First Take SA

The Gauteng Health Department says its outbreak response teams are monitoring various communities after two more children died of alleged food poisoning. Two schoolchildren died after consuming snacks bought at a taxi rank in Bekkersdal, in the West Rand. The latest incident follows the deaths of two Soweto boys who died after consuming food from a local spaza shop. Elvis Presslin spoke to Motalat...

Africa Brief 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... TALKING POINTS: *** US billionaires team up with Africa's richest man to back $500 million Africa-focused fund *** Climate activists plan to boycott Standard Bank over fossil fuel  investments ***T...

The Jacob Zuma Foundation has accused President Cyril Ramaphosa of breaching the equality clause in the Constitution by overlooking Deputy Chief Justice, Mandisa Maya, for the position of Chief Justice. Earlier this year, former President Zuma approached the Pretoria High Court in a bid to have Chief Justice, Raymond Zondo's appointment reversed. The President appointed Zondo as Chief Justice in A...

Renowned paediatrician, anti-apartheid activist and HIV/AIDS expert, Professor Hoosen "Jerry" Coovadia has been laid to rest. The 83-year-old Emeritus Professor at the University of KwaZulu-Natal died on Tuesday at his La Lucia home in Durban North. Elvis Presslin spoke to Professor Anna Coutsoudis, Professor Emeritus in Paediatrics and Child Health at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, UKZN and a v...

Today is World Teachers' Day, also known as International Teachers Day. Teachers Day is held annually on the fifth of October. Since its set up in 1994, the day celebrates the marking of the "teaching in Freedom" in 1996. In commemoration of this day, we will look at the role of teacher unions in South Africa when it comes to issues pertaining to teachers. Elvis Presslin spoke to Nomusa Cembi, Nat...

The City of Tshwane, Ekurhuleni and Eskom are in another tussle over the two municipalities' electricity bills. Tshwane owes Eskom 3.2 billion Rand which has accumulated over July and August 2023 due to erratic payments. The two Municipalities jointly owe Eskom 4.7 billion Rand. Ekurhuleni's current bill stands at 1.5 Billion Rand. Elvis Presslin spoke to Ekurhuleni Municipality's Group Chief Fina...

The ANC Youth League in KwaZulu Natal is today expected to march to the Umgeni municipality to protest against the DA's Premier candidate Chris Pappas. The ANC is calling for his arrest, following allegations of corruption and nepotism. Earlier, the municipality obtained an interdict against the Youth League in the Pietermaritzburg High Court prohibiting a protest aimed at shutting down the town o...

The Civilian Secretariat for Police Service has begun its work in developing a new National Policing Policy for the country, as per the instruction of Police Minister Bheki Cele. The Secretariat says the National Policing Policy will feed into the South African Police Service Amendment Act, which aims to improve Policing across South Africa. Public consultations are currently underway where provin...

President Cyril Ramaphosa is today expected to officially launch the Border Management Authority in Musina, Limpopo. The launch is to strengthen, facilitate and manage the legitimate movement of persons and trade across South Africa's ports of entry. The country's borders have been characterised by poor controls and weak management - which has seen a rise in cross-border criminal activities and su...

The Economic Freedom Fighters, EFF are taking Parliament to court to challenge the Ethics committee's punitive action against its deputy president, Floyd Shivambu. This after the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Ethics and Members' Interests found Shivambu guilty for failure to disclose payments totalling R180,000 from Sgameka Projects - a company owned by his brother, Brian Shivambu. For more on...

South Africans will be paying more at the pumps from today. This after the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy announced a fuel price hike which came into effect at midnight. Motorists will be paying more than R1 for all grades of fuel with Diesel expected to see an increase of between R1,96 to R1,93 per litre. But will the taxi industry refrain from fare increases despite rising fuel costs...

Some residents in the City of Tshwane Metro have threatened to boycott paying their municipal rates, citing poor service delivery, mainly in townships. Residents say they see no point in paying for services that they do not receive. For more on this Elvis Presslin spoke to the Chairperson of Lotus Atteridgeville Saulsville Civic Association, Tshepo Mahlangu

Police Minister Bheki Cele is challenging Parliament's Joint Committee on Ethics which found him guilty of violating its code of ethical conduct for members of Parliament. Cele was found guilty of breaching the code after yelling "shut up" at anti-crime activist Ian Cameron during a police Imbizo in Gugulethu, Cape Town last year. This after Cameron interrupted Cele's speech accusing him of failin...

October is International Spine Awareness month, while October 16th is observed annually as World Spine Day to raise awareness of spinal health. Research conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), up to 80 percent of people will suffer from back or neck pain during their lives. Spinal disorders, such as back pain, neck pain, and disc disease are common, and they can have a profound effect on...

The Democratic Alliance has welcomed Parliamentary findings against EFF deputy President Floyd Shivambu. An Ethics Committee report found Shivambu guilty of violating the Code of Ethical Conduct and Disclosure of Members' Interests, for failure to disclose payments he allegedly received from the now-defunct VBS bank. The DA laid a complaint with the Committee in 2018 and again in 2019 when allegat...

The African National Congress and Economic Freedon Fighters in KwaZulu-Natal are calling for action to be taken against Umngeni Municipality Mayor Chris Pappas for alleged nepotism. Former DA provincial leader Sizwe Mchunu wrote to the public protector to investigate allegations that Pappas' former fiancée was given R100 000 in funding for his tourism business by the Umngeni Municipality. To furth...

Elvis Presslin discusses 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

Former police investigator, Greg Kading says the rapper, Tupac Shakur's killer talked himself to jail. Kading was reacting to the arrest of  Duane "Keefe D" Davis, the man charged with Shakur's murder nearly three decades after the incident. The hip-hop legend was shot multiple times in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas in 1996. Davis, a former L.A Crips gang leader was indicted by a grand jury in...

Build One South Africa Leader, Mmusi Maimane has announced that he will be gunning to be President after the 2024 general elections. Maimane has promised to introduce far reaching changes in social policy to improve the lives of ordinary South Africans. At the launch of the party's election campaign in Tshwane over the weekend,  Maimane said that should his party win the elections, it will introdu...

The South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) has welcomed the resignation of Transnet group CEO Portia Derby. According to the state owned company, Derby will be stepping down from her position at the end of October. She has been group CEO of the troubled logistics giant since 2020. Transnet has faced backlash from business - especially in the mining sector - for the inefficient l...

Water utility Rand Water is implementing water shifting as an interim measure to stabilise the low reservoir levels. Reservoir levels in Ekurhuleni, Johannesburg and Tshwane municipalities have been low for weeks, with water tankers deployed in many areas. The Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu has encouraged water utilities to implement water shifting in Gauteng due to water supply issues...

Former South African Airways board chairperson Dudu Myeni and her co-accused are facing charges relating to the defunct Bosasa. Myeni and former Sondolo IT director, Trevor Mathenjwa were arrested on Friday and made a brief appearance in the Richards Bay Magistrate's Court on fraud and corruption charges. The pair were granted R10 000 bail each. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to Sindisiwe...

The Economic Freedom Fighters in the Western Cape will be protesting against the impoundment of taxis by local authorities in the province. The party is calling for the release of impounded taxis. The City of Cape Town and the South African National Taxi Council, Santaco have been at loggerheads since August after dozens of taxis were impounded - leading to Santaco staging an eight-day stayaway. M...

 The Democratic Alliance in KwaZulu-Natal will today host a Local Government Summit. The party says the summit is aimed at ensuring municipalities work for the betterment of citizens. The Chairperson of the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) in KZN, Thami Ntuli and the Mayor of uMngeni Municipality Chris Pappas are among those who will deliver key-note addresses. The summit comes a...

It's  time to take a look at the current top African economic stories.....Elvis Preslin spoke to 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