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The Department of Home Affairs aims to stop producing new green ID books this year, the Minister of Home Affairs, Leon Schreiber, has said. While it will still be many years before the less secure green ID book is invalidated as a form of identification in South Africa, Home Affairs is hoping to accelerate the …

Malcolm Libera  ·16 Jan 2026 The National Treasury is considering major changes for South Africa’s Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant, which includes tying support to employment and skills programmes.  However, some stakeholders warn that these changes could cause more harm than good at a time when unemployment remains extremely high. The SRD grant, currently …

South Africa © Gallo Images South African captain, Muhammad Bulbulia, won the toss and chose to bowl first in their opening match of the Under-19 World Cup against Afghanistan at the High Performance Oval in Windhoek on Friday.   SOUTH AFRICA: Jorich van Schalkwyk, Adnaan Lagadien, Muhammad Bulbulia (captain), Jason Rowles, Armaan Manack, Paul James, …

Staff Writer  ·16 Jan 2026 Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP) went from a world-class facility to a struggling one despite receiving R500 million to revamp it. Onderstepoort Biological Products is a South African state-owned animal vaccine manufacturing company. Its mandate is to prevent and control animal diseases that impact food security, human health, and livelihoods. It …

Transport Minister Barbara Creecy has stated that the government plans to reduce South Africa’s legal drunk driving limit to zero. The minister made this announcement at a recent media briefing, where she outlined the Department of Transport’s plans to amend Section 65 of the National Road Traffic Act. She argued that this is necessary to …

The US criticised South Africa for allowing Iran to participate in naval drills off the coast of Cape Town, after conflicting reports about the Islamic Republic’s involvement in the exercises. Iran’s “inclusion in joint exercises – in any capacity – undermines maritime security and regional stability,” the US Embassy said in a post on X …

Unless the price of oil radically increases or the rand weakens substantially against the dollar over the next few weeks, South Africa’s petrol prices could drop below R20 per litre for the first time in four years. Due to a global oversupply of oil and a weakened dollar, South Africa’s fuel prices are already at …

South Africa were drawn in Group B at the TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2026 finals where they will take on Burkina Faso, the Ivory Coast and Tanzania, while COSAFA rivals Zambia and Malawi are in the same pool in Group C. The tournament is scheduled to be played from March 17 …

Thursday, January 15, 2026 Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille says the precautionary evacuation of tourists at the Kruger National Park, due to ongoing heavy rainfall, will ensure the safety and well-being of its visitors and staff members. In a statement on Thursday, the Minister expressed her solidarity with tourists affected by the flooding in …

The Department of Transport has declined to confirm when it will begin producing new driving licence cards through its agreement with Home Affairs’ card printing division. However, transport minister Barbara Creecy has previously indicated that the process was at an advanced stage and was being treated with urgency. The department signed a Memorandum of Agreement …

A man walks on the beach while three Iranian naval ships – the IRIS Makran, a corvette named Naghdi, and the IRIS Shahid Mahdavi – cruise in False Bay on the morning of 13 January. Photos: Brenton Geach The Will for Peace 2026 joint naval exercise between South Africa, China, Russia, and Iran, which started …

  This places it alongside a small group of international education tools that have been independently assessed for safety and scalability for real learning impact. Tangible was developed by the Department of Computing Sciences in the Faculty of Science at Nelson Mandela University and is being implemented globally by the not-for-profit Leva Foundation. https://tangible.levafoundation.org/ In …

Luke Fraser  ·15 Jan 2026 There are fears that Eskom’s continuation of a High Court review application over the granting of new electricity trading licences could halt the transition to a more competitive market for years. The background for the case revolves around the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) granting electricity trading licences …

South Africa is clearing regulatory hurdles, but foreign investors are still deciding what that is worth. From 29 January, the country will be removed from the European Union’s list of “high-risk third-country jurisdictions”, a move that marks a decisive step out of the greylisting era and lifts one of the most intrusive constraints on cross-border …

British American Tobacco (BAT) is closing its only manufacturing plant in South Africa in a move that will shed thousands of jobs, with the group overwhelmed by the proliferation of illegal cigarettes. The decision by the London- and Johannesburg-listed company will see the group not manufacturing cigarettes locally for the first time in more than …

The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) is working on a new payments standard to drastically improve scan-to-pay transactions in South Africa. The development and implementation of the QR+ Standard forms part of the SARB’s Payments Ecosystem Modernisation (PEM) Programme. Quick Response (QR) codes have become a popular way to direct smartphone users to a website, …

Malcolm Libera  ·15 Jan 2026 South Africans can travel to 101 countries without needing a visa in 2026, marking a decline in global mobility compared to the previous year. In 2025, South African passport holders enjoyed visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to 106 destinations, meaning access to five countries has been lost over the past year. …

It would not be unwarranted, for this year’s Hot Stocks edition, to look back in anger at 2025. It’s not that the markets were a particular pain point … far from it. But the overriding question is: how did most investors get it so wrong? In short, last year investment professionals were wary of a …

The Automobile Association of South Africa (AA) says it has been inundated with concerns from vehicle owners with poor Global New Car Assessment Programme (NCAP) safety ratings. In a statement, the AA acknowledged that the Hyundai Grand i10, a popular vehicle among e-hailing drivers in South Africa, had received a zero-star safety rating for adult …

President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on Iran to allow its citizens to exercise their right to protest in peace. “South Africa firmly believes that the right to peaceful protest, freedom of expression, and freedom of association are universal human rights that must be upheld without exception,” said Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya. This comes in the …

Last year, Mahindra cemented itself as one of the best-loved brands in South Africa, achieving its best-ever sales year as a result. The Indian carmaker sold 18,097 vehicles in 2025, which represents a 40% year-on-year improvement and marks a record-breaking year for the brand. Overall, the total new vehicle sales industry grew by around 15% …

Located in Heidelberg, in the Gauteng province, the facility currently operates at just 35% of total capacity due to severe volume losses, directly attributable to the exponential growth of the illicit tobacco trade in South Africa, the unit of British American Tobacco said. Renewable Resources: The country is investing in renewable energy sources, such as solar …

Staff Writer  ·15 Jan 2026 Minister of Agriculture, John Steenhuisen, announced that he will table a declaration of the foot-and-mouth disease outbreak as a state of disaster at the next Cabinet meeting. On Wednesday, 25 January 2026, Steenhuisen outlined the national strategy for containing foot-and-mouth disease in South Africa. “I have a clear roadmap for …

Luke Fraser  ·15 Jan 2026 British American Tobacco (BAT) is closing its sole manufacturing plant in South Africa, as the company struggles due to the rise of illicit cigarettes. BAT South Africa said that it will cease all local production of factory-manufactured cigarettes (FMC) and close its only South African manufacturing facility by the end …