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Rienk Kuipers

Rienk Kuipers

Johannesburg, South Africa

I’m Rienk, a reporter and writer at nownownews, working to reshape how news is told and consumed in South Africa. I see journalism as a way to build connection: making information accessible, relevant, and real for the audience we serve.

Eskom Records 231 Consecutive Load-Shedding-Free Days in 2025, Ending Year Without Interruptions

JOHANNESBURG, 2 January 2026. South Africa's state electricity utility Eskom ended 2025 having recorded 231 consecutive days without implementing load shedding, its longest uninterrupted supply run since 2018, after completing the calendar year with only 26 hours of rotational power cuts, all...

Ramaphosa Cites Rating Upgrade and Eskom Turnaround in New Year Message, Acknowledges Unemployment Burden

PRETORIA, 31 December 2025. President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered his annual New Year message on Wednesday, citing South Africa's first sovereign credit rating upgrade in nearly two decades, the elimination of load shedding for most of 2025, and improvements in rail and port operations as...

South Africa Ends 2025 With First Rating Upgrade in Two Decades and Over 200 Days Without Load Shedding

JOHANNESBURG, 26 December 2025. South Africa is closing 2025 having recorded its first sovereign credit rating upgrade in approximately 20 years and more than 200 consecutive days without electricity load shedding, marking a turnaround in two of the country's most intractable economic...

South Africa's Courts Reshaped Labour, Social Rights and Policing in 2025

JOHANNESBURG, 24 December 2025. South Africa's Constitutional Court and High Courts issued a series of judgments in 2025 that reshaped parental leave entitlements, extended constitutional protection to social grant applicants, and placed new limitations on vigilante policing activity, according...

South Africa's November Inflation Eases to 3.5%, Remaining Within Reserve Bank's New Target Band

PRETORIA, 17 December 2025. South Africa's consumer price index rose by 3.5% year on year in November 2025, down from 3.6% in October, according to data released by Statistics South Africa on Wednesday, maintaining inflation within the South African Reserve Bank's new point target of 3% plus or...

KZN Premier Ntuli Survives MK Party No-Confidence Vote as Legislature Descends into Chaos

PIETERMARITZBURG, 15 December 2025. KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thami Ntuli survived a motion of no confidence brought by the uMkhonto weSizwe Party on Monday, with the motion failing by a margin of 40 votes to 39 in the 80-seat legislature, in a session that descended into physical confrontation and...

IMF Sees South Africa Growth Picking Up to 1.3% in 2025 But Warns on Rising Public Debt

WASHINGTON / PRETORIA, 8 December 2025. An International Monetary Fund staff team has estimated South Africa's real GDP growth at 1.3% for 2025, supported by stronger private consumption, and projects growth accelerating to 1.4% in 2026 and reaching 1.8% over the medium term, but warned that...