First Take SA

The Gauteng Health department spends R14 million annually on 11 Cuban doctors. This was revealed by Provincial MEC for Health and Wellness, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko in a written response to the DA. The Cuban doctors serve across different health centers, earning annual salaries between R1.2 million to R1.64 million - while local doctors complain about being unemployed. Now for more on this, Elvis Pr...

Elvis Presslin takes a look at the current top African economic stories with Victor Kgomoeswana, 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 National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers (NUPSAW) says it is outraged by the recent South African Post Office (SAPO) retrenchments. About 4700 retrenchment letters have been issued and sent to workers by the South African Post Office. According to Minister of Communications and Digital Technologies Mondli Gungubele, 235 post offices are set to close across the country. To discuss th...

The Nelson Mandela Bay metro has lost R430 million in National Treasury grants due to severe underspending. The Democratic Alliance leader in the metro, Retief Odendaal, predicts that the metro's financial situation will deteriorate further in the next financial year, as it has only spent 37% of its total capital budget with just one quarter remaining in the current financial year. The Democratic...

Higher Education Minister, Blade Nzimande says the outgoing NSFAS board failed to carry out its basic responsibilities and that informed its dissolution. Nzimande briefed the media in Pretoria on his decision to dissolve the board of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme and to place NSFAS under administration. He announced his decision on Thursday after Ernest Khosa resigned as board chairper...

The Border Management Authority (BMA) says it processed over one-million travelers across the 71 ports of entry to South Africa in its ten-day Easter operations. Border Management Authority Commissioner Dr. Michael Masiapato was highlighting the statistics in a media briefing in Pretoria yesterday. The commissioner says there was a 24 % increase in traveler numbers over the Easter period this year...

South Africa is grappling with a student accommodation crisis with students often living in unsafe conditions in decaying areas or far from their campuses. The Department of Higher Education's Student Housing Infrastructure Program aims to address this issue, but requires R7 billion annually to achieve 300,000 beds  targeted and R80 billion for 150 projects. for more on this Elvis Presslin spoke t...

Sibanye Stillwater says it is embarking on another round of retrenchment talks at its gold operations that could affect about 4 000 employees and contractors. Further to previous restructuring concluded during 2023 and the first quarter of 2024, the ongoing group business review has identified a need to address losses at the Beatrix 1 shaft, which has been unable to deliver planned production, it...

Currently standing with a claims backlog of 321, 000, the Road Accident Fund is urging claimants who submitted their claims before April 2022 to submit all outstanding documents to the compensation fund in order to finalize their claims. Now for more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to Mcintosh Polela, Spokesperson for the road accident fund

Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr. Blade Nzimande has dissolved the NSFAS board with immediate effect. The decision follows an announcement of the resignation of Mr. Ernest Khosa as chairperson of the NSFAS Board and an employee of NSFAS.  Nzimande says he is deeply disturbed by the recurring problem of non-payment of student allowances by the National Student Financial Aid...

Eskom has managed to keep the lights on for at least two weeks now without load-shedding. The power utility says load shedding remains on suspension until further notice due to sustained generation capacity and emergency reserves. Eskom plans to return 1,800 MW of capacity into service by today.  Now for more on this Elvis Presslin spoke to the chairperson of the Eskom board, Mtheto Nyathi 

Elvis Presslin takes a look at the current top African economic stories with Victor Kgomoeswana, 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

Employers have seen a rise in resignations from employees due to burnout caused by inflexible or long working hours and the general negative business implications of not promoting work-life balance among the workforce. Now for more on this Elvis Presslin spoke to Malesela Letwaba, Associate in the Employment Law practice at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr

As the e-toll gantries are officially switched off, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse, OUTA, says that it was hoping for further clarity regarding outstanding e-toll debt, but government has provided none. OUTA was reacting to the announcement by Transport MInister Sindisiwe Chikunga, that from tomorrow midnight e-Tolls will be scrapped in Gauteng. She however said that all transactions that occu...

The Democratic Alliance has won its case against the Independent Electoral Commission to ensure more voting stations abroad for the 2024 General Elections. This comes as the Electoral Court confirmed that the decision taken by the Independent Electoral Commission not to allow voting overseas at consulates headed by honorary consuls should be set aside. For more on this Elvis Presslin spoke to Nati...

The Govan Mbeki Local Municipality in Mpumalanga has been penalized with a hefty fine of R200 million for breaching environmental laws . The Bethal Magistrates Court found the municipality guilty of six counts for unlawfully disposing and distributing affluent raw and untreated sewer into various locations. For more on this, Elvis Presslin  spoke to Nhlakanipho Zuma, Executive Mayor of the Govan M...

The Minister of Water and Sanitation, Senzo Mchunu, has announced plans to upgrade the Klipdrift Water Treatment Plant in Hammanskraal in the city of Tshwane, with an intention to provide clean drinking water to residents. Mchunu says the upgrade will increase the plant's treatment capacity by 50 ml of wastewater per day and involve desilting sludge at the Leeukraal dam. The minister and Tshwane M...

The Independent Electoral Commission says it is taking legal advice on the Electoral Court judgement on the Jacob Zuma-MK Party matter. The IEC says it will chart a way forward based on such advice as well as reasoned judgements that it may receive. The electoral court overturned the IEC's decision, which argued that Zuma's contempt of court conviction and subsequent 15-month sentence in 2021 made...

The DA in Gauteng says Construction mafias disguising themselves as 'business forums' are holding Gauteng infrastructure projects worth billions hostage. The party says the so-called 'business forums' are disrupting construction by threatening workers on site, and armed business forum leaders often arrive to demand work. Furthermore, the construction mafia demands subcontracts for a 30% stake in l...

Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Sihle Zikalala has reportedly revealed that about R13.8 million may have been lost to corruption across the expanded public works programmes (EPWP). Responding to DA MP, Sello Seitlholo, Zikalala reportedly said verifications done with the Department of Public Service and Administration Personnel and Salaries (Persal) management system have identified suspi...

The South African Supreme Court of Appeal has made a landmark decision overturning an order blocking the publication of a confidential intelligence report by the State Security Agency. The court ruled in favour of independent media and journalist Thabo Makwakwa. The ruling reveals the misuse of state mechanisms by the SSA to settle internal disputes within the ANC and highlights concerns about the...

Judgment in the case involving the Umkhonto Wesizwe Party and the Independent Electoral Commission is expected to be handed down today at the Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg. Umkhonto Wesizwe is contesting the decision by the IEC that barred former president Jacob Zuma from becoming one of the party's candidates for parliament after the 2024 General Elections scheduled for May 29th. Elvis Press...

Deputy President Paul Mashatile plans to involve farmers and civic organisations such as Afriforum to help local governments repair struggling water-treatment plants. Government has warned that if efforts fail to address the deterioration in water quality and the increasing cases of water-shedding prove ineffective, national government will assume control of water management from municipalities.  ...

Western Cape authorities say schools in the Overberg and Cape Winelands education districts will remain closed today due to inclement weather. A 132 schools have been reported to have suffered damage due to current weather conditions in the province. Elvis Presslin spoke to Gift of the Givers Coordinator in the Western Cape, Ali Sablay...

The Democratic Alliance says it has written to the Powers and Privileges Committee about the progress made in its request to investigate former National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula. The investigation request relates to a 70% salary increase which was given to the . George's salary was increased from  R2.6 million to R4.4 million, while having been in the position for less than three m...