First Take SA

There's a positive development for consumers. This after newly released Statistics South showed that consumer inflation, which stood at five-point-six per cent in February, declined to five-point-three per cent in March. According to Stats SA, the primary factors contributing to the decline were transportation, food, housing and utilities and other goods and services. In addition, consumer inflati...

The Department of Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities is calling on law enforcement agencies to take action regarding kidnapping incidents involving women, children, and LGBTQ individuals. Over 15-thousand kidnapping cases were recording in the 2022/2023 financial year, according to Statistic South Africa. Elvis Presslin spoke to Cassius Selala, Director of Communication at the Department...

ActionSA will today present to Rand Water its plans to avert South Africa's looming water crisis. This after the Department of Water and Sanitation recently warned citizens of an imminent water shutdown, if phase 2 of the Lesotho Highlands Water Project is not completed on time. ActionSA has blamed government for the deterioration of the country's water infrastructure. To further discuss this we a...

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse OUTA's says the delay by the Department of Transport to redesign the driver's license card is concerning. Transport Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga announced earlier this month that the new drivers license cards will be rolled out end of April. The current card printers have been affected by technical issues in the past few years, leading to breakdowns and inevitable...

The Department of Agriculture and the Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition have requested consultations with the European Union (EU) regarding phyto-sanitary trade regulations imposed on South African citrus by the European Union. The move aims to find a long-lasting solution to protect the livelihoods of tens of thousands of people in the local citrus industry. Now for more on this Elvi...

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has warned of escalating violence in Sudan's armed conflict, citing ethnic-motivated attacks, sexual violence, and recruitment of children. Türk has called for an end of violence and a contraction of armed actors. Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of the armed conflict in Sudan, which resulted from the overthrow of the government by S...

African Congress for Transformation (ACT) leader, Ace Magashule says constant delays in his R255 million asbestos corruption trial are politically motivated. Former Free State Premier, Magashule, his co-accused controversial businessman Edwin Sodi and several others are accused of corruption in the case involving the asbestos roof removal project in the province. Magashule, who spoke to our Senior...

Five people died and several others missing following recent floods in Kwazulu-Natal. Provincial Cooperative Governance MEC, Bongi Sithole-Moloi says 8 people were rescued and more than 6 vehicles have been recovered after flood water swept through Margate on Sunday. For more on this Elvis Presslin spoke to Kwazulu-Natal Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Spokesperson, Siboniso Mngadi

Newly elected Ekurhuleni Mayor Nkosindiphile Xhakaza has appointed a new multi-party Mayoral Committee. The ANC's Xhakaza has reappointed five EFF MMCs including four others from his party. Former mayor Sivuyile Ngondwana returns as MMC for Corporate and Share services - a position previously held by Xhakaza. For more on this Elvis Presslin spoke to ActionSA Caucus Leader In the City of Ekurhuleni...

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...