First Take SA

Learner organisation COSAS has threatened to retaliate against teachers who continue to give corporal punishment. It says through its "Fight Fire with Fire" campaign, they will act against teachers who break the law. Corporal punishment was abolished in South African schools in 1997. The learner organisation also want Maths and Science to be taught in learners' mother-tongue. Angela Bolowana has m...

Uncertainty around social grant payments by the Post Office is sowing panic among beneficiaries, especially in rural areas. Recipients who have the new SASSA cards are being turned away from traditional pay points and are being told to collect their money from banks. Panicked beneficiaries have been queuing outside the Mthatha Post office, in the Eastern Cape, since the early hours of Wednesday, h...

The South African National Editors Forum, Media Monitoring Africa and the Support Public Broadcasting Coalition have raised concerns over the latest draft Critical Infrastructure Protection Bill. The organisations say as a national key point, the SABC is likely to be designated as critical infrastructure once the bill becomes law. This will allow for the security vetting of SABC's editorial staff....

July is National Savings month and over the next few weeks, FirstTakeSA will be running educational feautures on how you can make your rand stretch while also saving for rainy days. Today, we are looking at investments. According to an article published on Huffington Post, while South African millennials are better savers than their parents, they fail to invest enough for the long term. To find ou...

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation will embark on a nationwide awareness campaign, to educate citizens about consular services provided by South Africa's missions abroad. The initiative follows an increase in the number of incidents in which South Africans have been left distressed or arrested for criminal activities in foreign countries. South Africa has about 162 foreign m...

Although the first snow of the winter is melting, it has created several problems in the Eastern Cape. A number of mountain passes were closed on Monday . Motorists are however asked to remain cautious on the roads. The freezing weather has also created problems for stock farmers, especially emerging farmers. . Yanga Funani reports.

Striking drivers of the e-hailing taxi services Uber and Taxify have threatened to remain on strike until their demands are met. However, they did not proceed to Taxify's offices in Bryanston after handing over a memorandum of demands to Uber management in Krammerville near Sandton. They have given Uber until Thursday to respond to their demands. They want the 25-percent commission received by the...

Very cold conditions with snowfalls as well as wet and windy conditions are expected in areas over southern Free State and north-western KwaZulu-Natalon Tuesday. Snowfalls are also expected over the high-ground areas of the Eastern Cape‚ including the mountains between Willowmore and Joubertina‚ the Sneeuberg‚ Winterberg and Southern Drakensberg. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Sihle Kunene, SABC meteor...

UDM leader Bantu Holomisa is standing by the claims he made in an open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa about alleged dodgy deals between the Public Investment Corporation and two investment companies, Lebashe and Harith General Partners. The companies' lawyers have demanded that he retract the allegations - saying they are baseless. Holomisa wants an investigation into why several individuals...

The start of the Premier Soccer League season has been thrown into disarray, following a court ruling in favour of Ajax Cape Town. The Johannesburg High Court has set aside the ruling of the arbitrator, William Makhari, on the Tendai Ndoro eligibility matter. According to Judge Denise Fischer's ruling, the recently-concluded National First Division play-off matches are declared invalid. Sifiso Ram...

Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister, Zweli Mkhize, says he expects to see consequences for those found to have deposited municipal funds into the controversial VBS Mutual Bank. He told the SABC News that his department has also initiated its own investigation. The Municipal Finance Management Act (MFMA) forbids municipalities from investing in a mutual bank. Tshepo Mongoai rep...

Very cold conditions with snowfalls as well as wet and windy conditions are expected in areas over southern Free State and north-western KwaZulu-Natalon Tuesday. Snowfalls are also expected over the high-ground areas of the Eastern Cape‚ including the mountains between Willowmore and Joubertina‚ the Sneeuberg‚ Winterberg and Southern Drakensberg. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Sihle Kunene, SABC meteor...

The ANC has vowed to make the drafting of its 2019 election manifesto an inclusive process. It held its manifesto consultative meeting over the weekend with its deployees in government comprising of ministers, their deputies, premiers and mayors among others. Last week, the party president Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the ANC's election workshop during which he urged South Africans to work with gover...

The price of Petrol and diesel will go up by 26 cents a litre on Wednesday. The energy department says the weak rand and international oil prices are the major contributing factors to the petrol price hike. Petrol will cost a record 16-Rand a litre. We are now joined on the line by Visvin Reddy, national convener of People Against Petrol and Paraffin Increases, an organisation that has urged motor...

The tax filing season has started in ernest. It has been cut by three weeks, which means that those who are eligible to submit their returns have until the end of October to do so. SARS is also urging taxpayers to submit their tax returns online, through the e-filing system. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to SARS Spokesperson, Janine Mqulwana

Parliament's Constitutional Review Committee will on Monday begin its public hearings in Mbombela, Mpumalanga. These are part of nationwide public hearings on the possible amendment of Section 25 of the Constitution to make it possible for the state to expropriate land without compensation. Motsebi wa Monareng reports...

Heavy downpours and gale force winds have resulted in flash flooding across large parts of Cape Town. Lower-lying areas have been the hardest hit as an intense cold front makes landfall in the Mother City. The Cape Town weather office says wind speeds of up to 80 kilometres per hour have been reported. Thandiswa Mawu reports...

ANC chairperson in the North West, Supra Mahumapelo says he will be serving thirteen people, including members of the ANC and opposition with court papers for tainting his image and bringing his name to disrepute. Mahumapelo made one of his first public appearance, since resigning as North West Premier. He spoke at a ANC Youth League Youth Month Memorial Lecture in Mahikeng. Here's a report by Luc...

Time now for our Youth Month Feature. This morning we feature 31-year-old Munene Khoza who wants to lead the pack of strategic communicators across all industries in South Africa. This feisty and creative young woman has used her love for languages to start her own communications consultancy company, which already plays in the space of established agencies. Our Executive Producer, Krivani Pillay,...

Non-governmental organisations, Treatment Action Campaign and SECTION27, together with corruption watchdog Corruption Watch have made public a Special Investigating Unit report that documents widespread corruption totaling to R1,2 billion in the Gauteng Department of Health between 2006-2010. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke Treatment Action Campaign general secretary, Anele Yawa

Director of 'Africa Is Open For Business' , Victor Kgomoesoana speaks Zimbabwean Government has slashed Mobile Data By 60 Percent a Month Before Elections, Nigerian court has ordered Shell to Pay 3-point-6 Billion dollars Fine Over Oil Spill and In Rwanda, Parents and Teachers have welcomed a Ban on Cell Phones in Schools

Efficient Group chief economist Dawie Roodt says the National Health Insurance will only put more pressure on the overburdened taxpayers. He suggests that there are better alternatives that government could have considered. Health minister Aaron Motsoaledi released details of the National Health Insurance Bill and the Medical Schemes Amendment Bill yesterday. Elvis Preslin spoke to Efficient Group...

The presidency says the state will continue to pay former president Jacob Zuma's legal fees until the matter is concluded or a court decides otherwise. Zuma faces charges of fraud and corruption. He has called on the state to pay his legal fees due to him being in the Presidency at the time. Elvis Preslin spoke to visiting associate professor at the Wits School of Law and practicing advocate James...

As part of our youth month feature, we continue to highlight the issue of drugs and substance abuse. There are many reasons why people become addicted to drugs, alcohol, smoking and even gambling. Several former drug addicts have spoken about the reasons for their addiction. Elvis Preslin spoe to a member of Narcotics Anonymous who does not want to be identified

Attacks and killing of civilians on the outskirts of Pemba and other towns in the Cabo Delgado province, north of Mozambique, has driven thousands of people out of their villages. And, some tourism businesses have closed down while international companies are evacuating their employees. This follows a spate of attacks where more than 39 civilians were beheaded and their houses torched, allegedly b...