Author name: Scott Balson

South Africans have until midnight tonight to submit public comment on draft regulations that animal welfare groups and veterinarians say will entrench “barbaric treatment and intense suffering” of animals exported live by sea for slaughter. The Department of Agriculture’s proposed law, released on 11 July, sets out conditions for live animal exports — a practice condemned by […]

Non-profit organisations and veterinarians have condemned new draft regulations published by the Department of Agriculture, warning that they permit “barbaric treatment and intense suffering” of animals transported by sea for slaughter. The proposed law, released on 11 July 2025, sets out conditions for live animal exports by sea, a practice long opposed by animal welfare experts and

Tensions are high in Rouxville as community members protest outside the local magistrate’s court, demanding that a Mohokare Local Municipality official accused of raping a 17-year-old girl with a disability be denied bail. The suspect, whose identity has not been disclosed, appeared briefly in the Rouxville Magistrate’s Court on Thursday. He will remain in custody

Frustration is mounting in the east of Pretoria as the promised relocation of the Plastic View and Cemetery View informal settlements faces significant delays, with a City of Tshwane councillor citing the issue of undocumented foreign nationals and a lack of governmental cohesion as primary obstacles. The relocation process, initially promised to begin in June,

In a significant crackdown, a national police task force has seized 226 firearms from a private security company based in Krugersdorp, with investigators revealing that the weapons have been linked to cash-in-transit heists, attempted murders of police officers, and armed business robberies. The operation, conducted by the National Tracking and Tracing Task Team under Operation

The police’s Anti-Gang Unit, a specialized force deployed to combat rampant gangsterism in the Western Cape, is now the subject of a criminal investigation after a community patroller accused its members of a violent assault. The allegations stem from an incident in the Xakabantu informal settlement in Muizenberg, which occurred just one day after a

Whistleblowers within the Mogalakwena Local Municipality have come forward with damning allegations that the bulk of the municipality’s budget is being lost to systemic corruption and irregular expenditure, with their attempts to expose the rot seemingly falling on deaf ears. Frustrated employees, who took the courageous step to report their concerns, now feel abandoned. Their

Akhona Yantolo, an 18-year-old Grade 11 learner, embodies a silent crisis unfolding across South Africa: thousands of children forced to head households and raise their siblings. For Yantolo, each day is a struggle for survival in her rundown home in Izinyoka township near Gqeberha, a situation she describes simply as, “Um, this is my situation.”

A critical shortage of burial space is engulfing major South African metros, including Johannesburg, Tshwane, and Ethekwini, forcing municipalities and citizens to urgently consider alternative burial methods. The crisis was the central topic at the Cemeteries and Crematoria Association National Conference, where experts warned that cultural beliefs, urban development, and bureaucratic delays are compounding the

KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, is facing a fierce backlash from organized labour after he recently claimed that trade unions demanding higher wages are partly responsible for rising unemployment in South Africa. The comments have drawn sharp criticism from the South African Policing Union (SAPU), which has accused the high-ranking officer of attempting