First Take SA

He stands today as a beacon of universal values, peace and forgiveness and is recognized as one of the greatest leaders of our time. So says the United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, who along with actor and UN envoy, Forest Whitaker, headlined the official commemoration of Nelson Mandela International Day at the United Nations in New York. The UN's Postal Administration also unveile...

The CEO of the South African Post Office Mark Barnes says he's relieved that they've reached a wage agreement with recognised unions. The deal with the Communications Workers Union (CWU), the Democratic Postal Workers Union (DEPACU), and the South African Postal Workers Union (SAPWU) was signed. It brings to an end the strike which started on the third of this month. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to CEO...

President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged South Africans to emulate the legacy of the late former President Nelson Mandela by making a meaningful and lasting difference in their communities. The country will celebrate Madiba's birthday next Wednesday. The late struggle icon and statesman would have been 100 years old had he lived. Former US President Barack Obama will deliver the 16th Nelson Mandela ann...

Former US president, Barack Obama, has outlined various ways in which the youth in Africa can become involved in politics and leadership. Obama was speaking during an engagement with young people at the Young Leadership Academy held in Honeydew, in Johannesburg . This as South Africa celebrates the late former president Nelson Mandela's centenary birthday. Mbali Sibanyoni reports…..

Former COSATU Secretary General and Minister in the Mandela administration, Jay Naidoo, says South Africa and the World need to look to Indigenous Knowledge Systems to resolve their challenges like Madiba did. He says one of the major reasons the former statesmen had such great empathy was because of his self knowledge and his bid to find greater understanding of the earth and its workings. Naidoo...

Power utility ESKOM was on Tuesday night expected to table a revised wage offer to employees. Labour unions have rejected the power utility's wage increase of seven per cent. Eskom has indicated that it wants a three-year wage deal and the unions' demands for bonuses to be deferred. Elvis Preslin spoke to spokesperson for the National Union of Mine Workers, Livhuwani Mmamburu.

July is South Africa's National Savings month. Over the next few weeks, we will be running educational features on how you can make your rand stretch and also save enough for rainy days. Today we are looking at debt consolidation. According to an article by MoneyWeb, over 16-thousand South Africans are signing up each month for debt review. The article further says since National Credit Act (NCA)...

The tripartite alliance is working towards a reconfigured alliance. A two-day political council meeting of the ANC and its tripartite alliance - of Cosatu, SACP and Sanco - ended in Johannesburg on Monday night, with a resolution to hold an alliance summit later this year. The alliance had been on shaky ground under the leadership of former ANC president, Jacob Zuma, with partners complaining of a...

Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs minister, Zweli Mkhize says the fifteen Limpopo municipalities that invested more than one billion rand with VBS Mutual Bank, have provided him with updated reports on forensic audits that led to the investments. The minister met with local and district municipal representatives in Polokwane as part of his oversight visit. He will also focus on issue...

Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago has announced that VBS retail customers will now be able to use Nedbank branches to withdraw their savings. 90 per cent of VBS retail customers will receive their savings through Nedbank branches from this Friday. These include individuals, stokvels and burial societies. The Reserve Bank says business depositors are not a priority at this point. Tsepiso Makwe...

The Democratic Alliance and the United Democratic Movement want Duduzane Zuma, the son of former President Jacob Zuma, to be summoned to parliament to answer on his role in allegations of state capture. Zuma was granted bail and his case postponed to next January. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to political analyst at UNISA, Prof. Lesiba Tefo who says Duduzane Zuma is not a flight risk and seems to have b...

The Democratic Alliance and the United Democratic Movement want Duduzane Zuma, the son of former President Jacob Zuma, to be summoned to parliament to answer on his role in allegations of state capture. They say now that Duduzane is back in the country, he should appear before parliament to give testimony. However, Zukiswa Rantho - the Chairperson of the Public Enterprises Committee that is probin...

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa will be visiting Nigeria on Wednesday for the first time since taking over power from Jacob Zuma in February this year. Our correspondent Phil Ihaza, has more on this from the nation's capital Abuja.

SASSA workers are expected to report for work on Thursday after reaching an agreement with their employer to give negotiations another chance. Social Development Minister Suzan Shabangu had approached the Labour Court in Johannesburg to seek an interdict against the striking workers. However, the court struck the matter of the roll after parties agreed to re-open negotiations. Tsepiso Makwetla spo...

Afriforum has told the Parliament's Constitutional Review that it's not true that most of the land in the country is in the hands of white people. Afriforum raised this during the last day of public hearings on the possible amendment of Section 25 of the Constitution to allow for the expropriation of land without compensation, at Mhluzi Township in Middelburg in Mpumalanga. Eric Lubisi reports ...

Learner organisation COSAS has threatened to retaliate against teachers who continue to give corporal punishment. It says through its "Fight Fire with Fire" campaign, they will act against teachers who break the law. Corporal punishment was abolished in South African schools in 1997. The learner organisation also want Maths and Science to be taught in learners' mother-tongue. Angela Bolowana has m...

Uncertainty around social grant payments by the Post Office is sowing panic among beneficiaries, especially in rural areas. Recipients who have the new SASSA cards are being turned away from traditional pay points and are being told to collect their money from banks. Panicked beneficiaries have been queuing outside the Mthatha Post office, in the Eastern Cape, since the early hours of Wednesday, h...

The South African National Editors Forum, Media Monitoring Africa and the Support Public Broadcasting Coalition have raised concerns over the latest draft Critical Infrastructure Protection Bill. The organisations say as a national key point, the SABC is likely to be designated as critical infrastructure once the bill becomes law. This will allow for the security vetting of SABC's editorial staff....

July is National Savings month and over the next few weeks, FirstTakeSA will be running educational feautures on how you can make your rand stretch while also saving for rainy days. Today, we are looking at investments. According to an article published on Huffington Post, while South African millennials are better savers than their parents, they fail to invest enough for the long term. To find ou...

The Department of International Relations and Cooperation will embark on a nationwide awareness campaign, to educate citizens about consular services provided by South Africa's missions abroad. The initiative follows an increase in the number of incidents in which South Africans have been left distressed or arrested for criminal activities in foreign countries. South Africa has about 162 foreign m...

Although the first snow of the winter is melting, it has created several problems in the Eastern Cape. A number of mountain passes were closed on Monday . Motorists are however asked to remain cautious on the roads. The freezing weather has also created problems for stock farmers, especially emerging farmers. . Yanga Funani reports.

Striking drivers of the e-hailing taxi services Uber and Taxify have threatened to remain on strike until their demands are met. However, they did not proceed to Taxify's offices in Bryanston after handing over a memorandum of demands to Uber management in Krammerville near Sandton. They have given Uber until Thursday to respond to their demands. They want the 25-percent commission received by the...

Very cold conditions with snowfalls as well as wet and windy conditions are expected in areas over southern Free State and north-western KwaZulu-Natalon Tuesday. Snowfalls are also expected over the high-ground areas of the Eastern Cape‚ including the mountains between Willowmore and Joubertina‚ the Sneeuberg‚ Winterberg and Southern Drakensberg. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Sihle Kunene, SABC meteor...

UDM leader Bantu Holomisa is standing by the claims he made in an open letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa about alleged dodgy deals between the Public Investment Corporation and two investment companies, Lebashe and Harith General Partners. The companies' lawyers have demanded that he retract the allegations - saying they are baseless. Holomisa wants an investigation into why several individuals...

The start of the Premier Soccer League season has been thrown into disarray, following a court ruling in favour of Ajax Cape Town. The Johannesburg High Court has set aside the ruling of the arbitrator, William Makhari, on the Tendai Ndoro eligibility matter. According to Judge Denise Fischer's ruling, the recently-concluded National First Division play-off matches are declared invalid. Sifiso Ram...