The Weekend View

South Africa has used the United Nations' biggest diplomatic stage to defend its democracy while demanding fundamental changes to a global system it says is failing Africa and the developing world. Addressing the General Assembly in New York, International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola said South Africa had built a democracy strong enough to resist what he called "external supervision and tutel...

City Power is continuing its cut-off operation in Johannesburg’s Inner City, targeting problematic buildings affected by electricity theft, illegal connections and vandalism. The entity says five buildings in Doornfontein and surrounding areas owe almost five-million-rand. City Power says it is monitoring more than 108 problematic buildings, with combined outstanding debt of about 115-millio...

Four people, including businessman Vusumuzi Matlala and his wife Tsakani, have appeared in the Pretoria Magistrates’ Court on fraud, forgery and uttering charges linked to an alleged fraudulent lease agreement. NPA says three accused were granted R20, 000 bail each, while Matlala abandoned his bail application. The National Prosecuting Authority says the State will oppose his bail applicatio...

SAPS has activated a 72-hour operation to track suspects linked to the KwaMakhutha mass shooting, south of Durban. Eleven people were killed and three others injured after armed suspects opened fire at a house in the Ziko area on Tuesday night. The motive remains unknown, while police say they are following a promising lead.  SAPS Head of Communications  is Major General Nonkululeko Phok...

KwaZulu-Natal Transport and Human Settlements MEC Siboniso Duma says verification following Saturday’s fire in the Swapo informal settlement in Copesville, Pietermaritzburg, found that 20 shacks were destroyed. Duma says 19 foreign nationals occupied the affected shacks, while one South African had an identification document whose authenticity is being verified by Home Affairs. He says the w...

SAPS and the Border Management Authority have arrested a 52-year-old South African man at OR Tambo International Airport. Police say suspected heroin worth more than two million rand was found in his luggage. Police say the suspect had arrived from Accra, Ghana, when he was intercepted during an intelligence-led operation. Police say they found bullet-like objects and blocks containing substances...

Feminist movement - Black Women Caucus has given the Kempton Park police station in Ekurhuleni 10-days to convene a multi-stakeholder engagement to outline how to deal with the murder of women. The group led a picket outside the police station on Friday. This follows the discovery of a woman's body in Villa Liza in Boksburg on Thursday- bringing to NINE the number of women's bodies discovered acro...

In Cape Town, the GOOD Party and the United Democratic Movement's (UDM) election campaigns ahead of this year's Local Government Elections saw a focus on issues including making the City of Cape Town more affordable for Capetonians and the ongoing scourge of Gender-Based Violence and Femicide. Tando Ntunja reports

Chronic stress may be doing far more than affecting South Africans' mental health – it could be contributing to the country's growing burden of obesity, diabetes and other metabolic disorders, many of which are also major risk factors for cardiovascular disease .  While stress is often viewed as an unavoidable part of modern life, mounting scientific evidence suggests that prolonged psy...

One woman has died, while her child and partner sustained serious burn wounds following a fire that destroyed between 13 and 14 shacks at the Swapo Informal Settlement in Copesville, Pietermaritzburg. KwaZulu-Natal Transport and Human Settlements MEC Siboniso Duma says he was contacted by a distressed community leader at around 3:30 this morning. Duma says teams from his office, provincial and nat...

The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Criminality, Political Interference and alleged Corruption in the Criminal Justice System, commonly known as the Madlanga Commission, has welcomed the final extension of its deadline announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa. The Commission says the extension to  25 January 2027 will allow it to hear outstanding testimony and finalise its report. The Commi...

Police say two suspects have been arrested, while three others were fatally wounded following a 72-hour operation into the murder of two police officers in Libode, near Mthatha. The officers were killed while responding to a robbery at a spaza shop. Police say an AK47, three handguns and ammunition have been recovered. Charges including attempted murder, illegal possession of firearms and ammuniti...

For South Africa's landlords, few situations are as financially damaging as a tenant who stops paying rent but remains in the property. While their rental income has come to a stop, they'll still have to cover rates, levies, insurance and in some cases, monthly bond repayments. But even after cancelling the lease, the way South Africa's eviction laws are structured, it means that a landlord cannot...

Applications for special votes for the 2026 Local Government Elections will open on Monday, the 21st of September. The IEC says the application period will close on the 12th of October at 5pm. Special votes are available to registered voters who cannot physically travel to their voting station, as well as essential service workers, media personnel and voters who can reach their voting station but...

US President Donald Trump says he is banning three major news outlets – CNN, MS NOW and Politico – from the White House in his latest threat to the independent press. The move is almost ​certain to face legal challenges as free-speech experts said it conflicts with the US Constitution's First Amendment protections for free speech and a free press. Here is a snippet of President Tr...

The National Health Department has warned of the rapid increase in MPOX  cases, with 18 confirmed cases and one probable case recorded across South Africa. The department says the Western Cape has recorded the highest number of cases, while three have been reported in Gauteng and one in KwaZulu-Natal. Health officials say people who have been in close contact with an infected person are urged...

Disaster Management Teams in KwaZulu-Natal have been on standby for any eventuality overnight as persistent rains continue to batter various parts of the province. In eThekwini, disaster teams have opened the Isipingo Canal in order to prevent flooding along the R103 of the Industrial area. Mud slides have also been reported in Umsinga where stones have fallen onto the R33 road due to prolonged ra...

Social movements including various sectors of society have expressed great displeasure and impatience towards law enforcement authorities setting deadlines for meaningful engagements aimed at effectively dealing with the murder of women and children. In Ekurhuleni, many took to the streets leading pickets at various police stations. This follows the discovery of a woman's body in Villa Liza in Bok...

Freedom Front Plus leader Corné Mulder says coalition governments could become the new norm in municipalities after the November elections.  He was speaking in Pretoria today as the party launched its 2026 local government election manifesto, outlining a ten-point plan focused on service delivery, accountability and tackling maladministration.  Zara Groenewald reports.

What happens after the tax is collected? And who ultimately pays when government needs more revenue? With South Africa heading towards the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement, questions around VAT, tax increases, economic growth, fiscal sustainability and the future of SARS are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. These questions will take centre stage at the South African Institute of Taxat...

A spokesperson in the office of Water and Sanitation minister, Pemmy Majodina, says she is not available for comment, after an incident at a recent government event at Kouga municipality in the Eastern Cape. A video is trending on social media, where Majodina can be heard allegedly swearing at a member of the public. Two parties in Parliament have laid complaints at the Joint Committee on Ethics a...

It's been almost a year since the Madlanga Commission was established by President Cyril Ramaphosa, following Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi's controversial press briefing on 6 July 2025. During the briefing, Mkhwanazi made allegations of criminal infiltration within law enforcement agencies and political interference in these institutions. Since its establishment, the Commission has heard...

AmaZuluKing MisuZulu ka Zwelithini has used this year's Umkhosi Wo Mhlanga, or Reed Dance, to call on the nation to take a stronger stand against gender-based violence. Speaking during the annual cultural gathering at Emashobeni Royal Palace in uPhongolo, the King urged men and communities to respect and protect women and girls. His message comes as the Reed Dance continues to provide a platform f...

COSATU says preparations to host its 15th National Congress at Gallagher Convention Centre in Midrand from the 14th to the 17th of September this week are on track. The union says it expects 1800 delegates to be in attendance including members from its sixteen union affiliates. The congress will see the election of the new leadership who will be tasked with taking the resolutions and the agenda of...

When South Africa's two-pot retirement system was introduced, the big question was whether people would treat their retirement savings as easy money to dip into, or leave it alone for retirement. Two years later, the data tells a more complicated story – one driven primarily by real financial pressure.   A survey conducted by Momentum Corporate on the two-pot system and who is making th...