By Thakira Desai This week, the proposed sugar tax is set to be tabled before Parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance, a matter that has left the public divided. A sugar tax or soft-drink tax is designed to reduce consumption of drinks with added sugar. Drinks covered under a sugar tax[…]
The Syrian government refused the UN envoy’s latest proposal for a truce in Aleppo on Sunday, calling on insurgents to withdraw and saying it would not grant autonomy to the rebel-held east in exchange for calm. UN envoy Staffan de Mistura has proposed that the Syrian government grant eastern Aleppo[…]
A storm is brewing around the South African State Security Agency (SSA) after an undisclosed sum in foreign currency was stolen from the department’s Pretoria headquarters on Boxing Day. Media reports have put the amount stolen at roughly R50 million, while there are some suggestions of a possible inside job.[…]
In an effort to avoid more student protests in 2016, government will make more than R4.5 billion available to the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) to provide short-term debt relief to students, the Presidency said on Friday. According to a report compiled by a task team appointed by President[…]
Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga on Thursday admitted that government had handed control of appointments of teachers and principals to corrupt officials. She said she was saddened to inform the media that half of her department’s appointment system was controlled by unions. Motshekga released an interim report about an investigation[…]
Newly-appointed Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Minister David van Rooyen is going to have a hard time in charge of local government, especially with elections around the corner, analysts said on Monday. It was announced on Sunday that Van Rooyen, who was appointed as finance minister on Wednesday, would[…]
Retired civil servants have accused the government of lying and making empty promises about a better pension fund. Hundreds of pensioners took to the streets of Pretoria and marched on the Union Buildings to hand over a memorandum calling on government to address their issues. Spokesperson for the marchers, Wes[…]
Only about two-thirds of South Africans believe that citizens should have the right to criticise their government, according to a recent study by the Pew Research Centre. According to the results of a study that looked at attitudes to democratic principles and freedom of speech across 38 countries, only 64%[…]
South Africa has questioned why the International Criminal Court (ICC) does not try to arrest leaders involved in conflicts in Palestine and Afghanistan in the “current era of disorder” with the same vigour it pursues Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. “We ask ourselves, as have many, why no investigations have been[…]
The fact that the #FeesMustFall protests are as nationally spread as they are and are gaining significant traction amongst students indicates how financially crippling tertiary education has become, according to Attorney Nurina Ally. Her comments come amid a growing student movement against proposed fee hikes at universities across the country.[…]
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