First Take SA

Deputy minister of Traditional Affairs Deputy Minister Obed Bapela in the Eastern Cape after a a young man lost his manhood and four others critically in hospital following a botched circumcision

COSATU says it has it on good authority that there are plans to disrupt the much awaited Special National Congress next week. However it says all is in place to ensure it goes ahead as planned. PM Live host Tšepiso Makwetla speaks to COSATU President, Sdumo Dlamini.

President Jacob Zuma has recommitted South Africa to the BRICS member states and undertaken to continue supporting businesses operating in South Africa by those from member states. He was speaking at the 7th BRICS summit in the city of Ufa in Russia.

More than 14-thousand illegal firearms have been destroyed in Vereeniging in the Vaal Triangle. It's the second time a stash of guns has been destroyed by police this year. The initiative is aimed at making South Africa safer. Sashin Naidoo reports

The Labour Court has ordered Telkom to stop its plans to cut four-thousand jobs. The court order followed an application by labour union, Solidarity. Union deputy general secretary Johan Kruger says the judgment is a victory for Telkom workers who are regularly being subjected to restructuring processes. Telkom launched its retrenchment packages in an effort to balance its books. PM Live host TTel...

Lagos State has indicted TB Joshua's Synagogue Church for the collapse of the guest house in which 114 people were killed - including 81 South Africans. Coroner, Oyetade Komolafe, says the church should be probed for not obtaining approval for the the construction of the guest house. Komolafe says the church is guilty of criminal negligence over the collapse. The residential building collapsed in...

The City of Joburg has spent more than 120-million-rand installing 38-kilometres of new bicycle lanes in the CBD, Soweto, Alexandra and even in Orange Farm. This is to promote eco-friendly transport options. Officials are hoping motorists will swop their cars for bicycles. The lanes also provide added safety for cyclists using busy routes such as those between Auckland Park and Braamfontein. But,...

Custom officials confiscated cocaine worth 7 million rand at OR Tambo international airport earlier today. SARS spokesperson Luther Lebelo confirmed that the 26kgs of cocaine is one of the biggest busts at the airport, however no arrests have been made. In addition to that, 40 thousand tablets of Viagra disguised as plastic toys, have also been seized by SARS officials at the National Mail Distrib...

Traditional Affairs Deputy Minister, Obed Bapela, says they're working with other government departments to ensure that they criminalize running of illegal initiation schools.

There still is confusion over reports that African Peoples' Convention president Themba Godi had been suspended by his own party. Godi is the APC"s sole member of Parliament and the chairperson of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts. While Godi refutes the suspension, APC Deputy President, Hlabirwa Mathume says they have written to Parliament to inform it of the latest move. It is alleged th...

The public meeting that will incude the community of Mamelodi, has been set for Sunday, in an effort to resolve the Autopax/taxi operators clashes. The clashes, accompanied by incidents of violence has left several busses damaged and four people injured. The dispute started as a result of PUTCO terminating it's services in Gauteng, including in Mamelodi and the new operator, Autopax taking over. T...

The family of slain former LESOTHO army commander Maaparankoe Mahao says they are convinced that the government is concealing a planned assassination. Addressing a media briefing in the capital Maseru Mahao's brother Nqosa Mahao said the government was on a deliberate propaganda drive to mislead the nation. He says the family expects the government to condemn Mahao's murder and order the arrest of...

The National Energy Regulator says it will look at ways of giving incentives to Eskom to maintain its aging fleet of power plants and penalise the utility for poor performance. Nersa head of electricity Thembani Bukula says they want to incentivise them for good maintenance and penalise them for bad performance. The regulator earlier rejected Eskom's application for a ten percent tariff increase.

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa has invited Eskom to re-submit a new application for electricity tariff hikes. It earlier rejected the power utiliy's current application, with calls for more certainty and transparency. The regulator says Eskom didn't align its application with the requirements of the Multi-Year Price Determination which guides the levels of increases. Nersa chairpers...

The Gauteng Health Department has announced new alternate measures aimed at resolving disputes around medical negligence claims in the province. These include mediation as the first option before lawyers are brought in. A retired judge will be brought on board to precide over the matters. The department has been sued for millions by patients over negligence on the part of it's staff.

The ANC has again criticised a court decision, saying a ruling by the High Court in Pretoria regarding the al-Bashir saga was political. Judge Dunstan Mlambo outlined a number of reasons today why government was in contempt for letting Sudanese President Orma al-Bashir leave the country last week. He slipped out of South Africa, despite an interim court order prohibiting him to do so. Meanwhile Ju...

Unions in the Gold sector have declared a dispute with the Chamber of Mines accusing them of providing misleading information in financial statements. The two parties were meeting in Boksburg on the East Rand to discuss wage increments.

The High Court in Pretoria has struck the application by Lawyers for Human Rights against Operation Fiela from the court roll. Judge Jan Hiemstra has ruled that LHR should carry the costs. The group was seeking a court order declaring government's Operation Fiela unlawful and unconstitutional. Fiela is a national operation by the police, the SANDF, the army and Home Affairs officials that often in...

The Tourism Business Council of South Africa has released the findings of its impact assessment study on South Africa' s new immigration regulations on the travel and tourism industry. The study, whose outcomes were released at a national press club briefing this afternoon,this is the second of two impact assessment studies the Council has conducted since the implementation of the new regulations.

The parties to the Gold-Sector wage talks tabled their offers this afternoon, they also agreed finally to Moe Allie as the chairman of the talks. The National Union of Mineworkers says it is up to the Chamber of Mines to give mineworkers a wage increase in line with the costly standard of living. Wage talks in the gold mining sector are expected to start today. The NUM is demanding up to 80 per ce...

the Mpumalanga health department is also under fire for alleged sickening conditions at KwaMhlanga hospital. It's alleged patients admitted to the hospital are not fed on time and relatives visiting them are forced to bring water in bottles due to water shortages.

Two patients died yesterday while in the Intensive Care Unit in Letaba hospital near Tzaneen after the hospital's generator failed to kick-in during load shedding. The Minister of Health, Doctor Aaron Motsoaledi is visiting the hospital this afternoon.

SISANDA Myataza is a relentless young woman who has been performing for audiences since Age 7. This great great grandaughter of choral composer BB Myataza. is now embarking on a trip to the UK to record an EP and share her south African heritage in an international space. Today, she joins us in today to talk about her cultural exchange plans....

South Sudan's former Vice President Reich Machar has called for president Salva Kiir to resign in July when his term comes to an end. Machar has been in the bush since 2013 when violence erupted. Kiir had accused Machar of planning a coup - a charge Machar has denied. His call comes as the African Union heads of state summit decided on a new peace process that will include all of the continent's r...

[LISTEN] The South African National Defence Force, Head of Communication Siphiwe Dlamini has denied reports that the Sudanese army reportedly held hundreds of South African peacekeepers hostage to guarantee the safe return of President Omar al-Bashir.