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South African Revenue ServiceIn the news
Imported goods are subject to customs duties and a 15% VAT rate based on their value, which must be paid to Sars. (Oupa Nkosi)
ECONOMY

Sars can collect even more if mining gets support, cash businesses are brought into tax net

Former SARS tax chief Jonas Makwakwa outlines how South Africa can significantly boost revenue by revitalising the gold mining sector and bringing the vast cash economy into the…

  • Jonas Makwakwa
8 min read
Why is South Africa struggling to stop the sellers of illegal weight-loss injections — and how can consumers tell whether the medicines they're buying are safe? (Pavel Danilyuk / Pexels)
PUBLIC HEALTH

Black market weight-loss drug sellers are moving fast. SA’s regulators are struggling to keep up

As the demand for weight-loss injections surges, compounded copycats and unlicensed drugs like retatrutide are flooding South Africa's market. Regulators are racing to introduce…

  • Linda Nordling
7 min read
Drugs: Pharmaceutical Task Group has called for seizures, arrests and prosecutions,to deter sellers and protect confidence in the country’s medicines regulatory system.
PUBLIC HEALTH

Crackdown on illegal weight loss drugs

Pharmaceutical industry leaders and South African regulators have demanded urgent crackdowns, seizures, and arrests to curb the dangerous open sale of unregistered weight loss…

  • Hasina Kathrada
3 min read
Rule of law: Xenophobia in South Africa will undermine the country’s Africa trade expansion strategy.
MIGRATION

Managing Migration Together: Making South Africa’s Five-Point Plan Work Through Regional and International Cooperation

South Africa faces rising anti-migrant tensions alongside complex border governance challenges. Making the 2026 Five-Point Plan successful requires moving beyond diplomatic talk…

  • Charity Mawire
10 min read
Perfect example: Minister of Electricity and Energy Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa at Eskom Rotek Industries as part of the national energy crisis committee's. Necom is the model to copy, having successfully ended load-shedding. Photo: Department of electricity and energy
SOUTH AFRICA

Building a state beside a state

As presidential committees multiply and citizens take public services into their own hands, parallel structures risk bypassing South Africa's core governance systems instead of…

  • Sbusiso Gwala
5 min read
Threat: The local sugar industry estimates it has lost about R1.5 billion as a result of subsidised sugar imports. Photo: Supplied
AGRICULTURE

Sugar sector feels the squeeze

Rising sugar imports from countries like Brazil and India are threatening thousands of local jobs, sparking urgent calls from industry and labour for the government to fast-track…

  • Brian Sokutu
6 min read
MOTORING

Vehicle sales surge but buyers hit the brakes on vehicles beyond R500K

As soaring vehicle prices alienate everyday buyers, South Africa's automotive market is splitting at the R500 000 mark, fuelling a surge in used cars, Asian value brands, and…

  • Eyaaz Matwadia
8 min read
NSFAS has been placed under administration amid governance and audit failures, with professor Hlengani Mathebula appointed to stabilise student funding operations .
HIGHER EDUCATION

NSFAS faces fresh uncertainty after court suspends administrator

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) faces renewed uncertainty after the Pretoria High Court suspended administrator Professor Hlengani Mathebula and restored the…

  • Amahle Banda
6 min read
KZN

Distraught businessman guns for KZN DPP alleging targeted prosecution

Advocate Elaine Harrison, the KwaZulu-Natal director of Public Prosecutions is in the firing line. Harrison is accused by one Visham Panday, a Durban businessman, of using…

3 min read
Roadblock: Cheap sugar imports, mainly from India, Guatemala, Brazil and Thailand, are killing the struggling industry. Photo: Delwyn Versamy
SUGAR INDUSTRY

R1.5bn lost to cheap sugar imports

South Africa's sugar industry has lost an estimated R1.5 billion due to a surge in cheap sugar imports, primarily from India, Guatemala, Brazil, and Thailand. Despite a recent…

  • Sandile Motha
6 min read