South Africa

© File photo of Russian President Vladimir Putin greeting South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in Sochi, Russia, in 2019. (Photo by Sergei CHIRIKOV/AFP)

no show

Premium badgePutin to skip BRICS in South Africa summit due to arrest threat Russian President Vladimir Putin will not attend a BRICS nations summit in South Africa next month, the country’s presidency said on Wednesday, ending...
South Africa water tanker township

bone dry

Premium badgeSouth Africa: Outlaws exploit water woes for profit A massive water shortage is prompting a push for dams – while the country’s water mafias continue to profit.
© Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with South African President Cyril Ramaphosa during their meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka on June 28, 2019. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko / POOL / AFP)

welcome, Vladimir

Arresting Putin a ‘declaration of war’ believes South Africa’s Ramaphosa Arresting Vladimir Putin would amount to a declaration of war on Russia, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa wrote in court papers released on Tue...
© Technicians work at the production line for electric car models of the Volkswagen Group, in Zwickau, Germany, April 26, 2022. REUTERS/Matthias Rietschel

Reinventing the Wheel

Premium badgeVolkswagen says Africa needs better auto policies to stimulate production German carmaker Volkswagen wants to expand in Africa to reduce reliance on the Chinese production but needs effective domestic auto policies, managing...

South Africa top stories

South Africa’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana speaks during his 2023 budget speech in Cape Town, South Africa. (Reuters/Shelley Christians)

No money

Premium badgeSouth Africa: Tempers boil as welfare state eyes $7bn bill Political tensions are mounting in South Africa as the overburdened state welfare system becomes too expensive to maintain.
© SanlamAllianz Africa CEO Heinie Werth. Photo supplied

VALUE ADD

Premium badgeCEO Heinie Werth: Sanlam-Allianz joint venture a long-term play in Africa SanlamAllianz Africa is a newly launched holding company domiciled in South Africa with a commitment to the whole continent, according to the CEO.
FILE PHOTO: A shopper walks to a Woolworths store in Johannesburg, South Africa, March 2, 2022. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo

three-horse race

Premium badgeSouth Africa: Woolworths aims to leapfrog Shoprite, Pick n Pay to regain retail dominance Woolworths is aiming to beat off competition from Shoprite and Pick n Pay, which have both tightened their control on the retail sector.

South Africa top stories

South Africa’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana speaks during his 2023 budget speech in Cape Town, South Africa. (Reuters/Shelley Christians)

No money

Premium badgeSouth Africa: Tempers boil as welfare state eyes $7bn bill Political tensions are mounting in South Africa as the overburdened state welfare system becomes too expensive to maintain.
© SanlamAllianz Africa CEO Heinie Werth. Photo supplied

VALUE ADD

Premium badgeCEO Heinie Werth: Sanlam-Allianz joint venture a long-term play in Africa SanlamAllianz Africa is a newly launched holding company domiciled in South Africa with a commitment to the whole continent, according to the CEO.
FILE PHOTO: A shopper walks to a Woolworths store in Johannesburg, South Africa, March 2, 2022. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo

three-horse race

Premium badgeSouth Africa: Woolworths aims to leapfrog Shoprite, Pick n Pay to regain retail dominance Woolworths is aiming to beat off competition from Shoprite and Pick n Pay, which have both tightened their control on the retail sector.

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South Africa’s Metro Police Department keep watch after demonstrators torched a truck transporting milk on one of the main highways, Soweto, South Africa, June 2023.

burning rubber

Premium badgeSouth Africa: Trucks arson hits logistics where it hurts Whether it’s economic sabotage or Pro-Zuma fury, a wave of arson attacks on freight lorries augurs costly losses for haulage companies.
© A general view of the DR Congo’s Inga dam with eight massive turbines, only three of which work. (REUTERS/Marlene Rabaud)

lights on?

Premium badgeInfographics: Southern Africa’s hydroelectric dams, state of play and potential In light of the power crisis in Southern Africa, Presidents Ramaphosa and Tshisekedi urged world leaders in Paris to invest in the Grand Inga Dam.
South Africa’s Eskom power cuts © Workers load liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinders, as locals resort to using it as backup energy during frequent power outages in Soweto, South Africa July 1, 2022. REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko

False Dawn

Premium badgeSouth Africa: Too soon to call turnaround on Eskom load shedding Recent improvements in the performance of South African state energy utility Eskom rest on thin foundations and there is no evidence that a lasting so...
© Former Mozambican finance minister, Manuel Chang, in court in Kempton Park, Johannesburg, South Africa, Tuesday Jan. 8, 2019. AP Photo/Phill Magakoe)

'hidden debt'

South Africa: Graft-accused Mozambique ex-minister to be extradited to US Ex-Mozambican finance minister Manuel Chang wanted by Washington in connection with a graft scandal that triggered an unprecedented financial crisis i...
© Scouts in Durban, south Africa learn about renewable energy and solar panels. REUTERS/Rogan Ward

Light switch

Premium badgePower Africa: 10 biggest projects in 10 years The US government’s massive gambit to electrify Africa started off with merely a flicker of light.
eskom-afsud-1256×628-1688629562 © Eskom workers install temporary chimneys at the Kusile power station, a coal-fired power station located on Hartbeesfontein Farm in Emalahleni, on 22 May 2023. Phill Magakoe / AFP

energy crisis

Premium badgeWill South Africa’s blackout respite last? Winter in South Africa suddenly seems a bit more bearable, thanks to El Niño and a boost to electricity generation. Electricity minister Kgosientsho R...