First Take SA

The shortage of medical specialists in the country continues to be a challenge, especially in the public health sector. In Limpopo, the Polokwane Provincial Hospital's renal unit has only one kidney physician left. Last year, there were reports that junior doctors were performing neurosurgery, and our reporters in the province say cancer patients from far flung rural areas have to travel to the pr...

Fire fighters are battling several flare ups in and around Knysna in the Southern Cape, despite official word that most of the fires have been contained. Ground and aerial crews are still trying to extinguish blazes in Simola, Karatara, Farleigh, PG Bison and Buffalo Bay. In nearby Plettenberg Bay, fires have also been contained. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Technical Advisor at the South African Ins...

The SABC interim board says they have taken the decision to dismiss Former SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng. This after Motsoeneng was found guilty in an internal disciplinary hearing. Motsoeneng faced charges of bringing the SABC into disrepute and causing irreparable damage to his employer. Meanwhile the SABC's Interim board chairperson, Khanyisile Kweyama, says the contract between the TNA breakfast...

The Department of health's Deputy Director General Dr Yogan Pillay says over two-thousand young women between the ages of 15 and 24 are infected with HIV every week in South Africa. He was addressing young people from various institutions of higher learning at the Higher Education AIDS Youth conference in Durban. The conference is the first that gives the youth an opportunity to engage and come up...

KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo has admitted that the oncology services in the province's public hospitals are facing a major crisis. This comes after 50 doctors who specialise in treating cancer from government hospitals in Durban decided to join the private sector. Grey's Hospital in Pietermaritzburg is the only hospital left with at least two specialists, while Inkosi Albert Luth...

Strong winds in both Knysna and Plettenberg Bay in the Southern Cape have caused fires in the region to flare up again. An aerial fire fighting team is water bombing affected areas and ground crew are also on the scene. Fire fighters still trying to come to terms with the death of their colleague. The 24- year old Bradley Richards succumbed to burn wounds he sustained while fighting this week's fi...

Disaster management teams in the Western Cape say they are working tirelessly to extinguish the fires in various part of Knysna. A family of three was killed in Rheenendal while trying to escape a blaze yesterday, and a three-year old girl's body was today found in Welbedacht. Hundreds of homes, a school hostel, and a church were brought to the ground by the fires. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Chief...

South Africa has suspended imports of all poultry products from Zimbabwe following an outbreak of bird flu virus from that country. The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries says they've heightened inspections of all consignments in all ports of entry, especially in and out of Zimbabwe. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Director of animal health at the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and F...

Male fertility is at an all time low! This is according to the SA Rooibos Council. The spotlight has fallen on male fertility this June, which is recognised as National Men's Health Month. This follows reports by scientists who claim that sperm counts have halved over the past 50 years. According to a study done by the University of Copenhagen, sperm counts in the 1940s were typically well above 1...

Five learners have died and two others seriously injured in a car accident in the Eastern Cape on Monday morning. The learners from Gumzana high school in Bizana were travelling to school when the accident occurred. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Eastern Cape Education spokesperson, Malibongwe Mtima

The Premier of the Western Cape Helen Zille has until five o'clock deadline on Tuesday to file reasons as to why she should not be suspended from the Democratic Alliance (DA) party activities. Zille was served with a notice of suspension on Saturday by the party's federal executive committee. The disciplinary hearing over her tweets on colonialism is set to take place this Friday. Tsepiso Makwetla...

The Hawks have opened an inquiry into leaked e-mails involving alleged improper dealings between the Gupta family and government. The unit says it will look at the authenticity of the emails and how were they leaked. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Hawks spokesperson Hangwani Mulaudzi

Former Lesotho Prime Minister, Thomas Thabane seems to be leading as the results of yesterday's election start to trickle in. Basotho went to the polls, following a collapse of a coalition government after parliament passed a motion of no confidence in March this years, against the leader of the Democratic Congress (DC) party, Pakalitha Mosisili. Meanwhile, the Election Observers in Lesotho have r...

The labour court couldn't hear an urgent application brought before it by Former Eskom Group CEO Brian Molefe in an attempt to reverse his removal as Eskom CEO. This follows a failure by Eskom and Public Enterprises Minister, Lynne Brown to file responding affidavits. Molefe approached the labour court after the was fired on Friday by the Power utility board following a recommendation by the Inter...

The country's unemployment has increased to 27.7 percent in the first quarter of this year. This is the highest unemployment rate recorded since 2003. According to figures released by Statistics South Africa, the growth in unemployment was driven mainly by the agriculture and services sectors. Agriculture jobs declined by 44 000. We are now joined on the line by Agri SA Executive Director Omri van...

Statistics South Africa says more young people are still finding it hard to find employment. This after the country's unemployment rate increased to 27.7 in the first quarter of this year. This is the highest unemployment rate observed since 2003. Growth in joblessness was driven by the agriculture and trade sectors. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to general secretary of the South African Federation of Tr...

The Hawks today weighed in on the leaked Gupta emails saying that they're not certain if they would prosecute in the latest chapter of the state of capture scandal. The saga unfolded this week as independent Investigative journalism unit, Amabhungane, and the online journal, the Daily Maverick, released a section of an estimated 200 000 explosive documents. The documents allege impropriety on the...

A seven-year-old girl from Ndevana outside King William's Town in the Eastern Cape has been not been attending classes since February. This is after her teacher allegedly launched a barrage of insults against her - calling her a witch. It's alleged that the teacher is venting her anger on the child after her mother, Nomfundiso Ndlazi, who was the SGB chairperson at Masijongane Primary School, did...

As we mark World No Tobacco Day, South Africa's tobacco control organisations have called on the Department of Health to finalise amendments to the Tobacco Products Control Act. This as the country works towards reducing tobacco consumption to less than 10% of the population. The organisations include The National Council Against Smoking, the Africa Centre for Tobacco Industry Monitoring and Polic...

Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown says the Eskom Board will be instructed to rescind the re-instatement of Brian Molefe as Eskom's Group CEO. This is on the advice of an Inter-ministerial Committee consisting of the ministers of Finance, Justice and Correctional Services, Energy and Public Enterprises. Molefe left Eskom in November last year, with a 30-million rand payout. He was sworn in as...

Police are pleading with members of the public to stop reporting fake incidents on social media platforms. Police officials say the false incidents create panic and fear to the public. People posting false information to social media are warned that they may face serious consequences including civil suits and criminal cases for any information defaming the character of other people. Yesterday poli...

Statistician-General of South Africa, Dr Pali Lehohla says the goal of eliminating crime in the country by 2030 as envisaged by the National Development Plan may only be achieved in 2059. Lehohla says SAPS crime statistics show that total crime as a percentage of the population (per capita crime) has been steadily decreasing since 2005 however the rate is too slow. Lehohla today released a report...

The South African Communist Party (SACP) says a group of people in the name of the Hands off Zuma Campaign have protested at the house of its Second Deputy General Secretary Solly Mapaila to threaten him. In a statement released this afternoon the party has condemned this incident, saying the 'so-called defence for President Jacob Zuma has become dangerous and life threatening. A case has been ope...

The Western Cape government has called on the provincial police commissioner, Khombinkosi Jula to deploy more police resources to Lavender Hill due to a spike in gang violence. This follows the closure of four schools in the area due to ongoing gang wars. The situation is concerning especially in the light of the mid year exams. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Manenberg Safety Forum Chairperson Roegshan...

The death toll of those who have died from malaria in Mpumalanga province has risen to 20 while hundreds have been infected. Residents are complaining about the delay in delivery of malaria testing kits across the province and staff shortages at Tintswalo hospital. Residents say they fear for their lives because health officials are not treating this with the urgency it deserves. The health depart...