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The most expensive VW in South Africa will set you back R1.8 million. Enter the VW Touareg R-Line, the range-topping version of the German carmaker’s flagship SUV series. The Touareg last received an update in 2024 and is currently available in two specifications. Prices start at R1,491,300 for the Elegance variant, but you’ll have to …

The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) extends revolutionary end-of-year greetings to all affiliates, leaders, shop stewards, members and the broader working class. As 2025 draws to a close, South Africa remains trapped in a deep structural crisis marked by mass unemployment, deindustrialisation, collapsing public services, rising criminality, gender-based violence, and an austerity framework …

Malcolm Libera  ·30 Dec 2025 South Africans are set for a disappointing public holiday calendar in 2026, with workers effectively losing two days off despite the country officially having 12 public holidays. While this might seem disappointing at first glance, the silver lining is a notable increase in long weekends, which will provide opportunities for …

South Africa will not know the identity of their next Africa Cup of Nations opponents until the last of the group matches on Wednesday but will play one of holders Ivory Coast, Cameroon or neighbours Mozambique. As runners-up in Group B, which Bafana Bafana achieved after their narrow 3-2 win over Zimbabwe in Marrakech on …

South Africa’s rand is poised to end the year with the biggest jump since 2009 as the dollar’s weakness, combined with political stability at home, bolstered the nation’s allure for investors.  The currency has jumped 13% against the dollar this year. Overseas investors bought a net 72.4 billion rand ($4.3 billion) of local-currency bonds this …

When South Africa and Zimbabwe clash in a decisive Group B Africa Cup of Nations encounter on Monday at the Marrakesh Stadium, many factors will be at play. Regional rivalry in COSAFA, national pride, and, of course, the high stakes that this particular match carries give the meeting in Marrakesh some added football flavour. Just …

GroundUp’s favourite photos of 2025 show South Africa as it really is… battered in places, brilliant in others and always worth fighting for. South Africa (29 December 2025) – South Africa’s story is not a single narrative; it is thousands of moments happening at once. GroundUp’s favourite photos from 2025 reveal those moments with honesty …

Mercedes-Benz is one of the world’s leading luxury car brands with a catalogue of affluent SUVs and high-performance sedans that remain an aspirational purchase for many households. It may therefore come as a surprise to some that Mercedes once tried its hand with bakkies – a vehicle type that is not traditionally associated with high-end …

Persisting tensions between Pretoria and Washington saw South Africa miss out on the first G20 meeting in the United States (US), in what was expected to be the first of many snubs from the bloc’s meetings. In an expected move, South African leaders and diplomats were excluded from the first major G20 meeting under the …

South Africa has noted with concern the recent announcement by the State of Israel recognising Somaliland as an independent state. The recognition constitutes a violation of the Federal Republic of Somalia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and a direct threat to peace in the Horn of Africa. We uphold the African Union’s principle of uti possidetis …

Vehicle-related crimes in South Africa have been trending downwards in recent years. This is according to SAPS crime data for the second quarter of 2025/26, which shows that when comparing the quarter’s numbers to the same period over previous years, fewer vehicle-related crimes are being processed by the police year-on-year. For example: there were 4,778 …

Cobus Reinach expects the Stormers’ Vodacom URC showdown against the Bulls at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday to be a special occasion. The 35-year-old scrumhalf, who recently returned to South Africa after club stints in England and France, admitted the fixture carries a unique weight. “I haven’t played in South African derbies for a long …

If it feels as if the sun has taken a holiday too and the days feel less hot than usual, you’re not imagining it. The past two months have shaped up to be wetter and slightly cooler across much of South Africa, particularly in the interior. This has resulted in flooding in parts of KwaZulu-Natal …

Monday, December 29, 2025 A total of 100 people have been arrested in Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal, by the officers of the Road Traffic Inspectorate (RTI) for violating various traffic laws this past weekend. The arrests were part of the #NenzaniLaEzweni operation aimed at ensuring road safety, tackling drunk driving, reckless driving, illegal activities – such as …

Iran, as a Brics member, will participate for the first time in the joint Brics naval exercise in Cape Town in January, much to the dismay of the DA, which says its participation will exacerbate South Africa’s tense relations with the US. Traditional participants Russia and China will also join Exercise MOSI III, which takes …

It’s all to play for on Match Day Three of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations with neighbours South Africa and Zimbabwe reacquainted for a crunch Group B encounter at Marrakech Stadium on Monday night. A place in the Round of 16 is at stake as the group stage draws to a close. This sets …

Corruption remains one of South Africa’s most pressing challenges, undermining public trust, draining state resources, and weakening the institutions meant to serve citizens. Each year, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) uncovers new layers of misconduct across government departments, state-owned entities, and municipal structures, revealing how deeply maladministration and financial irregularities have taken root. The Auditor-General …

Cape Town Container Terminal, which handles most of SA’s fresh fruit exports, is making a determined bid to lift itself from the bottom of the World Bank’s list of worst-performing ports. This week, it announced the renewal of a Public Sector Partnership (PSP) to maintain operational readiness at the port. This is a collaboration between …

Staff Writer  ·29 Dec 2025 As 2025 draws to a close, the rand continues to hold onto its gains against the dollar, while markets ride out a late-year rally in gold and other precious metals. Trade was thinner than usual last week, with many investors away from their desks for end-of-year holidays – something expected …

Staff Writer  ·29 Dec 2025 The National Treasury and the South African Revenue Service (SARS) have published the 18th annual Tax Statistics, providing an overview of tax collection and tax return data for the 2024/25 financial year. The data also provides insights into the breakdown of demographics, sectors, and locations of taxpayers contributing the most …

Malcolm Libera  ·29 Dec 2025 An extensive list of international companies across several industries exited South Africa in 2025.  These international companies span across finance, consulting, mining, data analytics, and other professional services. They either fully exited or fundamentally wound down their South African operations in 2025. The reasons for the exits differed from group …

An unscheduled press conference by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi on 6 July 2025 set the stage for 2026 and even 2027, when the ANC and South Africa will face crossing a churning Rubicon. Right now, though, our Rubicon still smells more like S**t Creek. But 2026 is the year we reach for the …

Bafana Bafana’s AFCON campaign is delicately poised heading into the final round of Group B matches, with qualification for the round of 16 still firmly within reach – but not quite guaranteed. South Africa’s fate hinges on their final group fixture against Zimbabwe on Monday, December 29, a match that effectively serves as a decider …

It began in an unlikely place: a modest lecture hall at SOAS in London, the kind where the air still carries the faint chalk-scent of older debates.  On a grey November afternoon, Ebrahim Rasool stood before a room of students, academics and a scattering of diplomats who had slipped in quietly at the back. His …