First Take SA

The Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Scopa, has given President Cyril Ramaphosa seven days to explain what he knows about the abuse of state funds for party-political campaigns. This follows a letter by ANC MP Mervyn Dirks that the committee summons the President to appear before it to explain leaked remarks where he apparently admits to knowing about such abuse of state funds. The committee...

In an address on state television, mutinous soldiers in Burkina Faso say they have dissolved the government and suspended the constitution. SABC International News Desk journalist, Khayelihle Khumalo tells us more about what is going on in that country

Time to take a look at the current top African economic stories with Victor Kgomoesoana, author of  "Africa Is Open For Business" and "Africa Bounces Back".

The ANC and its alliance partners have once again strongly stated their support for the country's Constitution and the judiciary. This follows tit-for-tat statements between the Minister of Toursim, Lindiwe Sisulu and the Presidency over an opinion piece she penned earlier this month entitled 'Hi Mzansi have we seen justice?'. COSATU has warned that ANC NEC resolutions may become another talk show...

Working on Fire personnel have been battling raging fires in the three provinces of the Western Cape, the Northern Cape, and the Eastern Cape. The veld fires have been caused by heatwave conditions which gripped the western parts of the country over the weekend. More than 50 firefighters including three aerial resources had to be dispatched in attempts to contain the fires. One of the notable fire...

Veteran actor Jet Novuka has described the passing of fellow actor Patrick Shai as a great loss for the South African Film industry. Shai passed on at the weekend and his family has asked for privacy at this time as details surrounding his passing remain sketchy. Reports have alleged that the colorful actor may have allegedly committed suicide. Novuka, best known for his character of Zakes in SABC...

The Basic Education Department says challenges faced during the 2021 academic year were exacerbated by the impact of the covid-19 pandemic, including stop- start schooling, switching to virtual learning and attending classes on rotational basis. Presenting a technical report of the class of 2021 at the SABC's Auckland Park studios, Department DG Mathanzima Mweli said despite these challenges, many...

ANC Chief Whip Pemmy Majodina has suspended party MP Mervyn Dirks who wanted President Cyril Ramaphosa to account to parliament's watchdog body on public accounts - SCOPA. Majodina also stripped Dirks of all powers as an MP and gagged him from speaking to the media on the matter. This, after Dirks refused Majodina's order to withdraw his letter to SCOPA asking for the committee to summon Ramaphosa...

Time to take a look at the current top African economic stories with Victor Kgomoesoana, author of  "Africa Is Open For Business" and "Africa Bounces Back"..

Gauteng police are appealing for anyone with information to come forward after five men were gunned down and their bodies found in Freedom Park next to the Golden Highway near Eldorado Park in Johannesburg. Mystery shrouds the killings and police say reports that the men may have been killed due to gang-related retaliation, which cannot be confirmed at this point. The exact motive at this stage is...

There are fears of an escalation of taxi violence in the Western Cape after the body of one of its top taxi leaders was discovered at Monwabisi Beach on Monday. Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations (CODETA) secretary and deputy chairperson of the SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) Western Cape, Mzoxolo Dibela's body was found dumped at the beach with gunshot wounds to his head. Dibela was murd...

The EFF is expected to march to the offices of Minister of sport, Nathi Mthethwa as they intensify their call for the immediate re-opening of sporting facilities in the country. This comes as the country has enjoyed more relaxed Covid-19 restrictions in recent months; with the curfew being scrapped and more recreational facilities being opened to the public. The EFF says it will go ahead with the...

The class of 2021 has been commended for producing outstanding results in a tough learning environment. The Independent Examinations Board achieved a 98.39% pass rate, slightly higher than last year's 98.06%. Education expert, Professor Mary Metcalfe helps us to understand the results

The class of 2021 has achieved a 98.39% pass rate in the Independent Examinations Board. Results were released at midnight last night (Tuesday 18th) Which is slightly higher than last year's pass rate of 98.06%. The IEB has commended the class of 2021 for producing outstanding results in a tough learning environment. One of the year's top achievers, Christiaan Botes from Helpmekaar Kollege in Joha...

Controversial consultancy firm, Bain and Company, yesterday announced its withdrawal from Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA). The US firm has been linked to allegations of corruption related to work it did for the South African Revenue Service (Sars), pocketing millions of rands in what was subsequently declared as illegal in the State Capture Commission of Inquiry Report. The company has als...

ANC employees have vowed to continue their stay away until the party's leadership addresses the issue of unpaid salaries. Workers say while some have not been paid since last November, others have not been paid since August. The group met with ANC officials last Friday where it was resolved that their salaries would be paid on Saturday but that hasn't happened. A follow-up meeting with the ANC tre...

The Congress of South African Students (COSAS) says it stands by the decision by the Basic Education Department not to publish matric results, in line with the Protection of Personal Information Act. This comes as a court challenge by lobby group AfriForum against the decision will be heard in court TODAY. While AfriForum and the department battle it out in court, COSAS says the only people who be...

Workers in parliament are expected to report for duty today after they refused to work on Monday citing safety concerns. Yesterday staff members gathered outside Parliament's gates, demanding that the management guarantee their safety when working in some of the buildings gutted by fire 2 weeks ago. The National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU) in Parliament plans to conduct its...

Unit 2 of the Koeberg Nuclear power station will be offline for five months as it undergoes regular refuelling and maintenance. This will be the 25th refuelling outage on Unit 2 since it was commissioned.  The planned outage, to last until June, has hightened fears of power outages and safety at the nuclear power plant. Energy Expert, Ted Blom...

Eskom will today take unit 2 of the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station offline for what they call a regular refuelling and maintenance outage that is scheduled for five months. The Koeberg Alert Alliance - KAA,  an organization concerned about nuclear reactors and opposed to the building of further nuclear reactors at Koeberg, has described the planned refueling and maintenance outage as confusing...

The two Khoi protesters who were arrested by police outside the Union Buildings on Wednesday for illegal cultivation and dealing in dagga appeared in court yesterday. The pair were released on warning ahead of their trial in March. Khoisan SA and Donovan Manuel, who appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court, have been living and protesting outside the Union Buildings for more than three years. T...

Members of the Food and Allied Workers Union - FAWU, the South African Federation of Trade Unions - SAFTU, and the General Industries Workers Union of South Africa -GIWUSA are threatening to occupy the Union Buildings if their demands are not met. The unions are demanding Presidential intervention in their long-running dispute with the management of the dairy company, Clover.  The workers hav...

Some members of Action SA have threatened to collapse the new party over its candidate list for councilors in Johannesburg. The group marched to the City of Johannesburg Council to demand inclusion on the candidate list. The members say, they feel used by the leader Herman Mashaba because they are now seeing new faces representing the party in the council. For more on this, ActionSA's Director of...

Time to take a look at the current top African economic stories.....We are joined on the line by Victor Kgomoesoana, author of  "Africa Is Open For Business" and "Africa Bounces Back". Victor is also the Executive Director for Marketing and Communication at the University of Limpopo.

Political analysts say South Africans will begin to ask whether some politicians plan to leave a legacy of strengthening or weakening democracy in their process of campaigning. This was after Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu wrote an article in which she questioned the moral standing of judges. She referred to unnamed black judges as mentally colonized Africans who had settled for the mindset of th...