First Take SA

President Jacob Zuma has urged delegates attending the ANC 5th National Policy Conference to find ways to implement all policies that will be adopted at the end of the week-long gathering. He was speaking at the governing party's fund raising gala dinner last night. The ANC begins its National Policy Conference in Nasrec outside Soweto later this morning. The first two days of the gathering will b...

SABC senior producer of RSG Current Affairs Suna Venter has died. Venter's body was discovered on Thursday morning at her flat in Fairlands. Venter made headlines last year when she was suspended from the public broadcaster, along with a number of colleagues who would later be known as the SABC 8. Elvis Presslin spoke to Angie Kapelianis, National Radio Current Affairs Editor at SABC News...

The Johannesburg High Court has ordered that public schools should cater for the needs of learners from all religious backgrounds. The Organisation for Religious Education and Democracy (OGOD) challenged the Christian focused culture of six public schools, saying they violate the National Policy on Religion. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Basic Education Department Spokesperson, Elijah Mhlanga...

AngloGold Ashanti is planning to retrench over 8 000 mine workers as part of its restructuring process. In a statement the mining company says operational costs and mines that have reached the end of their economic lives are the reasons for this process. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Senior Vice President for Investor Relations at AngloGold Ashanti, Stewart Bailey...

The 2017 tax season will open for individuals on 1 July. The deadline for non-provisional and provisional taxpayers submitting their tax returns manually through the post or at a SARS branch drop box is 27 September 2017. Meanwhile, the deadline for non-provisional taxpayers submitting their returns via eFiling or electronic filing at a SARS branch is 24 November 2017. The deadline for provisional...

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) says it has put together a "compelling" document detailing the extent of South Africa's alleged state capture. The organisations says it plans to present this to Parliament. The document is based on Outa's own investigation and reports by the Public Protector, the Council of Churches & the Public Affairs Research Institute. Outa says the move aims to ensur...

President Jacob Zuma has launched Operation Vula and the Radical Agrarian Socio-Economic Transformation programme in Ixopo, KwaZulu Natal. Operation Vula seeks to localise the economy by using the government's buying power to purchase from SMMEs and cooperatives. It aims to target specific societal groupings and assist targeted enterprises with skills, funding and markets. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke t...

Former Zimbabwe Deputy Prime Minister in the inclusive government Professor Arthur Mutambara has launched his engaging autobiography. Titled " in search of the elusive Zimbabwean Dream: An autobiography of thought leadership volume one", the book reflects a description of Prof Mutambara's very impressive academic record from his high school days to his brilliant achievements at University of Zimba...

News and Current Affairs show between 5 & 6 am on SAfm 104 to 107 anchored by Tsepiso Makwetla

Employment in the formal sector has shed 48-thousand jobs in the first quarter of this year. At the end of March around 9,6 million people were employed in the formal non-agricultural sector. According to figures released by Statistics South Africa, construction and mining are the only two sectors that have shown growth in employment. Most job losses were in the retail and manufacturing sectors. T...

Parliament has refused to be briefed by the Chairperson of the board of South African Airways, Dudu Myeni. Myeni arrived without other board members at Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance to brief it on the entity's quarterly report. She was accompanied by the CFO and acting CEO. The committee said it would be futile to engage Myeni alone while there are allegations that she has not been at...

Thirteen Correctional Services officers are facing suspension for alleged breach of security at the Johannesburg medium B Prison. This after explicit images of female strippers entertaining prisoners went viral on social media. The Department has launched an investigation into how the strip dancers were allowed entry. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to spokesperson for the department of Correctional Servic...

Deputy Finance Minister Sfiso Buthelezi has questioned the relevance of inflation targeting in the current economic environment. Buthelezi was addressing a Gordon Institute of Business' Forum in Johannesburg this morning. He has called for more discussions on whether inflation targeting is still the right government policy to pursue. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to independent political analyst Dale Mck...

The Automobile Association (AA) have called for urgent intervention into the rising number of accidents which occur on South African roads. Figures released by the Road Traffic Management Corporation have shown that 14071 people have died in 2016 from road accidents, with more than a third of pedestrians accounting for the deaths. As a result, the AA have decided to launch a campaign as a way to c...

The Mpumalanga Department of Agriculture has culled over 20 thousand chickens from a farm in Villiers on the banks of Vaal River bordering the province with Free State. This after samples collected from the farm tested positive for a Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza, H5N8 also called bird flu virus. Dr Mpho Maja, Director of Animal Health at the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries s...

Former Prime Minister of Namibia, Nahas Angula, has described struggle icon, Andimba Toivo ya Toivo as a selfless and dedicated liberation leader. He was delivering the eulogy at the memorial service being held in Windhoek this afternoon. Ya Toivo was an activist who took part in the freedom struggles in both Namibia and South Africa. He spent 16 years on Robben Island with 36 other countrymen - a...

As per usual on a Friday we end off with music, on our regular slot Open Mic. Today we profile Afro-Soul sensation, Philisiwe Mavukela. Ronald Phiri spoke to the multi-talented musician from Katlehong, who released her exciting second single titled "Ubuhle Bendalo"

Kwa Zulu Natal Health MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo says they are prioritizing efforts to improve oncology services at hospitals in the province. MEC Dhlomo says they are receiving assistance from many oncologists in the private sector and they are in the process of permanently employing more. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to MEC Sibongiseni Dhlomo about his remedial plans for the province...

Angola is set to hold elections on August 23 to choose a successor to President Eduardo dos Santos after 38 years of rule. Dos Santos, 74, has been in power since 1979 and has announced that he will not contest the election. His ruling party's presidential candidate will be the current defence minister. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Presidential hopeful and Secretary General of opposition party UNITA...

The go-slow that went on for nearly two weeks by the forensic pathology assistance in Gauteng has ended. Workers were demanding extra pay and a danger allowance for conducting autopsies which they say they're untrained to do. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Nehawu Spokesperson, Khaya Xaba

The North West, Northern Cape and Free State have the worst performing municipalities, financially, in the country. Auditor-General kimi Makwetu says the Western Cape however is well ahead of other provinces with an 80% clean audit for its municipalities, in the 2015-2016 financial year. Speaking at a media briefing in Pretoria earlier on, the Auditor-General said 27% of the 263 municipalities fac...

The ANC has accused Public Protector Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane of overstepping her mandate. In her latest remedial action, Mkhwebane has recommended Parliament amend the Constitution to change the focus of the Reserve Bank's monetary policy. She says the protection of the rand's value should not be the primary objective of the Central Bank. But ANC says this is tantamount to Public Protector ove...

The South African Federation of Trade Unions (saftu) says the recommendations by the public protector to have the Reserve Bank focus on socio-economic issues are a welcomed improvement- however they feel the bank needs to be nationalised. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank has since indicated that it plans to challenge the latest report by the Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke t...

The South African Federation of Trade Unions (saftu) says the recommendations by the public protector to have the Reserve Bank focus on socio-economic issues are a welcomed improvement- however they feel the bank needs to be nationalised. Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank has since indicated that it plans to challenge the latest report by the Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane. Earlier on Tsepiso Makwe...

Refugees drawn from the East African region are celebrating in the Ugandan capital Kampala to mark World Refugee day. During the occasion the Ugandan government called on the international community to support the country's efforts to host the refugees in dignity. Uganda is now the top refugee hosting country in Africa and third largest in the world. It is home to 1.3 million refugees 900,000 of t...