April 23, 2023
South Africa: Embarrassing Puzzle - Why SA Should Be Breaking Up With BRICS
Given the relative sizes of the BRICS economies, it seems clear that South Africa is destined to merely toe the line without any meaningful influence in key decisions - hence the… Read more »
South Africa: The Emerging Food Barons - What's Up With the Soaring Prices in SA and the UK?
Food inflation remains on a worrying upward trajectory, with SA and UK food inflation running at about double the rate of their headline inflation rates. That's completely at odds… Read more »
South Africa: Let's Fight Again, Like We Did Last Summer - SA Government's Favourite Song
As the lives of almost everyone in our country gets dramatically worse, there is a stream of evidence that indicates that many parts of our society are uncontrollable by those who… Read more »
South Africa: 'Gold Mafia' Whistle-Blower Places Wanted Terrorist Dawood Ibrahim in Gupta, Zuma Circles
Dawood Ibrahim is one of India's most wanted terror suspects and is accused of working with the Taliban. An Al Jazeera exposé places him in this country during Jacob Zuma's… Read more »
April 20, 2023
South Africa: How Provincial Govt Fixed Up Dilapidated Airport for UAE Royals
Once the hub of the short-lived and grandly named Ciskei International Airways, the Bulembu Airport near Qonce -- despite a multi-million rand facelift in 2007 -- had become a… Read more »
April 19, 2023
South Africa: Refugee Families Camped Outside UNHCR Offices in Pretoria on Brink of Eviction
The refugees say they do not want to return to their homes in South Africa or to their countries of origin -- they want to be sent to a third country. Read more »
April 18, 2023
South Africa: High Court Upholds Right of Pregnant Women, Young Children to Free Health Services - Regardless of Documentation Status
Nationality and documentation status have no bearing on the right of pregnant and lactating women, and children under six years of age, to free health services. The Gauteng high… Read more »
South Africa: Former CEO to Appear Before Parliament Next Week to Testify On His Claims of Corruption At Eskom
Former Eskom chief executive André De Ruyter will appear before Parliament next week - but while the committee will meet in person, De Ruyter will participate virtually. Read more »
April 17, 2023
South Africa: KZN Schools Send Hungry Pupils Home As National School Nutrition Programme Fails to Deliver
KwaZulu-Natal schools resorted to sending learners home ahead of time, with many children having had nothing to eat. Read more »
South Africa: Appeal Court Frontrunner and Woman Judge Accused of Being 'Abrasive' At Judicial Service Commission
Judge Mahube Molemela is President Cyril Ramaphosa's preferred candidate to be the next head of the Supreme Court of Appeal, and her appointment looks secure after a largely… Read more »
South Africa: Zuma's Playing-for-Time Strategy Pays Off Again
Zuma, for the most part, looked disinterested in the dock during his umpteenth appearance but left court victorious in a sense -- it was without a date for his next appearance,… Read more »
April 13, 2023
South Africa: Ramaphosa Moves to Calm Investor Fears Over the Wave of Rolling Blackouts
During his speech to more than 1,000 delegates at the South Africa Investment Conference, the President acknowledged that investor confidence in the country 'has been tested' by… Read more »
South Africa: Meeting With ANC Top Brass and Mbeki Over Phala Phala Rebuke Was 'Comradely and Collegial'
The ANC's top brass met with former president Thabo Mbeki on Tuesday 11 April 2023 to discuss his leaked letter which criticised how the party had dealt with the Phala Phala… Read more »
South Africa: Thabo Bester's Partner, Nandipha Magudumana, Appears in Court for 'Murder of a Number of Bodies'
Nandipha Magudumana appeared in the dock with Teboho Lipholo, an alleged co-conspirator in Thabo Bester's escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre. Read more »
South Africa: Guptas' Lawyers Knew About Failed Extradition Long Before South Africa Was Informed
The South African government has investigated the secretive extradition hearings and judgment. A clear picture of Dubai's duplicity is emerging, say sources with first-hand… Read more »
April 12, 2023
South Africa: Grandparents Spend Their Pensions to Feed Entire Families as Food Crisis Hits Hard in Eastern Cape
As Eastern Cape communities are hit by spiralling food inflation and unemployment rates of 42.4%, the province's elderly residents are using their state pensions to look after… Read more »
April 05, 2023
South Africa: Grave Warnings From Snakebite Experts As Minister of Health Is Asked to Intervene in Antivenom Crisis
Trauma specialists, snakebite experts and emergency responders have asked the minister of health, Dr Joe Phaahla, to intervene in the ongoing snakebite antivenom crisis in South… Read more »
April 06, 2023
South Africa: Government's PR Optics Control Unravels As Two Key Decisions Reversed in a Day
Failure to grasp political sensitivities around the corruption and financial malfeasance-wracked Eskom being exempted from reporting irregular spending and criminal conduct losses… Read more »
South Africa: The Ending of the Disastrous State of Disaster Shows It Was All Just a PR Exercise
On Wednesday, the government announced that it was ending the National State of Disaster for the electricity crisis, claiming that the period during which it was in effect had… Read more »
April 04, 2023
South Africa: Impeachment Committee Chair in Virtual Verbal Scuffle With Suspended Public Protector
While Busisiwe Mkhwebane may be mutely absorbing her Section 194 impeachment inquiry, evidence leaders are dropping hefty clues as to where they will be testing her later. Read more »
South Africa: Trade Union Numsa Threatens Nationwide Bus Strike Ahead of Busy Easter Weekend
Trade union Numsa has for the second year in a row warned of a national bus strike over stalled wage negotiations on the eve of the Easter weekend. Read more »
April 03, 2023
South Africa: Durban Agrees to Provide 'Action Plan' On Sewage Pollution - - One Year After the Floods
Nigh on a year after devastating floods hit the KwaZulu-Natal coastline, Durban municipal leaders have agreed finally to publish a detailed 'action plan' to repair and upgrade the… Read more »
South Africa: Power Utility Exempted from Reporting Irregular, Wasteful and Fruitless Expenditure
Eskom's exemption from reporting irregular, wasteful and fruitless expenditure and criminal conduct losses set off alarms, amid persistent scepticism over government pledges on… Read more »
April 02, 2023
South Africa: In Apparent Effort Not to Upset Putin's Russia, ANC Government Bans Arms Sales to Poland
The ANC's South Africa has bet firmly on a dark side of history in selecting its partner of choice in the Russification of its foreign and domestic policy. Its choice is not based… Read more »
Zambia: Zambia Reaps Rewards of Positive Neutrality and Economic Diplomacy While Others Flounder
Maintaining a balance of international partnerships is critical for Zambia's economic development. Foreign powers play a central role in supporting domestic infrastructure, mining… Read more »