TimesLIVE - In The News

A free coffee a day keeps the blues away 

A small coffee shop in Fourways is quietly establishing itself as a community hub, uniting people, paying it forward and increasingly making good things happen for growing numbers of people. The DC Coffee Company in Pineslopes is the brainchild of Neil and Samantha Golding, who have not only built the…

19 Nov 2021 10AM 12 min

SAHRC hearing on July 2021 riots - first week

This week the SAHRC heard from victims, community forums and representatives of businesses affected by the July riots.

19 Nov 2021 10AM 5 min

Joburg matric pupil survives kidnapping attempt while walking to school

An 18-year-old matric pupil survived an alleged kidnapping attempt in Johannesburg on Friday, the Gauteng education department said. Department spokesperson Steve Mabona said the Sandringham High School pupil was on her way to school when a white Chevrolet sedan with four male occupants reportedly drove towards her and one of…

19 Nov 2021 10AM 2 min

'Deliberate sabotage' at power station could have triggered stage 6 load-shedding: Eskom CEO

Eskom group CEO André de Ruyter says clear evidence has emerged of sabotage at the Lethabo Power Station in the Free State. This comes after the collapse of a power pylon which “fell uphill” on Wednesday onto a second distribution line, knocking out both lines. De Ruyter said there was…

19 Nov 2021 6AM 6 min

July riots were an insurrection and took months of planning, says business representative

Melanie Veness, CEO of the Pietermaritzburg & Midlands Chamber of Business, says the July riots were part of a plan to overthrow the government. She says they were well planned.

18 Nov 2021 4AM 2 min

PA leader Gayton McKenzie is in the hot-seat over ANC coalition decisions

In this first Afrikaans interview on Eusebius on TimesLIVE, McKenzie dodged bullets from Eusebius McKaiser who engaged him on his decision to form coalitions with the ANC in municipalities. McKenzie criticises both the DA and the ANC, but attempts to offer justification for why the ANC is preferable to work with…

18 Nov 2021 3AM 7 min

No-one helped us, everything was properly organised - Phoenix unrest victim tells SAHRC

Refugee Mkhize, one of the July unrest victims, has told the SAHRC that no-one helped them during the Phoenix killings, which have been labelled by many as a “massacre”. He hopes for justice and to regain trust in the police and courts.

17 Nov 2021 5AM 2 min

High risk of load shedding: De Ruyter

The embattled power utility said the electricity system was “severely constrained” after the failure of five generating units. Five generation units at various power stations had failed throughout yesterday. Load-shedding would be required to be implemented at very short notice, Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said.

17 Nov 2021 3AM 4 min

Coalition talks sow more division than unity

Opposition parties the DA and EFF held press briefings to update the public and supporters on their ongoing coalition talks, including the progress and outcomes of negotiations so far. The briefings revealed there was much tension arising between the different parties.

16 Nov 2021 9AM 5 min

What happened in Phoenix are killings, not a massacre, SAHRC hears

Sham Maharaj of the Phoenix Ubuntu Forum has told the SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) that what happened in Phoenix, KwaZulu-Natal, was not a massacre but killings. The commission is on day two of its hearing about the unrest and looting in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in July. 

16 Nov 2021 5AM 4 min

Family of teen killed during July unrest calls for justice at hearings

The aunt of slain 17-year-old Sibahle Nguse has called for justice after he was shot dead during the civil unrest which gripped parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in July.

15 Nov 2021 8AM 1 min

State, academics, researchers, journalists to give testimony on July unrest - SAHRC

It's day one of the South African Human Rights Commission hearings into the July unrest. The commission says it has invited communities affected, members of the business fraternity, state officials, and cabinet ministers to testify in the next three weeks.

15 Nov 2021 5AM 2 min

Acting DPP declines to prosecute Emile and Eben Etzebeth

The Acting Western Cape Director of Public Prosecutions, Advocate Nicolette Bell has declined to prosecute Emile and Eben Etzebeth as there are no prospects of a successful prosecution against the two men.

12 Nov 2021 10AM 1 min

Human trafficking boom as SA kids sold for sex and labour

Dr Shaheda Omar once said, “rescuing child trafficking victims is nothing short of a miracle.” And with the human trafficking of small children on the rise, SA could use more miracles.

12 Nov 2021 10AM 8 min

Debt remains a significant risk to SA's economy, despite short-term gains 

Finance minister Enoch Godongwana presented the 25th Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) on Thursday afternoon. Economists, including Investec chief economist Annabel Bishop, paid close attention to what the minister had to say about the country's debt projections. Bishop identifies debt and credit ratings agency downgrades as elements that continue to…

11 Nov 2021 10AM 6 min

FULL ADDRESS | ‘Tough love’ for ailing SOEs as finance minister closes tap

Finance minister Enoch Godongwana has opted to “practise tough love” regarding struggling state-owned enterprises (SOEs), saying their performance will have to drastically improve before receiving any further bailouts from the government.

11 Nov 2021 8AM 50 min

It's never too late to get another Covid-19 jab

The head of the Centre for Vaccines & Immunology at NICD, Dr Melinda Suchard, says there is no maximum time period to get another jab, but as time goes on your antibody levels may decline. SA is vaccinating with the Johnson & Johnson jab, a one-doser, and the Pfizer two-dose…

11 Nov 2021 3AM 2 min

They're not 'blackouts', says Eskom boss Andre de Ruyter

SA's rotational power cuts were not “blackouts”, Eskom boss Andre de Ruyter said on Wednesday. And he was insistent that this was not just a matter of semantics.

10 Nov 2021 9AM 1 min

'I won't resign of my own accord': Eskom boss Andre de Ruyter digs in

Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter said on Tuesday that he was not going to be stepping down, despite growing criticism of ongoing load-shedding across SA. The Black Business Council and the National Union of Mineworkers have been among the most vocal critics calling for De Ruyter to resign. But speaking…

9 Nov 2021 10AM 2 min

The psychology behind loyalist voting

South Africans have been expressing their discontent with the ANC in different ways. Despite being unhappy with how the party does things, for some it is still their preferred choice. Dr Mbali Dhlomo-Sibiya, senior social psychology lecturer at Unisa, explains why people remain attached to political groups despite discontent and…

9 Nov 2021 8AM 4 min