Copyright © Daily Dive SA
South Africa’s unemployment rate slightly drops to 31.9%, with 17.1 million employed and 8.0 million unemployed in Q4 2024. The labor force increased by 112,000. Discouraged work-seekers rose by 111,000.
Gayton threatens legal action against Ntsiki over allegations made on Facebook. Ntsiki stands by her claims and refuses to back down.
Heavy rains and flooding in Gauteng led to 19 accidents on Monday and a fatal crash on Tuesday. The SA Weather Service issued a Level 5 warning until Friday, advising against crossing rivers and swollen streams. Drivers were cautioned to avoid low-lying bridges due to wet roads and reduced visibility. JMPD officers assisted with localised flooding along Main Road between Lonehill and Midrand.
Elon Musk’s xAI debuts upgraded Grok-3 model, challenging OpenAI after failed bid. Grok-3 surpasses GPT-4o, Google Gemini, DeepSeek’s V3, and Anthropic’s Claude in benchmarks. Musk claims 10x more compute power, completed pre-training in January. Bitter rivalry with OpenAI escalates as Musk criticizes its for-profit plans. Musk, richest person, offered $97.4 billion for OpenAI’s nonprofit arm, facing rejection.
Zanzou nightclub in Hatfield faces backlash as videos surface of bouncers assaulting young men. Political parties and students protest outside, blocking truck collecting stock and equipment. MK Party’s student movement prevents truck from entering premises. Calls for owner’s arrest.
The extension of the 2025 SASSA Gold card swap has caused chaos for elderly and disabled grant recipients. Postbank’s sudden announcement of a deadline created panic, with many unprepared for the switch. Approximately 30% of SASSA recipients still use the expiring cards, prompting a new deadline of March 20, 2025, which is deemed insufficient by many.
ANC’s NWC appoints Jeff Radebe as KZN convener and Amos Masondo to lead Gauteng, with Panyaza Lesufi. Mike Mabuyakhulu, Jeff Radebe, Amos Masondo, and Hope Papo tasked with restructuring provincial structures in KZN and Gauteng after poor election results. Mabuyakhulu to coordinate KZN, Papo to coordinate Gauteng. Changes won’t affect government deployments.
South African drivers experience delays in obtaining ‘smart’ driving licences due to stalled procurement of new printing machines. Department of Transport faces challenges in issuing new driving licence cards, with a conclusion expected in 2024 but delayed by an investigative process. Auditor General’s findings to be released soon, potentially leading to further delays and possible litigation.
Dr. Sandile Buthelezi, the department’s director-general, issued a circular outlining a contingency plan in response to the temporary suspension of support from Pepfar. The plan includes a six-month antiretroviral therapy dispensation for eligible patients, reducing clinic visits to twice a year. This move, long advocated by health activists, aims to alleviate the burden on health facilities.
Starlink, a satellite Internet service by SpaceX, offers global mobile broadband but faces local blockage in South Africa due to insufficient black ownership. The technology is ideal for rural areas, with easy setup and unlimited high-speed data on land. Users simply plug in and point the terminal to the sky for automatic connection.
