Southern Africa

Chef Reuben Riffel brings fire-cooked game to Franschhoek, aiming to double visitors

Flame and Game, backed by R1.5 million from the Western Cape's tourism fund, will add ten jobs and buy from local game farmers, growers and wine farms.

Franschhoek16 October 20261 min read

Soap and water could save South African children, minister says

Nearly 3,000 children under five died of diarrhoea, flu and pneumonia in 2024. On Global Handwashing Day, the government asked parents and teachers to make clean hands a habit.

Soweto16 October 20261 min read

East London's science park now supports more than 71 young companies

South Africa's only science park inside an industrial zone hosts Science Minister Blade Nzimande on Friday, as the government looks for ways to turn research into products.

East London16 October 20261 min read

Africa Energy Week deals reach $10bn, but delegates want jobs too

From Angola's oil assets to Senegal's gas, Cape Town's energy conference has produced billions in deals. Participants say the resources must also build industries and employment.

Cape Town16 October 20261 min read

Campaigners urge Malawi to pass a law letting refugees work and trade

The Refugee Bill would let refugees take paid jobs and run small businesses, cutting their reliance on aid, says INUA Advocacy.

PANM16 October 20261 min read

Namibia and Angola hold their first heads-of-state commission next week

Presidents Nandi-Ndaitwah and Lourenço will meet in Luanda on trade, energy, water, transport and border security. Ninety-five Namibian businesses want to join the business forum.

Windhoek16 October 20261 min read

Japan gives $1.8m to feed 94,000 people displaced in Cabo Delgado

The money goes through the World Food Programme. Japan has given about $21.4 million to the agency's work in Mozambique since 2019.

Maputo16 October 20261 min read

A Namibian charity has sterilised 30,000 pets for owners who cannot pay

Have a Heart has no paid staff and works with local vets. In September alone it treated more than 800 feral cats, including 300 in Oshana.

Windhoek16 October 20261 min read

Durban finishes R232.6m of flood defences for its industrial south

A rebuilt canal, a new sea outfall and a sports field that doubles as a flood basin are meant to protect Prospecton, one of the country's manufacturing hubs.

Durban16 October 20261 min read

South Africa opens Disability Rights Awareness Month with a walk to the Union Buildings

People with disabilities, officials and campaigners will walk from Church Square on Friday to call for equal rights and an end to the barriers that keep people out.

Pretoria16 October 20261 min read

South Africa's intercity buses get their first new coaches since 2010

PRASA has added 17 long-distance coaches with lane assistance and stability systems, and plans 78 more by 2030.

Pretoria16 October 20261 min read

Sixty-five people in Gqeberha receive the birth certificates they never had

Home Affairs' Services on Wheels brought late birth registration to Motherwell, giving people the legal identity they need to reach government services.

Gqeberha16 October 20261 min read

South Africa wants waste treated as a business, not a burden

Recyclers could get licences in 90 days, and producers' recycling bodies may have to put 40% of their fees into infrastructure. Fifty-six recycling firms have already had R200m of support.

PANM16 October 20261 min read

Mauritius extends curfew after protests over water and living costs turn violent

Ninety-four people have been arrested, seven police officers wounded and schools closed. The prime minister blames drug traffickers for fuelling the unrest.

PANM16 October 20261 min read

Brewer backs Malawi's Mulhako wa Alhomwe festival ahead of this year's celebrations

Chibuku Products has given K3 million to the cultural organisation, part of its long-running support for Malawi's heritage festivals.

PANM15 October 20261 min read

Gauteng starts repairs on seven Tshwane bridges

Work on bridges over the Hennops River and on the R511 and R514 will repair rails, joints and concrete and widen some approaches.

Pretoria15 October 20261 min read

Navi Pillay dedicates her Nobel to survivors and asks the world to defend its courts

The South African jurist, 85, learned of her prize in the Nuremberg courtroom where the post-war trials were held. She wants collective action, not statements, for international justice.

Nuremberg15 October 20261 min read

Ramaphosa to open a zinc expansion that puts a Northern Cape mine among the world's largest

Phase II of Vedanta's Gamsberg operation at Aggeneys lifts output to about 500,000 tonnes of zinc a year and is expected to sustain up to 1,000 jobs, most of them local.

Aggeneys15 October 20261 min read

Nine in ten South African homes now have electricity, up from 77% in 2002

Ahead of the 4 November local elections, Africa Check's factsheet shows how far connections have come, where the gaps are, and how sharply reported power cuts have fallen.

Johannesburg15 October 20262 min read

South Africa marks World Food Day in the North West with a push for farm innovation

Under the theme Innovate Today, Nourish Tomorrow, the national celebration at Tosca Village on 16 October will launch food security projects in a province where parts face food insecurity.

Tosca15 October 20261 min read

Tired of waiting for a government house, a 67-year-old built her own

Nomonde Mboyi has spent three years and her pension building a mud-brick home in the Eastern Cape. The state house promised to her after a 2019 storm is still a foundation.

Mbizana15 October 20262 min read

South Africa's universities told to teach for a world shaped by AI, and to build Africa's own

Higher Education Minister Buti Manamela said assessment must test judgement, not just answers, and that Africa needs AI in its own languages and on its own data.

Pretoria15 October 20261 min read

A record 2.65 million South Africans apply to vote early

Special vote applications for the 4 November local elections are up 131% on 2021. Most home-visit applicants are women over 60.

Pretoria15 October 20261 min read

Young Africans must move from promise to power, Agenda 2063 symposium hears

At JCI Sandton's fifth Agenda 2063 symposium, speakers from the Presidency, AUDA-NEPAD and Afrobarometer agreed the plans exist. The test now is delivery, with young people given real authority.

Johannesburg15 October 20263 min read

South Africa wants its old earphones and chargers back

On International E-Waste Day, the government urged households to recycle small electronics. The country produces more than 360,000 tonnes of e-waste a year and recycles about a tenth.

Pretoria15 October 20261 min read

South Africa's border agency brings in data to catch stolen cars

A new Vehicle Targeting System at Lebombo will pick out vehicles for inspection by intelligence, not at random.

Komatipoort14 October 20261 min read

South Africa aims for 520,000 technical college students

The government is also funding 700,000 students through its aid scheme this year, and offering full scholarships to China, Germany and Hungary.

Pietermaritzburg14 October 20261 min read

Seven million trees in six months: South Africa's planting drive

The government says 7.1 million trees have gone into the ground since April, against a goal of one billion. The Western Cape has planted the most.

Pretoria14 October 20261 min read

The scientist who brought South Africa's cattle vaccine home

Dr Faith Peta has spent 20 years rebuilding the country's ability to make its own foot-and-mouth vaccine. The first local doses went out in February.

Pretoria14 October 20262 min read

Electric car convoy rolls into Durban as SA Auto Week opens

KwaZulu-Natal wants a share of the investment and jobs as South Africa's car industry moves towards cleaner vehicles.

Durban14 October 20262 min read

World tourism body honours South Africa after record 10.5 million visitors

Tourism Minister Patricia de Lille received a global award in Malta for bringing government and business together to grow the industry.

Pretoria14 October 20261 min read

Zimbabwe lithium mine to process at home in $1bn expansion

Bikita Minerals says a $400 million lithium sulphate plant will be finished in 2027, as Zimbabwe pushes to sell finished products instead of raw ore.

Harare14 October 20261 min read

South Africa shuts its iron ore railway for ten days of repairs

The 861-kilometre line from Sishen to Saldanha is getting new rails, sleepers and signalling, as the state prepares to let private operators run trains on it.

Saldanha14 October 20261 min read

A record 962,832 South Africans sit school-leaving exams

The matric exams began on Tuesday and run to 26 November. Ministers want a pass rate above last year's 88% and have warned against phones in the exam room.

Pretoria14 October 20261 min read

'Not old-style paternalism': South Africa's terms for Europe

The foreign minister says Africa wants European capital and technology to process its own minerals, and warns that the EU's carbon tax could cost the continent $25bn.

Pretoria14 October 20262 min read

South Africa's cervical cancer vaccine is working

Infection with the virus behind the disease is 83% lower among teenage girls who were offered the jab. Now a doctor born two kilometres away is taking same-day screening to rural Mpumalanga.

Bushbuckridge13 October 20263 min read

South Africa's healers are running out of plants

One in ten of the country's plant species is used as medicine, and 154 of them are at risk. A deputy minister wants healers to grow what they pick.

Durban13 October 20262 min read

Tongaat leaves the Johannesburg bourse after 74 years

The sugar producer will be delisted on 3 November. With it, 2026 will have seen 13 companies leave the exchange and only two arrive.

Johannesburg13 October 20261 min read

South Africa to demand money, not more paperwork, at nature summit

Nearly half the country's ecosystem types are threatened. Its delegation heads to Armenia arguing that poor countries should not borrow to protect wildlife.

Johannesburg13 October 20262 min read

Families moved for a coal mine got 5% of what they lost

A study of 115 households near Somkhele, in KwaZulu-Natal, counts R80 million in lost land, crops and livestock against R3.6 million paid. The mine disputes the research.

Durban13 October 20262 min read

South Africa's government sounds the alarm on AI fraud

Cloned voices, deepfake video and machine-written phishing are changing cybercrime, a senior communications official warns. His advice: verify before you pay.

Pretoria13 October 20262 min read

A missed click could keep 181 ANC candidates off the ballot

South Africa's top court is weighing whether failing to press a final 'submit' button is reason enough to exclude a party's candidates, three weeks before local elections.

Johannesburg13 October 20262 min read

Australia close in on victory as Proteas lose four

South Africa ended day four of the Durban Test on 102 for four, more than 300 runs adrift. Matt Renshaw followed his 190 with 82.

Durban13 October 20261 min read

South Africa's deputy police chief quits before hearing

Shadrack Sibiya resigned as his disciplinary case was about to begin. The police say it will be recorded as a dishonourable discharge. He is in custody on separate charges, which he denies.

Johannesburg13 October 20261 min read

South Africa to fingerprint asylum seekers online

A biometric platform due on 10 November is meant to stop rejected applicants filing again. The minister says the appeals backlog is about 120,000 cases.

Pretoria13 October 20262 min read

Ramaphosa: 2.5 million hectares for Black farmers, with deeds

South Africa's farm exports hit a record R270 billion last year. The president says Black farmers produce about a tenth of commercial output.

Pretoria13 October 20262 min read

World's mapping standards body meets in Africa for first time

The Open Geospatial Consortium opens four days of meetings in Cape Town today. Its standards sit behind the digital maps on every phone.

Cape Town12 October 20261 min read

Mozambique sets December deadline to hand in illegal guns

President Chapo says nobody who surrenders a weapon under the amnesty will be questioned or detained. After the deadline, the police will come for them.

Maputo12 October 20261 min read

Malawi puts $1 million behind its seed plan

The head of the farm body AGRA says African countries have good seed laws and weak delivery, and that plans written into national budgets are the ones that happen.

Lilongwe12 October 20261 min read

Zimbabwe's clinics have half the medicines they need

The health ministry asked for ZWG89 billion for 2027 and was told to plan for a third of that. Dialysis supplies and blood are already running short.

Harare12 October 20261 min read

What a Masekela record says about South Africa's migrants

An essay in Daily Maverick reads the credits of two 1970s albums as a record of what the rest of Africa gave South Africans in exile.

Johannesburg12 October 20262 min read

Smith's four catches leave South Africa chasing the game

The Proteas were bowled out for 284 in reply to Australia's 390 at Kingsmead, and Steve Smith took a Test fielding record on the way.

Durban12 October 20261 min read

Maps show where a forgotten African bean will grow

Researchers simulated 49 seasons across South Africa and Eswatini to find where bambara groundnut gives a reliable harvest. October planting came out best.

Durban12 October 20262 min read

Hunters lose court bid against animal wellbeing law

South Africa's Constitutional Court has upheld rules that make the wellbeing of wild animals part of how they are managed and used.

Johannesburg11 October 20261 min read

South Africa to ask a court to oversee its asylum fix

A new registration system is promised by 10 November. Thirty people have been arrested over the unrest, and deportations of those with no claim will continue.

Pretoria11 October 20262 min read

From Luthuli to Pillay: South Africa's Nobel peace line

Navi Pillay is the fifth South African to win the Nobel Peace Prize. The first four were honoured for ending apartheid. She is honoured for what came after.

PANM11 October 20262 min read

What South Africa's asylum ruling does and doesn't do

The court judgment behind a week of unrest gives no one the right to stay. It gives them the right to be heard. An explainer.

PANM11 October 20262 min read

Africa's first seed summit backs a continental gene bank

Governments meeting in Eswatini agreed to link national seed banks, breed climate-hardy varieties and make it easier to trade seed across borders.

Ezulwini11 October 20261 min read

South Africa's police vow arrests over asylum riots

Twenty-four cars were burned outside Home Affairs offices in Soweto and Durban. The department says it pulled its asylum directive because staff and the public were at risk.

Pretoria11 October 20261 min read

Diesel is up 80% this year. In the Western Cape, 71,000 children's school transport is at stake.

Bus operators who carry pupils for the provincial government say they are running at a loss. A one-day strike left nearly 22,000 children without transport, days before final exams.

Cape Town11 October 20261 min read

A Durban chef moves his poké kitchen into the cowshed of a museum of African art

Thomas Wright started Poké Box from a friend's pantry the week South Africa locked down. Its third home is the Phansi Museum.

Durban11 October 20261 min read

Racist slur in a private chat is still hate speech, court says

South Africa's appeal court has ruled that using the k-word is unlawful whoever hears it. A businessman must apologise and pay R500,000.

Bloemfontein10 October 20261 min read

South Africa's state lender put R23.4bn into 48 Black firms

The Industrial Development Corporation's funding for Black industrialists went to manufacturing and other value-adding sectors last year, the trade minister says.

Pretoria10 October 20261 min read

South Africa left R4.9bn of grant money unspent

The social development department calls it a saving. MPs call it a failure, in a country where 23 million people live below the poverty line.

Cape Town10 October 20261 min read

Jali and Nyatama chase Marumo Gallants for unpaid money

A South African court has refused to treat the club's bid to protect its R2.3 million monthly league grant as urgent.

Johannesburg10 October 20261 min read

Pretoria mob threatens to burn traders in their shops

Anti-immigrant groups forced foreign-owned shops to close near a refugee office. A reporter was assaulted. A Nigerian trader of 24 years was among those shut out.

Pretoria10 October 20261 min read

Court orders ANC to put Lungisa back on its list

A judge found the party's secretary-general had no power to strike the mayoral hopeful from the Nelson Mandela Bay list. The election is on 4 November.

Johannesburg10 October 20261 min read

South Africa's HIV prevention jab has reached 71,000 people. It needs to reach a million a year.

Researchers who studied the rollout of prevention pills say the new twice-yearly injection will not sell itself: people hear about it from people, not from billboards.

Johannesburg10 October 20261 min read

The Mthatha designer telling African stories without the clichés

Xolela Madlanga builds her patterns from lines and shapes. She is one of 15 creatives chosen from 700 for a French-backed incubator.

Mthatha10 October 20261 min read

Kruger's former 'crown prince' ranger is convicted of killing a rhino, ten years on

Rodney Landela was once seen as a future leader of the park's rangers. A court has found that he and a state veterinary technician shot a white rhino in 2016.

Skukuza10 October 20261 min read

Fifty-two miners have died in South Africa this year, already more than in all of 2025

The mining minister called it a "deeply concerning regression" after last year's record low of 41 deaths.

Johannesburg10 October 20261 min read

A caravan clinic gave 100,000 Zimbabwean teenagers discreet access to contraception. Its funding is going.

A $9 million grant was cancelled with $6 million unspent, and Swedish support ended in August. The government has pledged $2.25 million a year.

Epworth10 October 20261 min read

South Africa's Navi Pillay wins the Nobel Peace Prize

The 85-year-old jurist, a former UN human rights chief, was honoured for defending international law at a time when its courts are under attack. She dedicated the prize to survivors.

Oslo10 October 20261 min read

Nortje takes two in an over on his Test return as South Africa have Australia 187-6

The fast bowler had not played a Test for three years. Bad light ended the first day in Durban two hours early.

Durban10 October 20261 min read

Zuma is in hospital, and his party's election campaign is built around him

The MK Party says the former president had a routine check-up. President Ramaphosa says he has been unwell. Local elections are approaching.

Pietermaritzburg10 October 20261 min read

Australia return to South Africa for a Test series for the first time since ‘Sandpapergate’

The world's two top-ranked Test sides meet in Durban from Friday. South Africa are without Kagiso Rabada, and Anrich Nortje plays his first Test in more than three years.

Durban9 October 20261 min read

Zimbabwe buries Wicknell Chivayo, the tycoon it both admired and resented

Soldiers saluted the coffin of the 43-year-old businessman, who died with his wife and four others in a helicopter crash last week. He was known for giving away cars and for his closeness to the ruling party.

Harare9 October 20261 min read

Mnangagwa splits Zimbabwe's economic team and makes tycoon Tagwirei a minister

Mthuli Ncube keeps finance. Kudakwashe Tagwirei, a prominent businessman sworn in as a senator only last month, takes a new portfolio for economic development and investment.

Harare9 October 20261 min read

Eswatini says it has sent home 10 of the 31 people the US deported to it

The government denies reports that deportees were slipped across the border at night, but will not say which countries they travelled through. Twenty-one are still waiting.

Mbabane9 October 20261 min read

Sol Plaatje at 150: the writer who gave Black South Africa its first English novel

Born on 9 October 1876, he was a newspaper editor, translator of Shakespeare into Setswana and the first general secretary of what became the ANC. New books are bringing his letters and writing back into print.

Kimberley9 October 20261 min read

South Africa's five-year plan against hunger met 11 of its 65 objectives

An evaluation found the plan was never funded and the council meant to lead it never met. The government disputes the finding that political will was lacking.

Johannesburg9 October 20261 min read

A new dinosaur from Lake Kariba shows Zimbabwe's were not like South Africa's

Musango matusadonaensis walked on two legs about 210 million years ago and was found by a safari camp manager. Scientists worked from houseboats to dig it out.

Kariba9 October 20261 min read

South African court strikes down Black ownership code for law firms

The Gauteng High Court found the trade minister approved the rules without properly assessing them. It did not rule on whether the code itself is lawful, and sent it back to him.

Johannesburg9 October 20261 min read

South Africa withdraws asylum directive after days of violent protests

Home Affairs says the instruction, issued to carry out a Constitutional Court ruling, overwhelmed refugee offices and put officials at risk. Vehicles were torched in Durban and Soweto.

Johannesburg9 October 20261 min read

Zimbabwe turns to the makers of India's UPI to cut the cost of digital payments

The central bank is negotiating with the overseas arm of India's national payments body to build a shared system for banks, mobile money and fintech firms. Talks could conclude by the end of October.

Harare9 October 20261 min read

Namibia's ports authority puts N$90 million into football

Namport will pay the Namibia Football Association N$30 million a year for three years. The prime minister told officials to spend it only on what it is meant for.

Windhoek9 October 20261 min read

Mozambique says cashew smuggling has cost it $7 million in three years

About 35,000 tonnes of nuts left the country through illegal channels, the agriculture minister says. He wants smuggling treated as a crime and the trade tracked digitally.

Maputo9 October 20261 min read

Kruger National Park to get a quarter of its power from renewables without building on park land

Under a sponsorship deal, clean electricity generated elsewhere will be delivered through South Africa's national grid. SANParks calls it a pilot that could extend to other parks.

Skukuza9 October 20261 min read

Zambia accepts a revised US health deal that Zimbabwe and Ghana have turned down

Lusaka says clauses on sharing patient samples were removed. Harare called the terms lopsided and a breach of sovereignty, and now risks losing HIV funding.

PANM8 October 20261 min read

Vigilantes confront asylum seekers as South Africa reopens its refugee system after six years

About 15 members of an anti-migrant group tried to block people queuing at the Durban reception office. Only 20 applicants were processed that day.

Durban8 October 20261 min read

EU halts Namibian beef imports after first foot-and-mouth outbreak in 60 years

Europe buys more than four-fifths of Namibia's beef exports. The disease has reached 11 farms in the south since it was declared on 22 September.

Windhoek8 October 20261 min read

Zimbabwe declares a disaster after hailstorm tears the roofs off 8,500 homes in Masvingo

A university campus, a maternity ward, the airport and government offices were also damaged. Power cuts have knocked out water and sewage systems as the rains begin.

Masvingo8 October 20261 min read

IMF praises Malawi's reforms but leaves without a loan deal

Two weeks of talks in Lilongwe ended with warm words on spending discipline and fuel pricing, and no agreement yet on the financing the country has lacked since May 2025.

Lilongwe8 October 20261 min read

Southern Madagascar braces for what may be the strongest El Niño on record

Farmers say the rains no longer arrive when they should. With parts of the south already hit by famine, aid agencies warn that drought could deepen hunger.

PANM8 October 20261 min read