First Take SA

ActionSA in Joburg has strongly objected to Pikitup's move to permanently employ over 300 workers, citing concerns about suspected manipulation and secretive hiring methods. Meanwhile, Johannesburg residents have been grappling with uncollected waste as Pikitup casual workers staged protests, preventing Pikitup trucks from leaving depots and leading to litter accumulation in various areas of Johan...

The City of Tshwane's Community Safety MMC has warned residents of a potentially violent protest in the Hercules are in Pretoria West today. Community Safety MMC Grandi Theunissen says it has come to his attention that the protesters intend to use barricade roads and also attack businesses and electricity installations in the Hercules area including the local police station. For more on this Elvis...

The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure say they've identified over 600 high risk voting stations across the country. NATJOINTS chairperson Lieutenant General Tebello Mosikili has assured South Africans that the May 29th general elections will be safe and law enforcement personnel are ready to deal with any eventualities. For more on this Elvis Presslin spoke to National Joint Op...

A potential cash-in-transit strike could result in ATMs running out of cash if the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation, and Arbitration CCMA approves the Motor Transport Workers Union's request for a picketing certificate, allowing them to initiate a protected strike. The MTWU is alarmed by the rising number of cash-in-transit heists, which pose significant risks to their members' safety. For m...

Today marks World Hypertension Day. The day focuses on spreading awareness and encouraging actions to prevent, detect, and manage hypertension. High blood pressure stands as the primary risk element for cardiovascular illnesses. With over one billion individuals globally grappling with hypertension, it remains a significant contributor to cardiovascular ailments and premature mortality worldwide....

Several suburbs and townships around Polokwane Municipality have for days now been experiencing water supply cuts. The water supply cuts have now entered into a second week with the municipality putting it down to Olifantspoort Plant line currently experiencing a pipe leak. For more on this Elvis Presslin spoke to the Executive Mayor of Polokwane Municipality, John Mpe

Today marks the second day of South Africa's case at the ICJ. The court will hear Israel's oral arguments. South Africa, presenting its case, argues that the people of Palestine face imminent and irreversible risks, necessitating urgent intervention to halt what it describes as genocide by Israel. South Africa wants additional provisional measures and modifications to previous measures due to the...

Elvis Presslin takes a look at the top African Business 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.

In South Africa, skin cancer poses a significant threat, particularly melanoma, ranking among the nation's top five cancers. The Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) designates May as Melanoma Awareness Month, stressing the crucial need to adopt sun-smart habits. For more on this Elvis Presslin spoke to Lorraine Govender, National Manager for Health Promotions at CANSA 

Anti-corruption non-profit organization Corruption Watch has released a report assessing the impact of corruption in South Africa. The survey, conducted face-to-face, involved interviews with 1,500 respondents across all provinces. According to the findings of the survey, respondents have little to no faith in law enforcement agencies. Now for more on this we are spoke to Melusi Ncala, Acting Lead...

The United Nations in South Africa says the signing of the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill into law is a significant milestone in the journey towards universal health care that leaves no one behind. In a statement issued yesterday, the UN said the law ensures that all citizens have access to quality healthcare services, regardless of their socio-economic status through the establishment of th...

The Information Regulator of South Africa says if political parties and independent candidates want to use personal information of voters for campaign purposes, they must collect such personal information from you, the voters directly, and not from data brokers or lead generators and use it for campaign purposes only. The Regulator has published a new guidance note for how political parties and in...

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi in his meeting with the non profit organisation sector has assured the sector of continued support from the province. Lesufi announced the  suspension of the 70/30 clause on the service level agreements and that the budget will be reinstated from R1.7 billion to the original R2.4 billion and prioritizing immediate payment of NPOs. This follows cries from several NPO'...

The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has turned down the request from the families of the Lily Mine victims to have their legal representatives attend a stakeholders meeting. In a letter to ActionSA, which represents the families, the Ministry stated that the invitation is non-transferable, hence barring the presence of their legal representatives. This decision comes as the department w...

The South African Federation of Trade Unions says it is vindicated by the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) that has shown that the country suffers from structural unemployment. SAFTU says this has led to the official unemployment increasing from 7,8 million to 8,2 million. To discuss this further we spoke to SAFTU National Spokesperson, Trevor Shaku.

The Health and Allied Workers Indaba Trade Union (HAITU) has voiced its support for President Cyril Ramaphosa's imminent signing of the National Health Insurance Bill. HAITU says this action as the final step toward ensuring public access to high-quality healthcare. For More on this Elvis Presslin spoke to Lerato Mthunzi Haitu General Secretary  

The South African Health Professionals Collaboration (SAHPC) says it is profoundly disappointed and concerned that the President will be signing the NHI Bill into law today. The SAHPC says the NHI, in its current form will reverse, rather than progress, equitable, quality healthcare in South Africa. The collaboration says it is also looking at legal options available in this regard. To discuss thi...

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 Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) has successfully negotiated an above-inflation wage increase and a groundbreaking housing arrangement for workers in the engineering sector. NUMSA says it is satisfied with the three-year wage deal, effective from July 2024 until June 2027, which includes 7% increments in the first year, 6% in the second, and 6% in the third. Now for more...

The death toll from a building that collapsed in George in the Western Cape has risen to 32. The George Local Municipality says there are still 20 workers that are unaccounted for. The municipality further said there were 81 people on site when the collapse occurred over a week ago. We spoke to Chief Director for Western Cape Disaster Management, Colin Deiner.

The South African Police Service (SAPS) has spent more than R2 billion in compensating civil claims for wrongful arrests and detentions since 2018. Minister of Police Bheki Cele's revealed this when responding to a question by DA member Andrew Whitfield in parliament. SAPS has seen a 52% increase in civil over the past five years, with settlements totaling R406 million in the last three quarters o...

The South African Prisoners Organization for Human Rights is calling on all correctional facilities to prepare for large-scale protests unless fair elections are ensured. Inmates across the country are unhappy with the voter registration process by the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) for the upcoming elections. The movement insists that eligible voters in prisons, who are South African citi...

The United Democratic Movement (UDM) has raised concern about the recent deaths of school children. The party says the recent deaths of five children due to ingesting poison and the suicide of a boy last year, over his sexual orientation needs immediate intervention from the Department of Basic Education. Elvis Presslin spoke to UDM Secretary General, Yongama Zigebe

Gauteng police are still searching for suspects who shot and killed a five-year-old boy during a hijacking in Soshanguve, Pretoria. Ditebogo Junior Phalane was killed last week Friday, while running to welcome his father, only to be shot during his father's hijacking. For the latest development Elvis Presslin spoke to Gift Makoti, Spokesperson for the Phalane Family

Search and rescue efforts continue in the George building collapse tragedy in the Western Cape. This as the number of fatalities from last week's multi-storey building collapse has now risen to 20. For the latest development Elvis Presslin spoke to George Mayor, Leon van Wyk and National Police Spokesperson, Brigadier Athlenda Mathe on Police Minister Bheki Cele says investigations are underway to...