First Take SA

The City of Johannesburg will deploy patrollers to inspect and shut down spaza shops that are non-compliant with the City's by-laws. This comes amid reports of children who died or fell-ill after consuming food or snacks reportedly bought at spaza shops. Foreign-owned township shops have been accused of selling expired food and illicit goods. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to Dr. Mgcini Ts...

The Public Servants Association and the State Information Technology Agency are reportedly set to sign a wage agreement which could end the week long strike. Workers affiliated to the union embarked on a strike last week after salary negotiations reached a deadlock with the Agency. The workers are demanding a seven point five percent salary increase coupled with non financial benefits, while the e...

The South African Weather Services and other members of the World Meteorological Organisation will today converge in Sandton, Johannesburg for a pertinent capacity building programme, this as the continent grapples with climate change and adverse weather conditions. The heads of meteorological services across Africa and beyond, will discuss severe weather, variable weather patterns and subsequent...

 Mpumalanga police have warned the public not to fall prey to criminals who solicit money from desperate job seekers applying for jobs at the South African Police Service. The police have reiterated that at no stage will the SAPS request applicants to pay money or ask for any favours in exchange for employment. They say they have noticed a trend where scammers come up with ways to source money fro...

President Cyril Ramaphosa will today make a return visit to the North West to assess progress made on commitments government made during the previous District Development Model Presidential Imbizo in the province. During the first visit, community members raised various service delivery issues pertaining to water shortages, crime, poor roads and the lack of access to electricity and jobs. For more...

The National Assembly has endorsed Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka as the next Public Protector. Gcaleka, who previously served as deputy and acting public protector, received 244 votes, while 12 MPs voted against her appointment. The DA staged a walkout during the debate, while the EFF, UDM, ATM, COPE and PAC did not participate in the vote. It's now left to President Cyril Ramaphosa to appoint Gcaleka...

The African National Congress, ANC will today hold a picket outside the Israeli embassy in Pretoria, In solidarity with Palestine. This after more than a week of intensified violent, retaliatory attacks between the two Middle Eastern countries, after the Palestinian group Hamas launched unexpected military onslaught against Israel. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to Wendy Kahn, National Dir...

Elvis Presslin takes a look at the current top African economic stories with Victor Kgomoesoana, 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 Health and Allied Workers Indaba Trade Union (HAITU) has called for the abolishment of the private healthcare system and the implementation of the National Health Insurance. The union believes the implementation of the NHI will guarantee quality healthcare for all South Africans. The NHI Bill was passed by the National Assembly in June. For more on this Elvis Presslin spoke to Rich Sacini, pre...

The National Assembly is today expected to vote on whether to recommend Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka as the next Public Protector. Gcaleka has been acting in the position for more than a year, following the Parliamentary impeachment process of her predecessor, Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane. To further discuss this Elvis Presslin spoke to FF-Plus' Chief Whip in Parliament, Dr. Corné Mulder.

The CEO of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, NSFAS Andile Nongogo has been implicated in alleged fraud and corruption. A damning forensic report found that Nongogo actively participated in the appointment of service providers, tasked to disburse allowances to students. The report has also accused Nongogo of having relations with some of the appointed companies. For more on this, Elvis Pre...

ActionSA will today picket outside the Durban International Convention Centre, following allegations by the party that the ANC-led eThekwini Municipality paid nearly R5-million for the ANC Women's League Conference that took place at the venue in August. ActionSA has written to the head of the City Integrity and Investigation Unit, Thulani Ntobela, requesting that he launches an immediate investig...

The death toll from severe flooding in the O.R. Tambo District, in the Eastern Cape has risen to four people. This after heavy rainfall affected various parts of the District, causing damage to property and infrastructure. For the latest Elvis Presslin spoke to OR Tambo District Municipality executive mayor, Mesuli Ngqondwana

The Institute for Economic Justice says the budget cuts that are currently being pushed through by National Treasury will cause economic contractions and that it views the cuts as rushed and indiscriminate . National Treasury recently proposed drastic cuts in government spending in the next six months as part of fiscal consolidation. The cuts are based on government's forecasts of a 22 billion ran...

A police officer has been killed and another wounded in a shootout between police and suspects in Ntuzuma, in KwaZulu Natal. Another police officer has been wounded. Eight suspects have also been killed. Police Minister Bheki Cele says another shootout in the Mzinyathi area near Inanda, also took place during an intelligence driven operation. The minister has revealed that in less than two months,...

Negotiations between the Public Servants Association of South Africa (PSA) and the State Information Technology Agency (SITA) for salary increases for the 2023/24 financial year will resume this morning. The workers belonging to the PSA which represents the majority of employees at SITA are on day three of their national strike action following a deadlock in salary negotiations. Workers are demand...

The Khampepe Commission of Inquiry into the building fire that claimed 77 lives in Johannesburg is set to begin later this month. The commission says the date of the commencement of public hearings of the inquiry will be 26 October 2023. The inquiry will look into what led to the fire at a hijacked Marshalltown building. To further discuss this Elvis Presslin caught up with Commissioner for the Kh...

Eye Care Awareness Month is commemorated from 21 September to 18 October to raise awareness about the importance of eye health. On the 12th of October South Africa joined the rest of the global health community in creating this awareness. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) at least 2.2 billion people have vision impairment or blindness, of which more than 1 billion cases could have b...

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a yearly campaign to raise awareness, educate, and support people affected by breast cancer. According to the National Cancer Registry 2019, breast cancer remains the most prevalent of cancers amongst women, and females have a one in 27 lifetime risk of developing it. Just five percent of women regularly check their breasts for signs of cancer. The Cancer...

Veteran struggle activist Dr Allan Boesak, has turned down a proposal brought by the Patriotic Alliance, to have a street named after him. Boesak's decison comes after the party's statement of support for Israel in the Middle-East conflict. PA leader Gayton Mackenzie was attending a gathering at the South African Zionist Federation, and said the conflict there should not be compared to apartheid-...

The Petroleum Oil and Gas Corporation of South Africa (PetroSA) says it is both unfounded and baseless that it is worsening the crisis of loadshedding by failing to supply Eskom with fuel. The fuel supplier says it engaged with Eskom in October 2022, requesting that the national power utility provides at least 3 months forecast of their demand due to losses that were realised by PetroSA linked to...

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

Workers of the Public Servants Association of South Africa have downed tools at the State Information Technology Agency- SITA offices countrywide over a wage dispute with the employer. The PSA workers are demanding a seven point five percent salary increase coupled with non financial benefits while the employer is offering five percent. SITA is the government IT service provider at Home Affairs, S...

Today marks World Food Day, observed on 16 October each year to raise awareness and take action against worldwide hunger and malnutrition. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), almost one in ten people globally are undernourished, and more than 3 billion can't afford a healthy diet. Conflict, climate change and rising prices are all contributing to growing food insecurity aroun...

ANC NEC member and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA) Minister, Thembi Nkadimeng has warned about the state of deteriorating municipalities. She was briefing media on the second day of the ANC National Executive Committee meeting in Boksburg in Ekurhuleni. Nkadimeng says while municipalities may be having difficulty in administration and governance - things are far better than...