South African - The African Mirror

Mar

2024

Tyla releases debut album after Grammy win

SOUTH African singer-songwriter Tyla releases her self-titled debut album, fresh off her win at the Grammy Awards last month. The 22-year-old found success last year, reaching the top 10 on the U.S. Billboard's Hot 100 chart and top 5 in Britain with amapiano hit "Water", a genre fusing house, jazz and log drums that emerged in South Africa. She describes the 15-track "TYLA", which features collaborations with the likes of U.S. rapper Travis Scott and Nigerian singer Tems, as "a melting pot of all the influences" she had growing up. "Pop, R&B and then obviously amapiano and Afrobeats because that's…

Nov

2023

By BHARGAV ACHARYA

South African ‘Blade Runner’ Pistorius granted parole a decade after killing girlfriend

NEWS

JAILED South African Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius was granted parole after serving nine years for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, and will be released on January 5, authorities said. Known as the "Blade Runner" for his carbon-fibre prosthetic legs, Pistorius went from a public hero as a Paralympic champion to a convicted killer in hearings that caught the world's attention. Pistorius shot and killed Steenkamp on Valentine's Day in 2013. He was initially jailed for five years in 2014 for culpable homicide by a high court. But the Supreme Court of Appeal in late 2015 found him guilty of the…

Nov

2023

By NQOBILE DLUDLA

South Africa’s Mr Price jumps on better than expected profit

BUSINESS

MR PRICE shares jumped 11% after the South African budget fashion retailer posted a smaller-than-expected drop in first-half profit and forecasted an improved performance in the second half, which includes holiday trade. Shares in the group, which also sells homewares and sports clothing and equipment, hit a 9-1/2 month high of 164 rand. Mr Price said its first-half performance was hit by power cuts, a highly promotional retail environment and the impact of double-digit inflation in food and transport on its value-focussed customers. Casparus Treurnicht, portfolio manager at Gryphon Asset Management, said the market had expected far worse news after…

May

2023

By The African Mirror

Winnie and Nelson: new book paints a deeply human portrait of the Mandela marriage and South Africa’s struggle

LITERATURE

A powerful new book on Nelson Mandela and Winnie Madikizela-Mandela has just been published. Winnie and Nelson: Portrait of a Marriage is at once a double biography of South Africa’s two famous liberation leaders and a historical love story about their personal lives. Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years during apartheid and went on to become the country’s first democratic president. For her part, Madikizela-Mandela was persecuted relentlessly by the white minority government as she organised the resistance. After democracy, the couple divorced. Jonny Steinberg, political scientist and award-winning author, answers six questions about his book. Author JONNY STEINBERG, Senior…

Feb

2023

By The African Mirror

Travelling while black: 7 South African travelogues you should read

LITERATURE

TRAVEL writing in Africa is often associated with colonial ventures of the past or white adventure pursuits of today. But Africans themselves have long produced captivating travel texts in oral and written forms. We need to look beyond narrowly western or white accounts as travel writing is produced across the world by an extensive range of writers. Literary ezines (electronic magazines on the internet) dedicated to diverse travel writing are thriving. Author JANET REMMINGTON, Research Associate, Humanities Research Centre (and African Literature Department, University of the Witwatersrand), University of York That said, the cultures and literatures of travel from Africa…

Jan

2023

By The African Mirror

Madosini, a South African national treasure whose music kept a rich history alive

THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

RENOWNED African musician, songwriter and storyteller Latozi “Madosini” Mphahleni passed away late in 2022. The cultural and indigenous music activist, who laughed as often as she played, was loved by everyone she met. She has left behind a rich legacy of Xhosa music, heritage and history. She also taught and nurtured a new generation of bow players, reinvigorating an art that was dying. Author BOUDINA MCCONNACHIE, Ethnomusicology and African Musical Arts lecturer, Rhodes University The iconic South African Xhosa bow performer was born on 25 December 1943 (though she herself was uncertain of the precise date) in a village called…

Apr

2022

By The African Mirror

Early warnings for floods in South Africa: engineering for future climate change

ENVIRONMENT

SEVERE weather, rain and flooding are at the forefront of the minds of many South Africans, especially those in KwaZulu-Natal. Early last week (11-12 April 2022), the province’s coast received heavy rain, with some areas recording over 300mm in 24 hours. This is about a third of the annual rainfall in KwaZulu-Natal. The rain was caused by a strong cut-off low weather system off the east coast of southern Africa. Cut-off lows frequently occur off this coast during the autumn months. These systems can cause localised flooding as well as large wave events. The port city of Durban (in the…

Dec

2021

By The African Mirror

South Africa hit by fourth COVID wave driven by Omicron

COVID-19

WENDELL ROELF SOUTH Africa is being hit by a fourth wave of COVID-19 infections driven by the Omicron variant which has been detected in seven of the country's nine provinces, Health Minister Joe Phaahla said has revealed. Omicron, which has raised global fears of a surge in infections, was first detected in southern Africa last month and has prompted governments across continents to impose travel curbs and take other measures to contain it. Phaahla told a media briefing that he hoped that the variant could be managed without causing too many deaths. He urged South Africans to get fully vaccinated,…

Aug

2021

By The African Mirror

What South Africa needs to do to improve education for disabled children

EDUCATION

IN many countries, including South Africa, there is stark economic inequality between adults with disabilities and those without. One key to reducing these disparities is improving access to education for children with disabilities or difficulties. NICOLA DEGHAYE, PhD candidate in Economics, Stellenbosch University South Africa developed a White Paper on Inclusive Education in 2001, recognising disability as a factor that hinders learning and participation in schools. This policy emphasises that learners with disabilities or difficulties should be provided with the support they need, in their local school, wherever possible. This is in stark contrast to the situation before 2001 where…

Jul

2021

By The African Mirror

The cost of looting in SA: R7 to R10-billion, counting…

BUSINESS

CLAIMS for damage and theft from businesses affected by civil unrest in South Africa are likely to be between R7- billion rand and R10-billion rand, the head of the only insurer covering political violence in the country told Reuters. Days of riots and looting have left more than 70 people dead, hurt thousands of businesses and damaged major infrastructure in some of the worst civil unrest in decades. Triggered by the jailing of ex-president Jacob Zuma last week after he failed to appear at a corruption inquiry, it has widened into an outpouring of anger over poverty and inequality. Sasria,…