South Africa: Western Cape Taxi Strike Extended for Two More Days Despite Santaco's August 9 End Date
The SA National Taxi Council originally said its strike in the Western Cape would end on 9 August. But on that day, the council failed to resolve its dispute with the City of Cape… Read more »
South Africa: 'Maybe Today, I'll Slip Away...' Sugar Man Sixto Rodriguez Passes Away
Sixto Rodriguez, a huge star in South Africa in the 70s and again later with the release of a documentary in 2012, passed away at the age of 81. The official Rodriguez website… Read more »
August 08, 2023
South Africa: Officials Play Blame Game Over Western Cape Taxi Strike As Commuters Suffer
On the sixth day of the Western Cape taxi strike, the word 'arrogance' was bandied about during two separate media briefings by national government officials on Tuesday. While… Read more »
South Africa: Garbage Piles Up in Cape Town Suburbs As Taxi Strike Drags On
Tuesday marked Day 6 of the taxi strike in the Western Cape. Daily Maverick visited the suburb of Observatory and found that residents were grappling with rubbish piling up and… Read more »
August 09, 2023
South Africa: Minibus Taxis Critical to Cape Town's Effective Functioning - Government Must Work With the Industry
Putting aside the issues surrounding the current strike and violence, as the main form of public transport, there should be measures in place to increase the operational efficiency… Read more »