Author: staff

Springbok attack coach Tony Brown believes in the Springbok project under Rassie Erasmus (Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images) Tony Brown loves South Africa enough to not only have had two playing stints in the country, but also to come back and coach here.Whether South Africa will love him back will remain to be seen, especially considering the pain he inflicted at Newlands in 1999 and 2001 in the colours of his beloved Highlanders and the All Blacks.However, a short 2008 stint in Cape Town in the early days of Rassie Erasmus as the Stormers coach won him over, and he currently finds…

An era of compromise has dawned on South African governance as President Cyril Ramaphosa announced an executive containing several leaders of former opposition parties, who all want their policies to be heard. An era of compromise has dawned on South African governance as President Cyril Ramaphosa announced an executive containing several leaders of former opposition parties, who all want their policies to be heard.For the first 30 years of democracy, backed up by a majority, the ANC had the sole prerogative on setting the national policy agenda. But now, several of the eight other parties also represented in the executive…

News24’s Book of the Month for July, Nickolaus Bauer’s Great Johannesburg: What Happened? How to Save an African Economic Giant is a comprehensive portrait of the city.  The book covers many aspects of Jozi life, from zama zamas to water cuts, blackouts, exploding streets and political instability. Is the City of Gold in a death spiral? Bauer examines the current crisis by starting with Johannesburg’s origins as a cauldron of cultures and a hustler’s haven. He looks at how a city of migrants turned into a xenophobic hotspot, how the politics of gold, the shadow of apartheid and the evolution…

The Asset Forfeiture Unit has seized a luxury Jaguar SUV and two luxury homes in Zimbali in connection with the corruption case against former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede. (Graphic by Sharlene Rood/News24) The Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) has seized a luxury Jaguar SUV and two plush homes in Zimbali, an exclusive and affluent suburb outside Durban, valued at R25.5 million in connection with the corruption case against former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede. The AFU, a division of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), alleged in court papers the two properties were bought with dirty money the eThekwini Municipality paid to the company…

Minister Gwede Mantashe has been reappointed to Cabinet, although his portfolio has been streamlined. (Deaan Vivier/Netwerk24) When President Cyril Ramaphosa revealed his new Cabinet on Sunday, Gwede Mantashe’s reappointment as a key member came as no surprise given the influence he, as ANC chairperson, holds in the party.He remained minister of mineral resources, but the critical energy portfolio has been taken out of his hands and awarded instead to Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, who will now oversee both electricity and energy.On Monday, mining industry insiders bemoaned Mantashe’s reappointment, given the sad state of mining in the country, which has continued its decline…

SA referee Jaco Peyper will officiate at the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France. (Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images) After 21 years as a referee – 15 of it spent travelling for up to five months a year – more than 100 trips into Australia and New Zealand, burning through four maxi passports (48-pager documents for frequent travellers), 67 Test matches in the middle, 65 on the touchline and officiating in four British and Irish Lions series, among others, Jaco Peyper’s retirement from rugby lasted all of two weeks.Having made the call to retire, thanks to a persistent calf injury-cum-Achilles…

The DA, which spoke out on a bloated Cabinet when it was an official opposition, is now part of a government that has the largest Cabinet yet in South Africa. (Nelius Rademan/Gallo Images) While on the opposition benches in Parliament, the DA consistently barked at the ANC for appointing a bloated national Cabinet, resulting in billions of rand wasted on ministerial perks.Now, with the establishment of a government of national unity (GNU), the DA is no longer the official opposition and occupies 12 seats in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s 75-member national executive – the biggest ever in South Africa’s democratic era.The…

Former minister of Water and Sanitation Senzo Mchunu. (Lulama Zenzile/Netwerk24) President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to pull Senzo Mchunu out of the water and sanitation portfolio is a big blow to the sector.Mchunu, who was appointed to the portfolio following a Cabinet reshuffle in August 2021, found the ministry in disarray following a disastrous tenure by his predecessor, Lindiwe Sisulu.When he arrived at the department, he set his sights on getting major bulk infrastructure schemes back on track, such as the Giyani Water Project and the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. South Africans need to be in the know if we want to…

Paul Mashatile is still deputy president. (OJ Koloti/Gallo Images) After two weeks of negotiations between parties who had joined the government of national unity, President Cyril Ramaphosa finally announced his new Cabinet on Sunday night.There are several new names in the Cabinet, mainly from the DA, but also including the PA, PAC, UDM, IFP, FF Plus, and GOOD parties. It will be the largest government in 30 years, with 32 Cabinet ministers and 43 deputies. South Africans need to be in the know if we want to create a prosperous future. News24 has kept the country informed for 25 years,…

Dr Bert Wolfgang Kirsten (LinkedIn) A Kenilworth doctor has been sentenced to an effective three years house arrest, while being ordered to pay back the R5 million proceeds he made after being found guilty of selling and distributing scheduled medications.The Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Friday ordered the doctor to pay back the money into the Criminal Asset Recovery Account, said Western Cape Hawks spokesperson Zinzi Hani.Dr Bert Wolfgang Kirsten, 62, and wife, Shelley Ann, 54, were nabbed during a sting operation by the Hawks in October 2018 where he was caught trying to post prescription drugs to overseas clients. South…