On 21 March 1960, 69 people died and 180 were wounded when police fired on a peaceful crowd that had gathered in Sharpeville to protest against the pass laws (stipulations that required black Africans to carry pass books [dompas] and produce them to law enforcement officials on request). This day became an iconic date in   read more »

Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) aims to bring more easy to understand statistics to the people of South Africa in 2017 and beyond. This was shown through the commitment by Stats SA to host the first ever United Nations World Data Forum. The forum was held on 15 to 18 January 2017 at the International   read more »

Severe thunderstorms resulting in heavy rainfall and flash flooding have hit parts of Gauteng since 9 November 2016. According to South African Weather Services (SAWS), areas that were mostly affected were the City of Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni Metropolitan municipalities. The flash flooding (a sudden flood in a low-lying area commonly caused by periods of heavy   read more »

Many thought that the year 2015 would go down in history as a year second only to 1976 in the way that students took to the streets in a stand against something they did not agree with (through the Fees Must Fall movement). However, in September 2016, a resurgence of the movement was ushered in.   read more »

Drought still continues to be a challenge for most parts of the country and it might take time to recover due to lack of rainfall. According to the inter-ministerial task team on drought, dams across the country were at their lowest levels in years. In 2015, the national dam levels were estimated at 64,3% of   read more »

The right to vote is one of the most basic and fundamental rights in a democracy. It is also a basic privilege in which citizens exercise their right to choose those who must govern and represent them. On the 3rd of August 2016, the country participated in the 2nd local government elections, whereby South Africans   read more »

The Statistician-General, Pali Lehohla and Minister Jeff Radebe, Minister in the Presidency: Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, released the results of the Community Survey (CS) 2016 on 30 June 2016. The survey reflects the progress that the country has made 20 years since Census 1996 in terms of educational attainment, service delivery, poverty reduction and access   read more »

As we know, June is Youth Month in commemoration of the positive role played by young people of 1976 in demanding their rights as equal citizens of this country. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the June 16 uprising where hundreds of young people were killed by the apartheid government when they protested against   read more »

Protests and violence continue to rage through South African universities. In the Vaal University of Technology (VUT), Vanderbijlpark Campus, students clashed with police and set alight university property. The protesting students are calling for the removal of the security company currently contracted by the University. Meanwhile, in Rhodes University, female students took to the streets   read more »

On 6 April 2016, the South African President Jacob Zuma proclaimed that the local government elections will be held on 3 August 2016. This is the fourth local government elections since the country’s first free and fair non-racial general elections held on 27 April 1994. Local government elections are held to elect members of the   read more »