First Take SA

SAMWU members yesterday blockaded the M1 freeway in protest over wages against the City of Johannesburg. SAMWU is demanding that the city's mayor Dr. Mpho Phalatse address their issue with the agreement that was signed between the City and Labour, called the Politically Facilitated Agreement. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to SAMWU Provincial Treasurer, Karabo Ramahuma

Time to take 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

Members of the Public Servants Association will be going on a wage picket today. The union which has a membership of around 235 000, failed to reach a wage agreement with the government in protracted negotiations. For more this, Elvis Presslin spoke to Claude Naiker, Spokesperson for the Public Servants Association

The Gauteng Department of Health has revealed that there has been an increase in the number of newborn babies abandoned in hospitals across the province.  The department released the figures in a written reply to questions in the provincial legislature in Johannesburg. It is reported that every year, over 10 thousand babies are abandoned in South Africa, with the vast majority of them found dead....

The ANC parliamentary caucus in the Free State says the explicit leaked video of Speaker Zanele Sifuba is an attack on her integrity. The video, which was widely shared on social media shows Sifuba in an explicit video call with an unknown man. The alleged Nigerian national reportedly released the video of Sifuba after she allegedly refused to pay large sums of money for the video not to be releas...

NUMSA National Spokesperson Phakamile Hlubi-Majola says South Africa's climate deal will trap future generations into a permanent cycle of poverty and inequality. In an opinion piece written in her personal capacity about the 8.5 billion U.S dollars climate deal and its implications for the working class in South Africa, she says the bid to transition from coal towards green energy will see massiv...

Cash-in-transit heists are on the rise in South Africa. Four security guards were injured after a cash van was blown up on the N4 national highway in Pretoria yesterday. According to the latest crime statistics, cash-in-transit heists have gone up by over 30%. To discuss the issue of an increase in cash in transit heists during or in the run-up to the festive season, Elvis Presslin spoke to Crime...

Polls in the U.S. midterm elections have closed. Voters across the United States cast their ballots yesterday in elections that will determine who controls the House of Representatives and the Senate. For the latest, Elvis Presslin spoke to Independent Political Analyst and Researcher Dr. Dale McKinley

The United States has identified four individuals allegedly tied to the leader of an Islamic State cell in South Africa. The U.S Department of Treasury says it is targeting people linked to Farhad Hoomer, who they say led an ISIS cell in Durban, including some companies connected to them. Hoomer was among those arrested in 2018 for the Verulam mosque bombing, although the case was struck off in 20...

Families of the 21 youngsters that died at the Enyobeni tavern at Scenery Park in East London, in June, have filed a complaint with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC), calling for an independent inquiry into their death. Families say they are willing to do whatever is needed to get answers, even exhume the bodies. The advocacy group, the Southern African Alcohol Policy Alliance has...

The African Unite Borders Bus Trucks Association will today stage a protest outside the Department of Transport's national office over alleged corruption and congestion at border posts. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to the Association's Chairperson Phumudzo Mukhwathi

The ANC in Ekurhuleni is disappointed by the re-election of DA Councillor Tania Campbell as Mayor. Campbell who was ousted two weeks ago following a vote of no-confidence against her was re-elected yesterday. Campbell defeated the ANC's deputy regional chairperson Jongizizwe Dlabathi who expressed his disappointment in an Interview with our senior producer Ronald Phiri

Minority parties in the City of Johannesburg will bring another motion of no confidence against City Mayor Dr. Mpho Phalatse. In a press briefing In Braamfontein yesterday, the minority parties within the ANC-led coalition said Phalatse is not the right person to lead the City. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to Councillor Lubabalo Magwentshu, chairperson of the African Transformation Movem...

The Emfuleni Local Municipality says it strongly condemns actions by Eskom after the power utility obtained an order to attach R1.3 billion of the municipality's assets. Eskom says the municipality currently owes R5.3 billion despite several litigations brought since 2018 to get the municipality to service its debt. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to Emfuleni Local Municipality MMC for Fina...

The Department of Community Safety and Transport Management says the distribution of animal-drawn carts is in line with the national Rural Transport Strategy. The department is responding to the backlash it received for the acquisition of twenty donkey carts procured for a total of R 780 000, inclusive of a three-year maintenance plan. MEC Sello Lehari handed the carts to twenty beneficiaries of D...

Time to take 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 Zimbabwean government says it has begun preparing for an influx of its returning citizens, as special permits expire in South Africa. Most Zimbabweans living and working in South Africa under the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) system do not qualify for critical skills permits. About 180 000 ZEP holders will be affected by the 30 June 2023 deadline set by South Africa. For more on this, Elvi...

Two of the 12 suspects who escaped from custody at Komatipoort police station, Mpumalanga have been re-arrested. The two were arrested whilst trying to cross the Lebombo border to Mozambique. The suspects were arrested for various offenses that included rape, robbery, theft, and kidnapping. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to Mpumalanga Police Spokesperson, Colonel Donald Mdhluli.

Actress Terry Pheto has denied her alleged involvement in a multimillion-rand scheme relating to funding by the National Lotteries Commission. Pheto says she will fully cooperate with investigations. She is among a group of individuals and companies implicated in the corruption scandal which the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) is probing. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to SIU spokesperson...

The North West MEC for Community Safety and Transport Management, Sello Lehari has expressed concern at what he says, are misguided statements shared on social media regarding the cost of animal-drawn carts handed to 20 beneficiaries at Dibono and Manawana villages outside Mahikeng, in the North West. Lehari says, the handing of the carts to mostly women beneficiaries was in line with the National...

President Cyril Ramaphosa is in Egypt for the COP27 Climate Change Conference in Sharm el Sheikh. This is as the World Bank has approved an R9 billion loan facility to power utility Eskom, as part of the Just Energy Transition initiative, which focuses on achieving "Net Zero" carbon emissions by the year 2050. President Ramaphosa has also released an R1.5 trillion investment plan to decarbonize So...

Time to take 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 Freedom Front Plus says broad-based black economic empowerment policies have left a deep trail of economic destruction across the country. This is after President Cyril Ramaphosa confirmed during his Q&A session in the National Assembly yesterday that the country will continue with Triple-B EE, Affirmative Action, and other transformational policies. FF Plus leader Dr. Pieter Groenewald sa...

The Department of Water and Sanitation will today open a case against Jagersfontein Developments over the mine wall dam collapse. Earlier this year the mine's dam wall burst, flooding the town with sludge from the mine dam. More than 160 houses were damaged and three people lost their lives in that disaster. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to Human rights attorney Richard Spoor, who represe...

The School Governing Body of Phoenix High School in Vereeniging says the Gauteng Education Department is paying R180 000 a month to rent a school it sold for R600 000. The school governing body has taken the matter to Afriforum who say by the end of the lease in 2026 the taxpayer will have forked out R32 Million. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to the Spokesperson for Afriforum's Private Pr...