The agency was established on 1 July 1938[1] by major South African newspapers to facilitate the sharing of news.
Reuters ended this partnership in 1995, when it began expanding its own Southern African activities in competition with SAPA.
[4] During the apartheid era, the agency was criticised by the ruling National Party for inadequate reporting of the government's viewpoint and Afrikaner culture.
[2] Its primary area of distribution was in South Africa, although it did have clients abroad as well as exchange agreements with other major news agencies.
Three companies – Gallo Images, KMM Review Publishers, and Sekunjalo Investments Holdings – expressed an interest in setting up an operation on similar lines as the agency, which is a special category of non-profit that may not be sold.