First Take SA

Labour unions at ESKOM are keeping mum about their formal response to the 4, 7 percent wage offer that was tabled by management on Tuesday. But there were signals that the two sides may have inched closer to a deal. The negotiations are set to continue on Thursday with Eskom expected to give its response to the counter-offer by the unions. Unions have maintained that the negotiations are not only...

An independent inquiry into the Ashwin Willemse saga at Supersport led by advocate Vincent Maleka has found that there was no racism aspect in the incident involving the former Springbok. Willemse walked out of the studio after a Super Rugby match between the Lions and the Brumbies last month while he was on air with Nick Malett and Naas Botha. Before walking out of the studio, Willemse said he wa...

Eskom has revised its wage offer of no increase to a four-point -seven per cent increase. The unions staged protests last week against Eskom's announcement that it would not grant any pay increase this year. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to National Union of Minewrkers chief negotiator Helen Diatile

Unions affiliated to Eskom are expected to meet with the parastatal in Cedarwood Park in Woodmead, Johannesburg on Tuesday to begin another round of wage negotiations following a deadlock. Eskom had previously said it could not afford to give salary increases, citing financial difficulties. However, this changed after Public Enterprises Minister, Pravin Gordhan, met with unions and Eskom last week...

Youth unemployment in South Africa still remains high. According to Stats SA, the unemployment rate among young people aged 15 to 34 was 38,2%. Recently, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that the government has put youth unemployment at the top of its national agenda. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Professor Lauren Graham, Deputy Director and Associate Professor for the Centre for Social Development...

South Africa has become the first country in the world to replace an inject-able drug with toxic side effects, with a new oral medicine in the standard multi-drug-resistant tuberculosis treatment. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has applauded the department of health following the announcement, saying this is a positive step aimed at making MDR-TB treatment more tolerable. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to...

Power utility, Eskom says its power system will take approximately ten days to recover from the effects of the recent industrial action. This is however dependent on whether not not all staff are back at workon Monday. Eskom spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe says during this recovery time the risk of stage one load-shedding remains high. Management and unions are however expected to meet only on Tuesday...

Mineral Resources Minister Gwede Mantashe says following the release of the newly drafted Mining Charter on Friday, members of the public and other stakeholders have until the end of July to submit suggestions and inputs. Mantashe was briefing the media on policy and regulatory framework in Pretoria. He says they have already embarked on an intensive consultation with mining and organisations acro...

Victor Kgomoesoana, Director of 'Africa Is Open For Business' spoke to Tsepiso Makwetla on this week's top African economic stories including Nigeria gunning for another $500m Abacha loot, Zimbabwean president commissioning a $30M Varun Beverages plant in Harare and Kenya, Uganda urged to seize assets of S Sudan warlords

Priority crime busting unit the Hawks says the investigations into last month's attack on a mosque at Verulam in Kwa-Zulu Natal are at a sensitive stage. National Police Commissioner, Kehla Sitole, also confirmed that one of the victims in on Thursday attack on a mosque at Malmesbury outside Cape Town is a Somali. Sitole, senior police management and the Hawks were in Parliament to brief the Polic...

Power utility Eskom implemented stage 1 load shedding on Thursday night. Spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe says this was due to severe power constraints. Workers affiliated to the National Union of Mine workers (NUM) and National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) went on strike on Thursday over salary increases. Phasiwe says acts of intimidation and sabotage have resulted in interrupted power...

Eskom says contingency plans and security measures are in place, this as workers go on strike. Briefing the media at Eskom head offices in Johannesburg, Eskom CEO, Pakamani Hadebe encouraged non-striking workers to report for work. Workers affiliated to the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) will protesting against the utility's zero...

Former SABC COO, Hlaudi Motsoeneng will face tough questions from SABC lawyers when his CCMA hearing resumes on Thursday. Motsoeneng is challenging his dismissal, which he still believes was unfair. He wants his job back as Group Executive for Corporate Affairs. Motsoeneng took to the witness box on Wednesday where he defended his controversial 90 per cent local content policy. He was dismissed af...

A female police officer in Limpopo, who is allegedly romantically involved with a cash-in-transit heist kingpin, has been arrested and fired for giving the suspect a car to escape. It has also been revealed how cash-in-transit suspects hijacked the sister of a security guard who refused to co-operate with them. These were some of the issues that emerged during a meeting between Parliament's Police...

Drug abuse is a serious problem in South Africa - and one that affects people of all ages and backgrounds. The Central Drug Authority (CDA) says drug abuse in South Africa is taking a heavy toll on communities and is fueling a life of addiction and crime among the youth. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Rochney Katz , a mother and former drug addict and Chairperson of the CDA, David Bayever

The Gauteng government says payments to all the 134 Life Esidimeni claimants have been concluded ahead of the June 19 deadline given by retired deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke. More than 144 psychiatric patients died in 2016 after they were moved from Life Esidimeni centres in Gauteng to under-resourced NGO's. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Esidimeni family victims spokesperson Nomvula Nonjabe...

Social Development Minister, Susan Shabangu, has assured the NCOP's Select Committee on Social Services that the current social grant distributor, Cash Paymaster Services (CPS) will be history come the 1st of October. Shabangu, departmental officials and SASSA briefed the Select Committee on the department's budget and SASSA's progress to comply with the constitutional court order. The Minister al...

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) say they will hold a big demonstration at power utility Eskom's Megawatt Park offices in Johannesburg tomorrow on Thursday. The unions are protesting a wage offer of zero percent by Eskom, while unions demand a 15 percent increase. Joining us on the line is the NUM's National Spokesperson, Livhuw...

One mine worker is still missing at the Sibanye-Stillwater mine's Ikamva shaft, near Westonaria, West of Johannesburg. Four other miners died after they succumbed to heat and gas exposure. Mineral Resources Minister, Gwede Mantashe visited the mine last night and briefed the media after his visit. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Sibanye-Stillwater spokesperson, Thabisile Phumo

President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on the Afrikaans speaking community to embrace the land debate to build a united South Africa. Delivering an address to mark the centenary celebrations of the Afrikanerbond in Paarl in the Western Cape, Ramaphosa said the country cannot change its divided past. Mlamli Maneli reports.

Law enforcement agencies in Durban say preparations ahead of former president Jacob Zuma's court appearance have been finalised. Zuma is expected to appear in the Durban High Court on Friday facing 16 counts of fraud, money laundering and racketeering. More than 10-thousand supporters are expected to start gathering today for a night vigil at Albert Park in Durban. Nonjabulo Mntungwa gives us an u...

A man is expected to appear in the Lenasia Magistrates court today after he allegedly shot and killed his son whom he mistook for a criminal. Police say the father dropped off his son at Fred Norman Seconday school in Ennerdale south of Johannesburg on Tuesday night. He fell asleep while waiting for his son inside the vehicle. And when the son knocked on the car window he got frightened at alleged...

Law enforcement agencies have declared war on cash-in-transit heists, which have seen a marked increase compared to 2017. At least 159 cash-in-transit heists have been reported in the country this year. This week, cash-in-transit heists were reported in Gauteng, Mpumalanga and Limpopo. Police have managed to foil two heists in Limpopo and Gauteng. One suspect was shot and killed, and seven others...

A father has been arrested in Ennerdale south of Johannesburg, for allegedly shooting dead his son who he mistook for a criminal. Police say the man took his 14-year-old son to attend evening classes at the Fred Norman Secondary School in the area. After dropping off the child, the father waited inside his vehicle and fell asleep. When the boy returned from the class, he knocked on the passenger w...

Substance abuse among South African youth is increasing on a daily basis. Statistics show that the country ranks among the top 10 in terms of the amount of alcohol consumed every year, while dagga, tik and cocaine use is twice the average of international consumption. It's also been shown that children, as young as 12 years old, are becoming addicted to drugs. An international organisation and chu...