First Take SA

Followers of Nigeria's popular televangelist, Prophet T.B Joshua, have continued to pay their tributes following his sudden death on Saturday night. TB Joshua was 57 and would have celebrated his 58th birthday this month. The circumstances of his death are not yet clear.

The South African Municipal Worker's Union, SAMWU has threatened to bring all municipal services countrywide to a halt as wage negotiations with the employer body,SALGA continue TODAY. The union, which represents 160-thousand workers, is demanding a one-year wage increase of four 4000 rands per month, housing allowance including six months' paid maternity leave and one month paid paternity leave....

The much awaited case of the ANC's suspended Secretary General, Ace Magashule is expected to be heard before the end of the month. A full bench of the High Court is expected to hear the matter where Magashule is challenging his suspension. Magashule who has sought the service of the Senior Council, Advocate Dali Mpofu wants his suspension to be nullified by a court of law. Meanwhile, some have que...

Allegations of tender corruption against Health Minister Zweli Mkhize featured strongly during the Presidency's budget vote debate in Parliament on Wednesday. President Ramaphosa told the House that he's dealing with the matter, while some opposition political parties accused him of failing to fight corruption head-on.

Load-shedding could potentially prove fatal for patients who are on oxygen in their homes. With the Covid-19 pandemic and hospitals under pressure, many patients have opted for home care. But with load-shedding seemingly part of life now, concerns are growing. Most of these patients don't have a back-up power supply to run their oxygen machines during outages.

More job seekers have given up hope of finding employment under the current economic environment. Stats SA data shows the number of discouraged job seekers jumped by 201-thousand or nearly seven percent. The latest figures increase the official unemployment rate to 32.6 percent in the first quarter, from 32.5 percent in the last quarter of last year.

Record high unemployment statistics in South Africa, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic have forced children to become bread winners. As Youth Month kicks off in the country -- Childline South Africa -- says young girls are resorting to sex work in order to feed their families, as the pandemic has rendered their parents jobless. Through the Grow, Learn and Own programme, the organisation empower...

The Pan African Parliament was abruptly suspened after MPs plunge the house in chaos into a third consecutive day of chaos. The members clashed yet again over the electoral system with the southern Caucus pushing for the change to rotational leadership similar to the African Union process. The Eastern and Western Caucauses adamant that there is no authority, which allows the impromptu change. The...

Some Pan-African Parliament members resorted to physical attacks as contention over the leadership voting process continued today. On Monday, the chamber in Midrand - north of Johannesburg erupted in chaos as caucus fought over whether the Presidency should be on a rotational basis versus the current direct elections system. The Southern caucus is leading the call to for rotation while the East an...

If a person is captured in a famous photograph..does it afford them any right or any sort of recognition or compensation? This question came up during an interview with Antoinette Sithole, the sister to the late Hector Pieterson - who died during the 1976 Soweto student uprisings. Sithole is featured in the iconic photograph taken by the late legendary photographer Sam Nzima. In the image, she is...

President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned of a possible countrywide threat of a third wave of the Coronavirus with four provinces already having reached the threshold. The Coronavirus National Command Council has moved the country to an Adjusted Alert Level Two of the national lockdown from today. He has also decried the slow pace of vaccination due to regulatory concerns over the Johnson & Johnson vac...

West African regional bloc ECOWAS has suspended Mali's membership in response to last week's coup and said authorities must stick to a timetable for a return to democracy, but stopped short of imposing new sanctions. Leaders of the 15-member Economic Community of West African States held an emergency summit in Ghana's capital Accra to agree a response to the Malian military's ouster of a president...

Parents in the Northern Cape have raised concern following an announcement of normal schooling for grade R to 7 learners, from the 26th of July. On Friday Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga gazetted new regulations regarding the reopening of schools. The Gazette stipulates that children will return to normal schooling provided that the risk-adjusted differentiated strategy is implemented. Th...

Investors have cheered news that Eskom managed to reduce its debt by 83 billion rand in the year to March. Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan made the announcement during his department's budget vote in parliament last night.

The Pietermaritzburg High Court has postponed the fraud, corruption and racketeering case against former President Jacob Zuma and French arms company Thales, to July 19th. They have been charged in connection with the 1999 multi-billion rand arms deal. Zuma and Thales pleaded not guilty to all charges. Several ANC leaders including the party's suspended Secretary General, Ace Magashule, former Min...

The Free State Education department has confirmed that one matriculant has died after succumbing to COVID-19 related complications. The provincial department also notes that at least 12 learners from the Lephola Secondary School in Welkom have tested positive for the virus. The province has seen a surge in new infections over the last month with education officials expressing concern at the number...

Former SARS Commissioner Tom Moyane has alleged his removal from SARS was a well-orchestrated process. Moyane appeared before the Commission of Inquiry Into State Capture for the first time today. He has also denied allegations that he was at the centre of State Capture while at the helm of the Revenue service.

The ANC is looking at pressing more charges against its embattled and suspended Secretary General Ace Magashule. This came out at the media following the governing party's National Working Committee on Monday. Disciplinary action will also extend to NEC member Tony Yengeni and Magashule's aide and MKMVA spokesperson Carl Niehaus.

The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein will hear an appeal over lockdown alert level 3 and 4 regulations this morning (wednesday 26 May). The Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs is appealing against the Gauteng High Court judgment that declared regulations under lockdown levels 4 and 3 invalid and unconstitutional. The case was brought by Reyno De Beer and the Li...

The situation remains volatile in Makhanda in the Eastern Cape as residents continue with the total shutdown in the of the university-town. Protesters are demanding the delivery of services which include the provision of water and sanitation including better road infrastructure. The Makana Municipality has been dysfunctional for years and residents successfully went to court in January last year,...

Motorists have been warned against the new trend of spiking car tyres and to avoid hotspots at all costs. The following routes have been identified as hotspots :The N4 Mpumalanga to Pretoria betweent Solomon Mahlangu and Water mayor off- ramp. The N4 Pretoria to Mpumalanga betweem Bronkhorspruit and Balmoral off-ramp. The N1 Polokwane. N4 Mpumalanga interchange in Pretoria. The N4 to Rustenburg be...

There are growing calls for South Africa to tighten restriction amid rising Covid-19 infections. This past weekend the country recorded the highest number of new Covid-19 cases since February - surpassing the four-thousand mark. Gauteng is already in the midst of a third wave with the province's economic hub - Johannesburg - leading in terms of new infections.

Public comment is now open on the Draft Firearms Control Amendment Bill. Among its aims is the removal of self-defence as a reason for applying for a firearm. This has caused an outcry from interest groups. They say should this go through, it would remove the right of a citizen to protect themselves. The draft was made public last week and comments can be made until the end of July.

Former Miss Heritage South African and member of the United Nations Generation Equity Working Group, Zipho Ntlanganiso says a lot more education needs to go into understanding mental health issues. This as the World marks World Schizophrenia Day TODAY*. The 31 year old Ntlanganiso's mother was diagnosed with schizophenia back in 1993 and she says the stigma of being labelled a child of 'igeza' or...

A study conducted by the Health Sciences Faculty at the University of Fort Hare has found that the province doesn't have sufficient capacity to successfully handle phase two of the vaccination rollout programme. According to the study, remote rural areas will be difficult to reach because the number of vaccine sites are inadequate. The study also indicates that the third wave will be difficult to...