First Take SA

The Government Employees Medical Scheme, GEMS has placed its Principal Officer Stan Moloabi on precautionary suspension. GEMS says the suspension is pending an internal process but has not provided reasons for the decision. With hundreds of thousands of public servants covered by the scheme, there are growing calls for transparency on what prompted the move. For reaction we spoke to Simon Hlungwan...

Members of the National Assembly will today vote on a motion of no confidence against Speaker Thoko Didiza. The motion was tabled by EFF leader Julius Malema in June over Didiza's decision not to oppose President Ramaphosa's court application to pause the Phala Phala impeachment process. The EFF says Didiza failed in her constitutional duties by not challenging the interdict. The DA's position is...

The Gauteng Department of Health is calling on communities to register as organ and tissue donors. Officials say about 1,100 people in Gauteng are waiting for a kidney transplant, while more than 6,500 people are on waiting lists nationwide. The department says one organ donor can save up to seven lives and tissue donation can help up to 50 people. They are urging families to discuss donation wish...

South Africa needs to move infrastructure projects from the drawing board to construction, faster. That's the focus of the Sustainable Infrastructure Development Symposium, which is taking place in Cape Town. It brings government and the private sector together, to unlock investment, improve delivery and create jobs. Mkhokheli Bandla filed this report.

The portfolio committee on Land Reform and Rural Development expressed dissatisfaction with the distribution of farm worker equity schemes, while the portfolio committee on Mineral and Petroleum Resources says the processing of the South African National Petroleum Resources Company Bill is at an advance stage. As Abongwe Kobokana reports, the committees briefed the media on their oversight respons...

Years of collapsing service delivery have destroyed trust in politics among some residents in the North West. They have expressed mixed feelings about the ANC's eight mayoral applicants for the Rustenburg Local Municipality, ahead of the much-anticipated local government elections in November. Initially only one candidate per municipality were supposed to be unveiled, instead the ANC announced the...

The SACP in the Western Cape has launched its election manifesto at Crossroads in the City of Cape Town. The 2026 Local Government Elections will mark the first time the SACP will contest for elections since 1994, marking a departure from their-long standing arrangement with the ANC-led Tripartite Alliance. They say they are currently working on localizing the 6 priority areas that national has cr...

The Madlanga Commission was delayed on Monday as the legal team representing attempted murder accused and businessman Vusimuzi "Cat" Matlala sought more time to consult with their client. Matlala eventually appeared before the Commission and invoked his right against self-incrimination, refusing to answer questions about matters linked to ongoing criminal cases. His lawyers had also threatened to...

The Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein will hear the state's appeal against a High Court ruling on the R370 Social Relief of Distress grant. The High Court previously found parts of the application process were unconstitutional and unfairly excluded vulnerable people. Government is challenging that decision. Civil society groups say barriers are still leaving some of South Africa's poorest wi...

Affected mining communities are appearing before Parliament today to demand a formal inquiry into a century of environmental damage and economic debt. Leading the "100 Year Debt Campaign", the groups are presenting their case directly to the Portfolio Committee on Mineral and Petroleum Resources. They are calling for an immediate investigation into corporate exits, abandoned shafts, and failed lan...

A new political movement, Move SA, has officially registered to contest this year's municipal elections. The organization, spearheaded by prominent housing entrepreneur Rali Mampeule has reportedly established seventy branches and signed up over five thousand members across Gauteng within its first month. Mampeule, known for driving large-scale infrastructure projects says the party will focus dir...

A look at the current top African economic stories with Victor Kgomoeswana, author of Africa Is Open For Business and Africa Bounces Back

The Rankapole family who lost their daughter in a crash which killed three learners and a driver at Ga-Mashashane in Limpopo, say they are failing to come to terms with her passing. Both vehicles, a bus and a minibus taxi were carrying learners. Several learners were injured and were hospitalised at various health care facilities. The Education Department says it has initiated psychosocial support...

Public Protector of South Africa, Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka is calling on faith based organizations to help root out corruption by reporting suspicious financial contributions offered to them as donations. Gcaleka was speaking at the St Paul African Apostolic Church's Annual Feast in Moletsane, Soweto. The annual feast brings together congregants from across South Africa and neighbouring countries...

National Liquor Traders says it agrees children must be protected from underage drinking, but opposes blanket closures of taverns near schools. The group is responding to ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa's proposal, made at the party's manifesto launch to close taverns operating near schools. Convenor Lucky Ntimane told our senior producer Ronald Phiri that many outlets hold valid licences and should...

ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa has given his party's prospective mayors and councillors 100 days to change the face of their wards and municipalities. This is contained in the 65 page ANC 2026 local government election manifesto he unveiled at Riversand Park Diepsloot north of Johannesburg on Sunday. Ramaphosa said within 100 days all ANC local government representatives must have fixed streets lig...

Seven Emfuleni Local Municipality employees will appear in court today on charges of fraud and theft. This follows their arrest by the Gauteng Political Killings Task Team in Vanderbijlpark. Police allege the suspects took payments from residents to illegally reconnect electricity. Investigations are continuing and further arrests have not been ruled out. We spoke to DA Emfuleni Local Municipality...

The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union, POPCRU says ActionSA's court bid to review disciplinary outcomes for two Presidential Protection Service officers must not turn Major-General Wally Rhoode and Brigadier Hennie Rekhoto into political targets. The union says approaching the High Court is a constitutional right, but guilt cannot be assumed before a court rules. Popcru adds that all SAPS memb...

The Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration, CCMA has found the South African Police Service committed an unfair labour practice after overlooking Captain Christiaan du Plessis for a station commander post in Moorreesburg. It ruled less qualified candidates were shortlisted and the process had numerous irregularities and ordered SAPS to pay Du Plessis 10 months' salary. Trade union...

Residents and small business owners in Emalahleni, Mpumalanga, have accused mining company, Seriti, of overlooking them for employment and business opportunities at its recently opened pit. The residents say they have not benefitted from the mine in terms of job opportunities, business opportunities, skills training or infrastructure development since it began operations, earlier this year. They c...

The sexual assault case against Dobsonville church elder and political figure, Tshepo Ntsimane, has been postponed to the 3rd of September for pre-trial proceedings. Ntsimane appeared before the Johannesburg High Court in his first appearance since the matter was transferred from the Roodepoort Magistrates' Court. The case is now before a new judge and a new legal team, who are still familiarising...

The bail hearing of a Pretoria man accused of the murder of his wife in front of their two children, has taken an emotional turn after the State presented social media posts allegedly written by one of the children following the death of their mother. The woman was allegedly shot and killed in March this year her home in Valhalla, Centurion.  The State says the posts highlight the trauma suff...

EFF Treasurer-General Omphile Maotwe says Speaker Thoko Didiza will be ousted in next Wednesday's no-confidence vote. Speaking to Bongiwe Zwane, Maotwe said the motion is over Didiza's handling of the Section 89 impeachment process, and the EFF is lobbying other parties for support.

The National Assembly will vote in a motion of no confidence against the Speaker, Thoko Didiza, next Wednesday. The motion, tabled by EFF leader, Julius Malema in June, relates to Didiza's decision not to oppose President Cyril Ramaphosa's urgent interdict application in the Western Cape High Court to halt the Parliamentary impeachment process over the Phala Phala matter. The court has in the mean...

A third suspect linked to the Reiger Park shooting will appear in the Boksburg Magistrates' Court today. The 27-year-old faces charges of murder, attempted murder and robbery with aggravating circumstances.  Hawks spokesperson Colonel Katlego Mogale says the arrest follows ongoing investigations into the attack that claimed the lives of two officers and two women.