First Take SA

The Khampepe Commission of Inquiry into the building fire that claimed 77 lives in Johannesburg is set to begin later this month. The commission says the date of the commencement of public hearings of the inquiry will be 26 October 2023. The inquiry will look into what led to the fire at a hijacked Marshalltown building. To further discuss this Elvis Presslin caught up with Commissioner for the Kh...

Eye Care Awareness Month is commemorated from 21 September to 18 October to raise awareness about the importance of eye health. On the 12th of October South Africa joined the rest of the global health community in creating this awareness. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) at least 2.2 billion people have vision impairment or blindness, of which more than 1 billion cases could have b...

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a yearly campaign to raise awareness, educate, and support people affected by breast cancer. According to the National Cancer Registry 2019, breast cancer remains the most prevalent of cancers amongst women, and females have a one in 27 lifetime risk of developing it. Just five percent of women regularly check their breasts for signs of cancer. The Cancer...

Veteran struggle activist Dr Allan Boesak, has turned down a proposal brought by the Patriotic Alliance, to have a street named after him. Boesak's decison comes after the party's statement of support for Israel in the Middle-East conflict. PA leader Gayton Mackenzie was attending a gathering at the South African Zionist Federation, and said the conflict there should not be compared to apartheid-...

The Petroleum Oil and Gas Corporation of South Africa (PetroSA) says it is both unfounded and baseless that it is worsening the crisis of loadshedding by failing to supply Eskom with fuel. The fuel supplier says it engaged with Eskom in October 2022, requesting that the national power utility provides at least 3 months forecast of their demand due to losses that were realised by PetroSA linked to...

Elvis Presslin takes a look at the current top African economic stories with 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

Workers of the Public Servants Association of South Africa have downed tools at the State Information Technology Agency- SITA offices countrywide over a wage dispute with the employer. The PSA workers are demanding a seven point five percent salary increase coupled with non financial benefits while the employer is offering five percent. SITA is the government IT service provider at Home Affairs, S...

Today marks World Food Day, observed on 16 October each year to raise awareness and take action against worldwide hunger and malnutrition. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), almost one in ten people globally are undernourished, and more than 3 billion can't afford a healthy diet. Conflict, climate change and rising prices are all contributing to growing food insecurity aroun...

ANC NEC member and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) Minister, Thembi Nkadimeng has warned about the state of deteriorating municipalities. She was briefing media on the second day of the ANC National Executive Committee meeting in Boksburg in Ekurhuleni. Nkadimeng says while municipalities may be having difficulty in administration and governance - things are far better than...

Israel says its preparing a full scale land, air and sea invasion of the Gaza strip. The country has deployed military troops on the border fence with Gaza, in preparation to expand its offensive on the enclave, amid continuous bombardment. A week of fierce gun fire and airstrikes have left thousands of Israelis and Palestinians dead since the fighting began following an attack by Hamas in Israel....

WaterCan is demanding accountability from Johannesburg and Rand Water over constant water shortages. Residents in Johannesburg and Tshwane have been plagued by water supply interruptions in recent days as reservoirs in both metros were at critically low. Parts of Gauteng are still without water despite authorities reporting steady progress in reservoir recovery. WaterCAN, an initiative of the Orga...

The South African Medical Association (SAMA) says it is deeply concerned about the significant risks that fake doctors pose to public health and safety. This comes after the Gauteng Health Department opened a criminal case against a man, who claims to be a medical doctor. The bogus doctor, Matthew Lani, who also uses the names - Bongani Zingelwa or Sanele Zingelwa - claimed that he was a medical g...

The UN mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, MONUSCO has suspended eight South African UN peacekeepers following reports of sexual exploitation and abuse. The personnel involved were deployed at a MONUSCO base in Beni, east of the country, were arrested earlier this month. The men are accused of "fraternizing, after curfew hours, at an out-of-bounds bar known to be a place where transaction...

The South African Democratic Teachers' Union, SADTU will today march to the Durban City Hall over a myriad of challenges facing schools and teachers. Disgruntled educators in the province are threatening a full-blown strike if their demands and outstanding issues are not addressed. To discuss this further Elvis Presslin spoke to SADTU's KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Secretary, Nomarashiya Caluza

Elvis Presslin takes a look at the current top African economic stories with Victor Kgomoeswana, 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

The Inyanda National Land Movement will today march to the offices of the Department of Cooperative Governance & Traditional Affairs (Cogta) in Bisho, in the Eastern Cape. They are demanding access to water. The province has been battling a growing water crisis, where water disruptions have affected residents in a number of municipalities. For more on this Elvis Presslin spoke to Andile Mapisa...

Judgment has been reserved in the Western Cape High Court on the City of Cape Town's application to move homeless people to Culemborg Safe Space. The City says its Safe Space model is a cheaper and more comprehensive intervention than its emergency housing programme. However, the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI), representing the people living on the streets, says the Safe Sp...

Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Thandi Modise will today visit the Lohatla Combat Training Centre in the Northern Cape. A memorial service is expected to be held for the six soldiers who lost their lives when a veldfire swept through the base last week. This as another fire has broken out at an army combat training centre in the same area. For more on this Elvis Presslin spoke to SANDF...

Disgraced Dr. Nandipha Magudumana has opened a case against prison officials at the Correctional Centre in Kroonstad for alleged assault. Facebook rapist and murderer Thabo Bester's girlfriend Magudumana accused prison authorities of manhandling and forcing her to attend court proceedings yesterday despite being unwell. Our Senior Producer Ronald Phiri spoke to Dr. Nandipha Magudumana's lawyer, Ad...

Agri SA will today host its annual congress to address challenges facing the agricultural sector.  The gathering at Emperors Palace, Johannesburg will bring together leaders from the private and public sector to find lasting solutions to problems facing farmers and food security in South Africa. Elvis Presslin spoke to Christo Van der Rheede, Agri SA's Chief Executive Officer.

Afriforum Youth has denied stirring racial tensions by posting 'Blacks only' and 'No whites allowed' protest stickers at the entrances of the University of Pretoria. The group says the controversial stickers on campus entrances were meant to spark debate about racial exclusion at the University. Afriforum Youth's protest was allegedly sparked by the Institution's inaction against EFF members who r...

South Africa's great white shark population is heading for possible extinction after a rapid decline in numbers. A study of the country's coastal waters conducted by researchers at the Stellenbosch University concluded that the numbers of great white sharks are alarmingly low. The study was carried out in the Gansbaai area near Cape Town, a popular cage shark diving spot, and along the country's c...

The Democratic Alliance, DA says it will introduce legislation to align South Africa with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Code. This after the Agency's compliance review committee issued a statement saying South Africa had not updated its anti-doping code. South Africa's national teams playing at international level will be barred from displaying the country's flag or singing the national anth...

The ANC Youth League says it remains focused on having a 50% representation on the ANC list in parliament. The League is demanding for youth representation in parliament and provincial legislature after next year's general elections. ANC National Chairperson Gwede Mantashe has dismissed the League's demand as absurd. To further discuss this, Elvis Presslin spoke to ANC Youth League Spokesperson, Z...

The Gauteng Health Department has opened a criminal case against a man claiming to be a medical doctor. "Dr Matthew Lani" trended on social media after giving out medical advice on the app TikTok and claiming to have obtain his medical qualification from Wits University. The University has since issued a statement saying Lani never obtained any medical qualifications from its institution. For more...