First Take SA

ANC MP Vincent Smith will only know by Wednesday whether his request to step aside as chairperson of various committee has been granted or not. This is according to the ANC Chief Whip's Office in Parliament. Smith has requested to step aside until the Ethics Committee has concluded its investigation into his conduct. The Council for the Advance of the South African Constitution believes that Smith...

September 10 is World Suicide Prevention Day. It's a day meant to raise awareness around the globe that suicide can be prevented. In South Africa, according to the available data, approximately 11 out of every 100 000 people across all age groups commit suicide. The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG), estimates that suicide accounts for up to 9% of all deaths among the youth..Elvis...

The secretary of the ANC Youth League in KwaZulu-Natal, Thanduxolo Sabelo, has lodged a complaint with the Press Ombudsman following a weekend report that he was involved in plans to oust President Cyril Ramaphosa. The Sunday Times newspaper reported YESTERDAY that former president Jacob Zuma allegedly held a secret meeting in Durban last week with key ANC officials including the party's Secretary...

ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa says the public should not panic after the country slipped into recession. Ramaphosa has given the assurance that government will soon respond to South Africa's plunge into a technical recession. Ramaphosa was in KwaZulu-Natal to engage business and party leaders where he also addressed the community of Chatsworth as part of the Thuma Mina Campaign. Elvis Preslin spok...

Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has heard submissions from various implicated persons to cross- examine some of the witnesses. He has since granted businessman Fana Hlongwane permission to cross-examine former deputy Finance minister Mcebisi Jonas. Former president Jacob Zuma's chief-of-staff Lakela Kaunda and Hawks official Mandla Mtholo willl cross-examine former ANC member of Parliament Vytj...

The new Nelson Mandela Bay coalition administration is on Friday expected to continue with the council meeting that ousted the former Executive Mayor Athol Trollip, Speaker Jonathan Lawack and Chief Whip Werner Senekal after DA's councilllor Mbulelo Manyathi abstained during voting. The meeting was adjourned after the election of the mayor and chief whip and some agenda points were not discussed....

Gauteng Infrastructure Development MEC, Jacob Mamabolo, has promised to take full responsibility for the deadly Bank of Lisbon building fire in the Johannesburg CBD should investigations find he was at fault. Three firefighters were killed and several others injured fighting the blaze. It has since emerged that the building is among several that did not comply with safety standards. Firefighters s...

Victor Kgomoesoana, Director at "Africa Is Open For Business" looks at Rwanda's opposition ( Democratic Green party) has won parliamentary seats for first time, MTN Nigeria has been directed to pay two-billion-dollars accumulated import duties Value Added Tax (VAT) and in Kenya, the High Court in Bungoma has suspended the decision by Treasury to levy a 16 per cent Value Added Tax (VAT) on petroleu...

Afriforum Deputy CEO Ersnt Roets rattled the Constitutional Review Committee during his oral presentation on whether section 25 of the constitution should be amended to expropriate land without compensation. This came as Roets used his presentation to slam the ANC and the EFF. The National House of Traditional Leaders, the Southern African Catholics Conference and the Foundation for Human Rights a...

The United Nations Peacekeeping Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo has reported that two South African peacekeepers were wounded, in a rebel ambush near the epicentre of an Ebola outbreak in the eastern part of the country. MONUSCO peacekeepers are providing near-daily escorts to Health officials there, where some stretches of road are considered a 'red zone' because of recurrent rebel at...

Consumers are often the ones who are left licking their wounds when a country battles a recession. On Tuesday Stats SA released it's economic data which revealed that South Africa has hit a technical recession. This means the country's economy has experienced two consecutive quarters of negative growth. A comsumer advisor has called on South African consumers to go back to basics . Carmel Loggenbe...

Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba says four firefighters who are still receiving treatment at the Milpark Hospital following yesterday's deadly blaze in the CBD are out of danger. Mashaba together with his team from the mayoral committee visited them in hospital this morning. Four others have been discharged. Three firefighters died after the Bank of Lisbon building, which house two Gauteng depart...

Safety of government buildings in the Johannesburg CBD remains in question. Gauteng Premier David Makhura says a report released last week reveals that seven other buildings, beside the site of yesterday's fire, have been identified as being non-compliant with safety regulations. Makhura was speaking at the government building where the blaze led to the deaths of three firefighters. SABC reporter,...

The majority of opposition parties in Parliament say they're not shocked that the country slipped into technical recession. Some are attributing the recession to uncertainty in policies -- while others say it's due to over-reliance in foreign direct investment. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) CEO Tanya Cohen

Government has given the South African Broadcasting Corporation a financial rescue to the tune of R1.2 billion in the form of a guarantee. The public broadcast will now be able to borrow monies to stay afloat. Communications Minister Nomvula Mokonyane told the media in Cape Town that the National Treasury and the SABC Board have concluded their discussions on the viable financial rescue of the bro...

Investigations are underway into the exact cause of YESTERDAY's train collision that left over 100 people injured in Selby south of Johannesburg. Metrorail says a train travelling from Faraday towards New Canada collided head on with another train bound for Naledi in Soweto. All the injured were taken to various nearby hospitals. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Zanele Sabela, SATAWU spokesperson...

Thirty organisations and individuals will be making oral representations to Constitutional Review Committee at Parliament. This follows country wide public hearings. The committee is tasked with establishing whether Section 25 of the Constitution should be changed to allow for land expropriation without compensation. Zalene Merrington reports...

Stellenbosch University political analyst, Zwelinzima Ndevu says failure to deal with perceptions of racial conflict within any political party is dangerous. Ndevu was reacting to claims of discrimination against Khoisan activsts, during a recent ANC West Coast regional congress. ANC councillor Sammy Claassen says he has lodged a complaint with the SA Human Rights Commission. Chris Mabuya reports....

Economists say South Africa might avoid a recession in the second quarter of the year. This as Statistics South Africa gears up to release the second quarter growth number in for 2018. Gross Domestic Product growth dropped by 2-point-2 per cent in the first quarter of the year. Naledi Ngcobo reports….

For our Women's Month Feature, the final one today, we speak to Kurisani Maswanganyi. She is Managing Director and Founderl of Kulani Engineering. Maswaganyi founded the company in a bid to do work that significantly contriubutes to the development of the country and its economy through home-grown engineering projects. She was this week recognised by the University of Johannesburg for her work in...

For our Women's Month Feature we speak to Lebo Motswenyane, an entrepreneur and owner of the company Lucky No 8, which is credited with organising Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture featuring Barack Obama as keynote speaker. She tells us how she quit her job with only a month's salary in the kitty, to a journey that has seen her as management of international acts at the Delicious Festival, SAMA Red Ca...

The restructuring project introduced by consulting agency Bain during suspended SARS Commissioner Tom Moyane's tenure at the revenue collector is said to have dismantled strategic departments which were responsible for collecting hundreds of billions in tax revenue. This is according to tax professionals appearing before the SARS commission of inquiry in Pretoria. Naledi Ngcobo reports....

National Treasury says it is a war they are fighting to make sure there is no abuse of the system - especially when it comes to procurement. Acting Treasury Chief Procurement Officer, Ndleleni Mathebula, revealed this during the State Capture inquiry in Parktown, Johannesburg. Mathebula was the first witness and gave evidence on procurement processes, and whether they were flouted in the departmen...

The SABC Board has avoided answering the question on who authorised the airing of a video by President Cyril Ramaphosa, speaking in his capacity as ANC leader, on the expropriation of land without compensation. The DA laid a compliant against the SABC, following the airing of the video footage more than two weeks ago. The Public Broadcaster also told Parliament's Communication's Committee that it...

Convicted KZN FeesMustFall activist and student leader, Bonginkosi Khanyile, has vowed to camp on the lawns of the Union Buildings in Pretoria until President Cyril Ramaphosa receives his memorandum of demands. Khanyile will be sentenced on the 16 of October. Khanyile and a group of supporters from various student bodies want the presidency to pardon all students and activists who have been arrest...