First Take SA

An arrest warrant has been issued for a former Eskom executive after failing to appear in court. Yesterday the Palm Ridge Specialised Crimes Court issued an arrest warrant against France Hlakudi and his 5 co-accused are facing fraud and corruption charges related to an R745 million fraud matter at the Kusile power station in Mpumalanga. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to Sindisiwe Seboka, S...

The DA motion of no confidence in the cabinet has been defeated in the National Assembly. 131 members voted in favor while 231 voted against. The DA and the EFF voted for the motion, while the ANC and IFP voted against it. Only Cope abstained. Elvis Presslin spoke to John Steenhuisen, Leader of the Democratic Alliance, DA

Former Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini will be sentenced this Friday after being found guilty of perjury. The embattled ANC Women's League president was found guilty by the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court for lying under oath before an inquiry into the social grants crisis at the South African Social Security Agency, Sassa, instituted by the Constitutional Court. So will Bathabile Dl...

The National Taxi Alliance has threatened to take the government to court if the industry's demand for a reprieve from car financing and fuel levies is not met. The association says recent rising fuel and other costs are crippling the industry, forcing it to pass the costs onto customers. The association says the current record-high prices have had a devastating impact on taxi drivers and commuter...

Civil society advocacy group, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) says it estimates that come 1 April 2022, South Africa will have well over one million motorists with expired driver's license cards. The organization says this is a significant problem that government will not be able to wish away or dump in the laps of its citizens. OUTA CEO, Wayne Duvenage has called on the transport minist...

Can the ANC be criminally prosecuted for tax evasion? According to recent reports, the governing party owes the taxman over 100 million rands and had been given a ten-day ultimatum by SARS to pay the amount. The ruling party claimed to have paid SARS at the end of last month but remain mum on the amount paid. So what are the ramifications If the ANC doesn't settle its tax dispute with SARS? To ans...

Parliament's vote of no confidence in President Cyril Ramaphosa will go ahead today, despite efforts by the African Transformation Movement, ATM to have it postponed. Recently the ATM's urgent court application to have its motion of no confidence in President Ramaphosa held in secret was struck off the roll by the Western Cape High Court. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spokt to ATM spokesperson...

Statistician-General of South Africa Risenga Maluleke will, this morning, release the results of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the fourth quarter of 2021, at a media briefing in Pretoria. The country's unemployment rate hit a record high at nearly 35% in the third quarter of 2021. Some analysts say they expect job numbers to remain depressed in the fourth quarter of this year. For more on...

Trade union Solidarity is expected to lay charges of corruption, theft, fraud, and mismanagement of State funds against 19 alleged State capturers, including former president Jacob Zuma this morning. The union says it will lay the charges on Dudu Myeni and Brian Molefe, among others at the Brooklyn Police Station at 10am. The union says the charges come on the back of the reports and recommendatio...

Time to take a look at the current top African economic stories with Victor Kgomoesoana, author of  "Africa Is Open For Business" and "Africa Bounces Back". Victor is also the Executive Director for Marketing and Communication at the University of Limpopo...

Operation Dudula leader Nhlanhla "Lux" Dlamini is expected to apply for bail at the Roodepoort Magistrate's Court today. This after Dlamini was arrested last week after a criminal case was opened against him by Dobsonville, Soweto resident Victor Ramerafe. Ramerafe's home was allegedly ransacked by members of Operation Dudula, led by Dlamini, after the movement accused Ramerafe of being a drug dea...

The South African Federation of Trade Unions, SAFTU, says it has suspended four of its senior office bearers. The four suspensions are SAFTU's President Mac Chavalala, its second deputy president, national treasurer, and deputy general secretary. It follows the issuing of a notice of precautionary suspension on SAFTU's General-Secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi, for the alleged breach of the labour federa...

KwaZulu-Natal has the highest number of child pregnancies according to Statistics South Africa (Stats SA). The province registered 18 550 births for children aged 10 to 17 during the 2019-20 financial year. But In terms of the national picture more than 83 000 children gave birth countrywide during the same period. For more on this Elvis Presslin spoke to Ms Nelisiwe Vilakazi, Head of the KwaZulu-...

Zimbabweans voted in key parliamentary and municipal by-elections at the weekend. Many experts say the outcome of these By-elections will give a glimpse of what is to come in the country's presidential elections next year. SABC correspondent In Zimbabwe Mr. Ephert Musekiwa spoke to Elvis Presslin...

The man accused of orchestrating the murder of Tshegofatso Pule, Ntuthuko Shoba will know his fate today. This as the Johannesburg High Court is expected to hand down judgment in the murder trial. Shoba is accused of murdering Tshegofatso Pule in June last year. Pule was 8 months pregnant at the time. Shoba is also facing charges of conspiracy to murder, as well as defeating the ends of justice. M...

The Minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele will launch the Marketing, Advertising, and Communications SA (MAC SA) Charter Sector Council today. The MAC Charter Council is tasked with monitoring the transformation of the sector by facilitating the implementation of the B-BBEE sector code. For more on this, here is Chief Director of Media Policy at the Government Communication Information Syst...

Operation Dudula leader Nhlanhla 'Lux' Dlamini was arrested and detained at the Johannesburg police station last night. Dlamini's arrest stems from charges laid against him at the Dobsonville police station on Wednesday by Soweto resident Victor Ramerafe with the support of the EFF. Ramerafe's home was reportedly ransacked by Operation Dudula members on Sunday allegedly without a search warrant af...

Time to take a look at the current top African economic stories with Victor Kgomoesoana, author of  "Africa Is Open For Business" and "Africa Bounces Back". Victor is also the Executive Director for Marketing and Communication at the University of Limpopo...

The City of Tshwane says it encourages the Metro Police Department to strengthen its security measures in areas where illegal striking workers continue to disrupt its services. This follows a walk-around by Tshwane Mayor Randall Williams to some of the areas of the City which have seen disruptions to the electricity supply. The Tshwane metro issued a notice of intention to fire the striking worker...

A data breach at TransUnion could cost the credit bureau a fine of up to 10-million rand according to the Information Regulator of South Africa. A hacking group based in Brazil, which has claimed responsibility for the attack on TransUnion is threatening to leak personal data of prominent politicians in South Africa - which Includes President Cyril Ramaphosa, EFF leader Julius Malema, among others...

The South African National Civic Organization, in the Free State, has resolved to register as a political party and contest for political power in the next general elections set for the year 2024. The Free State says it will be taking this resolution to its National General Council taking place in Johannesburg this upcoming weekend. The Civic organization has once decried how its leaders are treat...

Economists expect the Reserve Bank to hike interest rates today (Thursday) on the back of surging fuel and food prices. The bank's Monetary Policy Committee is currently meeting. It had its last meeting in January before tensions between Ukraine and Russia escalated. Statistics South Africa has released the Consumer Price Index for February, which is unchanged from January's figure of five-point-s...

President Cyril Ramaphosa says It's no longer mandatory to wear a mask outdoors. Addressing the nation on developments in South Africa's response to the COVID-19 pandemic last night, President Ramaphosa however says a mask will be required indoors. Ramaphosa has also added that government intends to lift the state of disaster as soon as new regulations by the Health Minister have been finalized. F...

The High Court in Pretoria has barred the government from donating 50-million-rand to the Republic of Cuba which had been earmarked as humanitarian aid in that country. Earlier this month, lobby group Afriforum urgently applied to interdict the payment saying the decision to approve the donation was unconstitutional. The International Relations Department's announcement last year regarding the pro...

At least nineteen workers within the City of Tshwane have been given notices of the intention to suspend them following continued disruptions to electricity supply in several parts of Tshwane. This as the disruptions have been attributed to an illegal strike by municipal workers represented by the South African Municipal Workers Union. The Tshwane metro has now given the identified workers until T...