The Witness (South Africa)
Businesses warn of surge in unemployed graduates in KZN
With youth unemployment having reached crisis proportions, KwaZulu-Natal Treasury MEC Francois Rodgers has pledged that funds earmarked for stimulating economic growth and job creation in the provincial budget will be used strictly for their intended...
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Diplomatic spat eases as SA and USA reset relations
The Department of International Relations and Co-operation (Dirco) and Leo Brent Bozell III, the new United States ambassador to South Africa, have ironed out differences over remarks made by the ambassador during a recent media engagement. During the...
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R168 bln KZN budget aims to boost jobs, rebuild confidence
KwaZulu-Natal’s finances are showing signs of recovery, with Treasury MEC Francois Rodgers (pictured) yesterday presenting a R168,2 billion provincial budget that the government says will support job creation, attract investment and strengthen service...
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Fuel shock warning as oil prices surge
South Africans could pay up to R4 more for a litre of fuel next month if the conflict in the Middle East does not cease soon, experts warn, as oil prices rocketed above $100 (R1 666,72) a barrel for the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in...
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R8,5 billion mining boost for KwaZulu-Natal economy
A R8,5 billion investment into KwaZulu-Natal’s mining sector is back on track after Richards Bay Minerals (RBM) lifted the suspension on its long-delayed Zulti South project. The project, halted six years ago due to escalating violence and instability...
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Father waves to son moments before fatal taxi accident
A father and his taxi driver son shared a brief greeting as they passed each other on Mbubu Road in Sweetwaters. Minutes later, the father arrived home to the devastating news that his son had died in an accident. “I didn’t know that was his last...
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Cloud of grief over Woodlands after double family murder
A dark cloud of grief has settled over the Woodlands community in Pietermaritzburg following the brutal murder of a 15-year-old pupil and her mother at their flat on Tuesday evening. The mother was stabbed multiple times and died shortly after...
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Ramaphosa orders intervention to stop Tongaat Hulett liquidation
President Cyril Ramaphosa has directed the national government to intervene to prevent the liquidation of Tongaat Hulett, with about R16 billion set to be mobilised in a bid to protect jobs and stabilise KwaZulu-Natal’s embattled sugar...
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Middle East war drives oil shock and fuels inflation fears for SA
A widening Middle East conflict that has struck key oil and gas infrastructure and disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is sending shockwaves through global energy markets, pushing up fuel costs and raising fresh inflation risks for South...
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South Africans grounded as Middle East skies shut down
Thousands of South Africans have been affected by the Middle East conflict, with flights cancelled, holidays disrupted and travellers stranded in the Gulf and parts of Europe. Airports across the region, including Dubai, Bahrain, Doha and Riyadh, were...
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‘The Witness’ celebrates 180th anniversary with bold step into AI and global media alliances
• • Today, as turns 180, South Africa’s oldest daily newspaper has marked the milestone with a series of major announcements centred on global partnerships, digital expansion and artificial intelligence. Founded in 1846 in Pietermaritzburg, the...
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Mixed reaction to 2026 budget
There was a mixed reaction to the 2026 budget tabled by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana in Parliament yesterday, with business welcoming the speech while the youth decried the fact that it lacked tangible plans to create jobs. Youth employment and...
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15% of Grade 3 pupils can’t read a single word
About 15% of Grade 3 pupils in South Africa cannot read a single word after three years of schooling, while only 30% of pupils in Grades 1 to 3 are meeting their grade-level reading benchmarks in their home language. The stark figures, released by the...
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Samwu, MK Party dismiss sabotage allegations by Msunduzi leaders
MK Party has rejected allegations that it is behind suspected sabotage and targeted attacks on infrastructure at the Msunduzi Local Municipality, saying there is no proof linking the party to the incidents. The response follows accusations by the...
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Government lifeline offers hope for embattled Tongaat
Government has moved to avert the collapse of Tongaat Hulett, with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTIC) pledging to oppose the company’s provisional liquidation and intensify efforts to secure a rescue plan for the embattled sugar...
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Grandmother’s body taken to bank in funeral policy row
Two women who carried the body of their grandmother into a Capitec Bank branch appeared in the KwaDukuza Magistrate’s Court yesterday following the incident that left customers and staff traumatised and forced the temporary closure of the branch. The...
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Dispute over surveillance cameras in vehicles cripples Msunduzi services
A labour dispute over surveillance cameras fitted in municipal vehicles brought service delivery in Msunduzi to a standstill this week, with water and electricity response teams withdrawing their services and leaving residents in several areas without...
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Preacher who identified her alleged abductors shot dead
A Hammarsdale Methodist preacher who survived a kidnapping and went on to identify her alleged abductors has been gunned down in what her family fears was a targeted killing linked to the same case. The brazen murder has left relatives too terrified...
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Police launch probe after fake Facebook Thornville land sale
Police are investigating a case of fraud after land earmarked for a major mixed-use business and housing development near Thornville, Pietermaritzburg, was allegedly advertised for sale on social media without the consent of the registered owner. The...
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KZN economy braces as Tongaat Hulett faces provisional liquidation
KwaZulu-Natal’s economy could face one of its most severe shocks in decades if sugar giant Tongaat Hulett collapses, with government and business leaders warning that thousands of jobs and an entire agricultural value chain are at risk. Last Thursday,...
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‘SA IS STRONGER THAN A YEAR AGO’
President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday cited the strengthening of the rand against the dollar, last year’s highest matric pass rate in history, and the country’s removal from the grey list as some of the key indicators showing that the country is making...
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Businesses say tariff hikes don’t match service delivery
The business community in Pietermaritzburg has called for urgent improvements in service delivery, calling on Msunduzi Municipality to ensure that proposed tariff increases are aligned with the quality of services rendered. The concerns were raised...
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‘Businesses will not be bullied’
The Pietermaritzburg and Midlands Chamber of Business (PMCB) has warned that local businesses “will not be bullied” and must stand united in response to recent protest action by the Labour and Civic Organisation (Laco), which it says has disrupted...
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Debate coach arrested after pupils abandoned at airport
The debate coach who abandoned five pupils at OR Tambo International Airport without flight tickets for their planned trip to Turkey has been arrested. Lindokuhle Ngobese (27) was arrested last week by Phoenix SAPS after one of the parents opened a...
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Howick Falls revival drive aims to boost Midlands economy
A major tourism and investment drive is under way in uMngeni Municipality, with new development tenders marking the economic revival of the Howick Falls precinct and a push to restore the landmark as a tourism hub for the Midlands. After years of...
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Young mechanic’s future on hold as Grey’s Hospital surgery delayed
Delays in surgery at Grey’s Hospital, caused by the broken air-conditioning system, are leaving patients waiting in pain, with some facing the risk of permanent health complications as operations are repeatedly postponed. Among them is 21-year-old...
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Businessman challenges subpoena, commission calls the move ‘abuse’
The Johannesburg High Court has reserved judgment in an urgent application by North West businessman and ANC member Suleiman Carrim to stop the Madlanga Commission from compelling him to testify. Carrim has been implicated at the commission by...
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R300 million foot-and-mouth disease vaccination plan for KZN
A high-level emergency coalition of agricultural stakeholders met in Pietermaritzburg last night to discuss the urgent roll-out of a vaccine to fight the dreaded foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). Talks are also under way with the provincial government...
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Drama as controversial KZN Hawks head vacates his office
A dramatic standoff between KwaZulu-Natal’s top law-enforcement figures erupted at provincial police headquarters in Durban at the weekend, with rival claims flying over whether Hawks boss Major-General Lesetja Senona (pictured) was forced out of his...
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Ramaphosa orders task team to probe officials implicated in Madlanga report
President Cyril Ramaphosa has directed Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia to establish a task team to investigate individuals implicated in the Madlanga Commission of Inquiry’s interim report. In its interim report handed to Ramaphosa, the...
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Business sector seeks police meeting following Laco protests
Businesses in Pietermaritzburg have pushed back after their operations were severely affected this week when the Labour and Civic Organisation (Laco) stormed their properties and threatened several others. Daymed Private Hospital, according to its...
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Debate coach admits gambling away pupils’ Turkey tour funds
The debate coach at the centre of a scandal that left five pupils from Pietermaritzburg and Durban schools stranded at OR Tambo International Airport has admitted that he gambled with parents’ money in market trading, hoping to grow the funds to save a...
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Local debate pupils left stranded in airport after coach flees with money
What should have been the highlight of five young debaters’ school careers ended in shock and tears after they were abandoned at OR Tambo International Airport and scammed out of nearly R178 000 by their coach, who promised to take them to an...
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Pupils laid to rest as government faces pressure over learner transport safety
Grief and loss hung heavy in Johannesburg's Sebokeng township, as three of the 14 victims of last week's tragic scholar transport crash in Vanderbijlpark were laid to rest yesterday. The three small coffins, belonging to Thato Moetji, Ofentse Vinger...
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Royal Show to go ahead as farmers urged to stand together amid FMD crisis
As the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) outbreak continues to place farming communities in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands under strain, there is a growing call for unity and mutual support across the sector. It is against this backdrop that the Royal...
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ConCourt ruling tightens marriage property rules under customary law
U.S. President Donald Trump ruled out using force to take Greenland for the first time as he addressed world leaders in Davos yesterday, but demanded “immediate negotiations” to acquire the island from Denmark. Trump’s quest to take control of...
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KwaSizabantu Mission embroiled in yet another sexual abuse scandal
Dairy farmers in the Midlands say they have been instructed to shut down a foot-andmouth disease (FMD) disinfection point in Karkloof Road, outside Howick, due to a lack of authorisation. The farmers set up the disinfection point in response to the...
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High court confirms eviction of grieving parents from son’s home
Two elderly parents who moved into their late son’s home in Phoenix at his invitation must vacate the property by the end of July following a KwaZulu-Natal High Court ruling — even though the judge criticised their daughter-in-law’s conduct as...
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High court forces tariff rethink for Msunduzi and three metros
Msunduzi Municipality’s electricity tariffs for the 2024/25 financial year will have to be recalculated after the Gauteng High Court ordered the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) to redo tariff determinations for four municipalities by...
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KZN’s top pupil Ethan Naicker shines as six districts place in national top 10
Despite grappling with personal challenges and periods of self-doubt, Port Shepstone Secondary School pupil Ethan Naicker rose to become KwaZulu-Natal’s top achiever in the 2025 National Senior Certificate examinations, reinforcing the province’s...
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Farmers demand access to vaccines as foot-and-mouth disease devastates KZN
KwaZulu-Natal farmers and agricultural organisations are escalating pressure on the state over the uncontrolled spread of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), warning that vaccine shortages and bureaucratic delays have left the province on the brink. With...
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NFP withdrawal raises risk of government deadlock in KZN
The stability of KwaZulu-Natal’s government of provincial unity (GPU) has once again been thrown into doubt following the National Freedom Party’s (NFP) announcement that it is withdrawing from the governing arrangement. The move has exposed deepening...
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Experts challenge Pietermaritzburg’s ‘most dangerous city in the world’ label
Pietermaritzburg has been thrust into the global spotlight after a crowdsourced survey ranked it the “most dangerous city in the world”. Local experts, however, say the finding paints a misleading picture of a city that is far safer than the figures...
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Newcastle MM survives second hit attempt
A senior Newcastle municipal manager has survived a second hit on him in just over six months, at the same spot near the entrance to a gated residential area in the town. Senior executive director for corporate services, Dr Prince Dumisani Thabethe,...
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Police launch hunt following brutal assault on woman in tavern
What should have been a period of celebration turned into horror for a woman who was brutally assaulted at a tavern in Pietermaritzburg during the festive season. The incident, which occurred at a tavern in Imbali on December 28, has sparked widespread...
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KZN hospitality industry poised for major growth
Despite disruptions caused by recent floods that battered parts of KwaZulu-Natal’s coastal towns of Margate and Port Shepstone, the province’s hospitality industry is on course to rake in hundreds of millions of rands over the festive period. The...
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KZN agriculture sector in shock after brutal murder of Afasa chair
Grief has gripped a Sweetwaters family and sent shockwaves through KwaZulu-Natal’s farming community following the brutal killing of respected businessman and farmer Mbongeni Skhakhane. The 50-year-old was shot dead in his bedroom last Friday night,...
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Missing UKZN student’s body found buried in shallow grave
The Mchunu family in Ladysmith will spend Christmas in mourning following the brutal murder of their daughter, Simpiwe Mchunu, a University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) student whose body was recovered from a shallow grave by police on Monday. Mchunu (23)...
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Farmers urge Ramaphosa to intervene as FMD crisis deepens
A Midlands agriculturist, concerned about the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) crisis, has appealed to President Cyril Ramaphosa to intervene and help not only stressed farmers and their suffering animals, but also protect food security and jobs. “We must...
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Howick woman can finally plan her wedding after identity ordeal
For years, a Howick woman lived in limbo — officially invisible, unable to access basic services and forced to put her future on hold after her identity document was stolen and used by someone else. Her dream of getting married was also...
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MPs party into the early hours, leave restaurant bill unpaid
Members of Parliament’s Correctional Services portfolio committee ran up a hefty R31 433 bill (pictured) during what amounted to a late-night booze-fuelled gathering at a high-end uMhlanga restaurant, where top-shelf whisky, cognac and tequila flowed...
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No-confidence motion fails, but MK Party signals legal challenge ahead
KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli survived an MK Party motion of no confidence yesterday, after a chaotic sitting of the KZN Legislature in which the motion was ultimately defeated. The MK Party, which tabled the motion and holds 37 of the...
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Tourism surge to inject more than R13 bln into KZN economy
KwaZulu-Natal is heading for a bumper festive season, with tourism authorities reporting a strong surge in visitor numbers as the province enters its peak holiday period. The influx of visitors is expected to reach the million mark over the festive...
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Probe widens as leaked matric papers reach far more pupils
Evidence is mounting that the National Senior Certificate exam leak could extend far beyond the small cluster of Pretoria schools first identified, after investigators found the breach was more extensive than initially believed. Education Minister...
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