First Take SA

The Free State health department says one of the hospitals in Bloemfontein is already full with Coronavirus patients. The department says it is concerned about the increasing confirmed numbers of Coronavirus cases. It says this will result in unnecessary pressure on the healthcare system. On Saturday, the province recorded 523 new cases, a significant increase from previous reported daily cases.

The Democratic Alliance has accepted the resignation of Phumzile Van Damme as a Member of Parliament and from the Party. Van Damme announced her resignation LAST NIGHT (Thursday). She was placed on special leave by the party last November without consultation and has had several run ins with the party's leadership under John Steenhuisen. She was also removed as the Party's shadow Minister of commu...

It was another day of accusations and counter-accusations by officials from the State Security Agency, at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture on Thursday. Two unidentified operatives from the SSA have rebutted the evidence from their former boss David Mahlobo. One operative alleged that Mahlobo interfered in the unit's operations, paid judges to influence a case against his department and...

Nurses union DENOSA has cast doubt on the department of health's undertaking to vaccinate all healthcare workers across the country by end of this week. South Africa entered the second phase of the COVID-19 vaccine roll-out programme on Monday, targeting citizens over the age of 60. This despite the fact that the innoculation of healthcare workers had not been completed. Denosa has also raised con...

Former State Security Minister David Mahlobo has denied any involvement in the removal of former President Jacob Zuma's estranged wife from his Nkandla residence in northern Kwa Zulu-Natal. He was testifying at the Commission on State Capture in Johannesburg last night. It's alleged that Nompumelelo Ntuli-Zuma was a suspect in the poisoning of the former president and was subsequently removed from...

Minister Aaron Motsoaledi has come under fire from some opposition parties in the National Assembly for what they say is the chaotic state of the Home Affairs department. Of particular concern is the problem of long queues where often people are turned away because the system is offline. During the department's budget vote debate, parties also questioned why the department has still not introduced...

The Independent Electoral Commission says it is considering electronic registration as one of the modalities for elections. It says an announcement will be made soon in this regard. The commission also says it does not know what impact COVID-19 will have on the voter turnout in the upcoming local government elections in October. IEC commissioners and officials appeared before the committee to brie...

Former Speaker of Parliament Baleka Mbete says it is not true that the fifth Parliament did nothing to investigate serious allegations of widespread corruption between 2014 and 2017. Mbete was testifying at the State Capture Commission on the Parliamentary oversight during the former president Jacob Zuma's administration. She said they used Portfolio Committees to find out what was happening at th...

Moodys says South Africa's rating outlook may remain negative due to the expected downside risk to fiscal sustainability, continuing debt, high interest payments and the continued challenges facing Eskom. Moody's experts panel says while the country's challenges were exacerbated by the pandemic, it entered the crisis from a position of weakness. Moody's analysts say the 3% drop in government reven...

Former president Jacob Zuma will be back in the Pietermaritzburg High court next week Wednesday. Zuma's trial was YESTEDAY postponed to give the defence time to bring an application for the recusal of lead state prosecutor - advocate Billy Downer. Zuma and co-accused French arms manufacturer Thales face charges of corruption, fraud, money laundering and racketeering. The charges are linked to the...

The situation is still tense in most parts of Bloemfontein as residents continue to block streets with burning tyres, stones and rubble. Yesterday residents heeded the call for a shut down. There was no schooling and not a single taxi or bus in the streets of Mangaung. And very few people were able to report for work

The US seems no closer to supporting moves on the UN Security Council that will secure an immediate ceasefire in the Middle East. Washington has instead continued to pursue the bilateral route, tempering its criticism of Israel while condemning the continued indiscriminate rocket-fire from Gaza. Secretary of State Antony Blinken - speaking during an unrelated trip to Denmark- said the US administr...

Two political party leaders in South Africa's Parliament who are over the age of 60 say they will not register to be vaccinated against COVID-19. They will also NOT take the vaccine. The Leaders of the Freedom Front Plus Pieter Groenewald and Kenneth Meshoe from the ACDP have different reasons why they will not be vaccinated. This comes as National Assembly Deputy Speaker Lechesa Tsenoli called on...

A 50-year-old educator at Mbilwi Secondary School, will TODAY appear before the Thohoyandou Magistrates Court for allegedly raping a learner. The Limpopo teacher allegedly violated the 17-year-old school girl three times in 2018. He was arrested on Friday after the Human Rights Commission opened a case against him. The girl approached the commission and disclosed what happened.

Efforts are underway to save the Cango Caves - in Oudtshoorn, in the Western Cape. This national treasure in the Klein Karoo suffered huge financial losses as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Oudtshoorn Municipality is in the process of developing an economic recovery plan to try and save the caves.

COSATU says it's strongly opposed to another hard lock down to curb the spread of the Covid- 19 pandemic in the country. This as talk of a third wave of Covid infections is gaining momentum following the rapid increase in new positive cases recently.

Two senior police officers have been arrested in the Vaal in Gauteng on charges of human trafficking. Hawks spokesperson, Ndivhuwo Mulamu says a police brigadier and captain were arrested YESTERDAY. The two policemen were nabbed after a woman escaped from a brothel and reported the pair to the police. Mulamu says the lawmen allegedly knew the woman was being held against her will at a brothel. The...

Violence in Gaza and Israel shows no sign of abating amid continued rocket fire and air strikes. Dozens of people have so far died in the conflict. The Israeli army is believed to have put forward plans for a possible ground offensive in Gaza, which needs to be approved by army chiefs and various levels of government before any operation begins. This has been described as worst violence since 2014...

The United Nations Security Council has again failed to reach agreement in response to the escalating conflict between Israelis and Palestinians that has now left dozens dead and hundreds injured. It was the Council's second emergency session on the same issue in three days. Israel has targeted sites belonging to armed groups and Hamas-controlled security and police buildings in the Gaza strip aft...

Inspector General of Intelligence, Setlhomamaru Dintwe, has painted a picture of intelligence services ravaged by corruption, nepotism and lack of accountability. Dintwe - whose office is mandated to conduct oversight over civilian state security, crime and defence intelligence, was testifying at the State Capture Commission for a second time on Wednesday.

The number of new Covid-19 cases is increasing at an alarming rate in Emfuleni on the Vaal. Health experts are worried the cases numbers approaching the third-wave threshold. Non-adherence to Covid-19 safety protocols, family and religious gatherings are some of the reasons for the spike.

Metrobus commuters are still urged to find alternate modes of transport as employees forge ahead with their strike action. All three Metrobus terminals in Johannesburg are still closed as a result of deadlocked salary negotiations. Workers are demanding an 18-percent salary increase

The ANC has given its suspended secretary general, Ace Magashule, 48 hours to publically apologize for the suspension letter he sent to ANC president, Cyril Ramaphosa, last week. Deputy secretary general, Jessie Duarte says there's no legal basis for that, but the party hopes to hear from Magashule this week. She was briefing the media at the party headquarters at Luthuli House in Johannesburg YES...

Violent clashes over the status of Jerusalem escalated dramatically over the last 24 hours with Hamas-fired rockets from Gaza into Israel and retaliatory airstrikes leading to international calls for the violence to stop. At the United Nations in New York, the Secretary General urged maximum restraint while the US called for the violence to cease and for parties to take proactive steps to calm the...

Consumers are finding it hard to get by due to the high cost of goods and services. The price of food and other essentials has gone up with taxi fares also expected to increase from next month. A survey has found that the cost of living among South Africans has significantly increased -- especially since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Last month, the 350 Rand social relief grant came to an...