TimesLIVE - In The News

BUDGET 2020 | "It is a slap in the face" - Cosatu

President Cyril Ramaphosa's administration is headed for a bitter battle with public sector unions after finance minister Tito Mboweni announced plans to reduce the civil service wage bill by R160bn in the next three years. Tabling his budget for the 2020/2021 financial year in parliament on Wednesday, Mboweni stunned the…

26 Feb 2020 9AM 3 min

Budget in a nutshell: will government stick to its guns?

A huge cut in the public-sector wage bill, setting the ANC government up for a mighty fight with its union allies, is the standout item in finance minister Tito Mboweni’s budget. Ratings agencies might be less impressed with the budget deficit and deficit numbers. In what it described as “a…

26 Feb 2020 9AM 2 min

Tax increases will make transport even more expensive

Tax increases and higher costs of living — what we can expect from the budget speech 2020. According the Stats SA the annual consumer price inflation was 4.5% for the month of January 2020, up from 4.0% in December 2019.Of that 4.5%, transport contributed 0.9% with an overall increase of…

26 Feb 2020 5AM 3 min

BUDGET ANALYSIS: Where will we get the money?

Taxing independent churches and calling for a referendum to let the public decide on whether our perennially cash-strapped state-owned companies should be bailed out. Judging by the ideas posted on his Twitter feed, one could hardly be blamed for saying finance minister Tito Mboweni is willing to try just about…

24 Feb 2020 5AM 11 min

Wits education students disrupt work at aid office over NSFAS allowances

Students from the University of the Witwatersrand disrupted work at the financial aid and scholarships office on Friday, wanting to know why their allowances from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) had not been paid. The group of about 80 students gathered at the education campus bus stop about…

21 Feb 2020 10AM 2 min

Pain medicine with codeine could soon be available only on prescription

The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA) is reviewing the status of pain medication, after concerns regarding the growing non-medical use of codeine-containing medication. The outcome of the review could result in specific pain medication containing codeine being available only to consumers who have a health professional's prescription. Popular…

21 Feb 2020 3AM 5 min

Formerly hijacked building turned into student accommodation : a 'beacon of hope'

What was once a crime ridden, hijacked building has now been refurbished and turned into a luxurious student accommodation. Focus 1 student accommodation located at the heart of the Johannesburg inner city was launched on Thursday.  The building formerly known as ‘Cape York’ has in the past made headlines for…

20 Feb 2020 10PM 1 min

Blind, brain damaged: this is SA’s malpractice nightmare

Tebogo Machete waited nearly 12 hours at Mamelodi Hospital in Pretoria for help when she was giving birth to her son. She ended up in ICU after being told the baby was battling to breathe. Today her son, who suffered brain damage when he was born, is 11 years old…

20 Feb 2020 10PM 5 min

The EFF wants De Klerk's Nobel Peace Prize revoked

Former apartheid president FW de Klerk's name remains at the top of the Twitter trends list as thousands express their opinions about his controversial statement, in which he said apartheid was not a crime against humanity. The EFF has undertaken to spearhead a social movement to have former president FW…

18 Feb 2020 6AM 2 min

Leaked audio exposes move to oust JMPD chief

"Show your muscle and suspend [David] Tembe today." These are the stern orders Johannesburg MMC for public safety Mally Mokoena gave to her head of department, William Mazibuko, instructing him to immediately place Johannesburg Metro Police Department [JMPD] chief David Tembe on suspension last month in a damning audio clip…

17 Feb 2020 7AM 4 min

Sex sells on Valentine's Day

With love and lust in the air this Valentine's Day, Sylvia, manager of Boudoir Boutique gives us a sneak peak on what products have proven very popular in her adult toy store this Valentine's Day. 

14 Feb 2020 8AM 3 min

'Many protests are going to follow after Sona' - EFF

After causing a90-minute delay at this year's state of the nation address (Sona), EFF national spokesperson Vuyani Pambo told TimesLIVE the party has planned several marches in the months to follow. In a much contested move, the EFF disrupted Thursday night's sona proceedings calling for president Ramaphosa to fire minister…

14 Feb 2020 1AM 3 min

Sona 2020 in a nutshell

Catch up on everything you need to know about the state of the nation address in under 5 minutes.

13 Feb 2020 3PM 5 min

"There is a murderer in the house" - EFF disrupts Sona 2020

The EFF disrupted the proceedings at the opening of parliament on Thursday by objecting to the presence of apartheid's last president, FW de Klerk. Julius Malema stood up before National Assembly speaker Thandi Modise called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to deliver the state of the nation address and said it…

13 Feb 2020 12PM 1 min

321 students will be admitted at Wits after 12-hour SRC sit-in

Wits University and its student representative council (SRC) have agreed to help disenfranchised students in a "one-off" deal reached after a marathon sit-in at at the main campus on Monday. Since the start of the year, around 321 students have not been able to register due to historical debt, academic…

11 Feb 2020 6AM 3 min

About 60 more novel coronavirus cases on Japan cruise ship

About 60 more people on board the quarantined Diamond Princess cruise ship moored off Japan have been diagnosed with novel coronavirus, national broadcaster NHK said on Monday. Other local media also reported that about 60 more cases had been confirmed, raising the number of infected passengers and crew to about…

11 Feb 2020 1AM 3 min

WHO briefs us on what is known about the coronavirus

On 30 January, the Director-General of the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the outbreak of novel coronavirus a Public Health Emergency of International Concern. To date the global death toll has risen 426 and confirmed global cases have reached 19 000 as of the 3 February. WHO manager of emergency response in Africa,…

4 Feb 2020 1AM 4 min

The song of humpback whales off of the coast of Cape Town

Cape Town has long been a famous stopover for lonely seafarers – a last chance of nightlife before crossing the sea. Now scientists have shown the same is true underwater, where visiting humpback whales spend up to 17hrs a day singing to each other, sometimes together, in sing-a-longs that can…

1 Feb 2020 9PM 13 min

Neil Aggett's bravery under torture cited by Nkosinathi Biko

It is heartless to take someone’s life and then deprive them of the right to say “I fought 'til the end”, says the son of Steve Biko on the fresh inquest into the death of Neil Aggett. Both anti-apartheid activists, Biko and Aggett, died in police detention without trial. Nkosinathi…

21 Jan 2020 3AM 2 min

Thuma Mina was meant for Jacob Zuma

As president Cyril Ramaphosa enters his third year as ANC president, the slogan of his presidency, 'thuma mina’, is fading. The invoking of music legend Hugh Masekela’s song Thuma Mina no longer carries the same level of optimism and euphoria it once did. Sunday Times journalist Qaanitah Hunter tracks the…

10 Jan 2020 7AM 14 min