First Take SA

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) says it is deeply concerned about an increase in unilateral and concealed outsourcing of public services to the private sector. COSATU says it is particularly concerned about the ongoing outsourcing at state-owned rail operator Transnet. The labor federation says it rejects the ongoing unbundling and privatization of Transnet as it will destroy j...

The fraud and corruption trial against former president Jacob Zuma and French arms manufacturer Thales will resume at the Pietermaritzburg High Court today. During the last court proceedings, Judge Piet Koen recused himself from the case after Zuma instituted private prosecution against state prosecutor advocate Billy Downer and legal journalist Karyn Maughan.  A new judge is expected to preside o...

UDM Leader General Bantu Holomisa is calling for the appointment of an independent facilitator to mediate over the DA's "moonshot pact" ahead of the 2024 national elections. The so-called 'moonshot pact' is seeking to unite opposition parties to form a coalition agreement to unseat the ANC. The UDM, ACDP, and newly formed political party Xiluva have rejected the pact saying all parties need to be...

More than 55 civilians have been killed and hundreds of others injured in Sudan, as rival military factions fight for control. Heavy fighting and explosions erupted in the capital of Khartoum at the weekend, where Sudan's military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo are vying for power to lead the country. A three-hour tem...

Trade union Solidarity says it is preparing for a huge legal battle over the Employment Equity Amendment Bill of 2020 signed into law by President Cyril Ramaphosa. The Presidency says the Amendment Bill seeks to advance the transformation of South Africa's workforce by setting equity targets for economic sectors and geographical regions. However, Solidarity says the Act is unconstitutional and gra...

Police have conceded that they never questioned Dr. Nandipha Magudumana about the escape of Facebook rapist Thabo Bester despite her claiming bodies. Magudumana, the alleged partner of Thabo Bester, reportedly claimed three unidentified bodies from mortuaries in the Free State weeks before Bester's escape from Mangaung prison. This was despite officers raising the alarm in August last year. Appear...

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

Pretoria East residents can expect power to be restored today following a power outage. Large parts of Pretoria East and Centurion were without power after at least six electricity pylons collapsed on the N4 due to suspected vandalism according to the City of Tshwane. City Mayor Cilliers Brink tells Elvis Presslin they will ensure the power supply is restored to all affected customers.

Convicted Facebook rapist and murderer Thabo Bester and his girlfriend, Dr. Nandipha Magudumana are back on South African soil after he escaped from the Mangaung Prison in May 2022. They were arrested at the weekend in Tanzania after fleeing the country. The charter plane they were traveling in touched down just after 4 this morning. For more, Elvis Presslin spoke to our reporter, Chriselda Lewis...

Police have arrested two additional suspects linked to the escape of convicted Facebook rapist and murderer Thabo Bester. This brings the number to four. Bester escaped from the Mangaung Prison in May 2022. He allegedly staged his own death by placing a burnt body in his cell. Bester and his girlfriend Dr. Nandipha Magudumana returned to the country after they were re-arrested at the weekend in Ta...

South Africa will today host its fifth and final Investment Conference, with representatives from various sectors of the economy and around the world, expected to attend. The government says the Conference has to date achieved 95% of its R1.2 trillion target. Since 2018, the government has been on a mission to attract over a trillion rand in investments.  For analysis on this, Elvis Presslin spoke...

Western Cape police have launched a manhunt for unknown gunmen after six men were shot and killed in Ocean View yesterday. Five men died on the scene and the sixth after being taken to hospital. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to Western Cape Police Spokesperson, Brigadier Novela Potelwa

Former President Thabo Mbeki has met with the ANC's top brass to discuss his scathing letter criticizing the party's stance on Phala Phala. The meeting held at Luthuli House last night follows Mbeki's letter to Deputy President Paul Mashatile in which he accused ANC MPs of using their majority in Parliament to shield President Ramaphosa from accountability on the Phala Phala saga. For more on this...

The South African Post Office is expected to confirm liquidation by Kaap Vaal Trust insolvency practitioners next week. The Kaap Vaal Trust is one of several entities that had previously tried to approach the courts in an attempt to place the Post Office under liquidation. The Post Office has been battling to pay some of its creditors. To discuss this further Elvis Presslin spoke to Communications...

The South African Democratic Teachers' Union, SADTU is taking Cosatu to court over the ANC affiliate's decision to support the SACP in next year's elections. The teachers' union filed papers with the Johannesburg Labour Court challenging the federation's resolution to support the Communist Party in the general elections outside of the ANC-led alliance. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to Mr....

Tshwane's Multi-Party Coalition is waging a war against council Speaker, Mcedi Ndzwanana. The Coalition plans to bring a motion against the Speaker for failing to call a meeting after a petition was drafted to do so and for chairing a motion against himself.  Ndzwanana chaired the previous motion against himself and adjourned the Council meeting before the motion could be tabled. He was elected Ts...

The decision by the Minister of Home Affairs Aaron Motsoaledi to scrap the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) will be challenged in the Pretoria High Court today. If the Minister's decision is upheld, the government will terminate the permits at the end of June, affecting roughly 180 -thousand Zimbabweans living in South Africa. The Helen Suzman Foundation as the main applicant will be joined by th...

City of Johannesburg mayor Thapelo Amad says the proposed service delivery loan of R9,5 billion was a mere example. This after he came under intense criticism from coalition partners who say they were unaware of the mayor negotiating a loan to address service delivery issues in the city. Mayor Amad revealed the plans to finance the loan during a SABC Interview with Sakina Kamwendo. For more on thi...

Five people have been killed and several others injured in a horrific multi-vehicle pile-up on the N3 between Hilton and Cedara outside Pietermaritzburg. Over twenty vehicles were involved, including minibus taxis. Meanwhile, in the Eastern Cape, 40 people died on the province's roads during the Easter weekend. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to Chief Communication Officer at the Road Traff...

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

Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Thembi Nkadimeng, has expressed satisfaction at what the National State of Disaster to deal with the country's energy crisis has been able to achieve - even as government terminates it with immediate effect. Nkadimeng says it was a necessary response to the impact of critical levels of load shedding on the economy at the time. Following...

Standing Committee on Public Accounts Chairperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa has accused Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana of acting in bad faith. The comments come after Godongwana's decision to withdraw Eskom's exemption from disclosing irregular, wasteful, and fruitless expenditures in its financial reports after it was gazetted. Hlengwa says Godongwana did not do proper consultation prior to the gazetti...

Opposition parties, the African Christian Democratic Party, and the United Democratic Movement have rejected the Democratic Alliance's proposed pre-2024 national election coalition pact. During his victory speech after his re-election DA leader John Steenhuisen, vowed to prevent what he termed the ANC and EFF "doomsday coalition" in next year's national elections. In a letter to Steenhuisen, UDM l...

Traffic officials across the country are gearing up for increased traffic volumes as holidaymakers take advantage of the long weekend. Thousands of St Engenas ZCC pilgrims are expected to converge in the holy city, Moria. This after a three-year absence due to the outbreak of Covid-19. On the other side, ZCC, with a star sign, there won't be any Easter pilgrimage as the worshippers are still not a...

Retail giant Massmart says the demands placed by the SA Commercial Catering and Allied Workers Union (Saccawu) are unrealistic as the Group has posted a net loss of 2 billion rands. This is as the union embarks on secondary strike action, and will be picketing outside the U.S. embassy in Pretoria today. Workers belonging to the union downed tools at Massmart-owned Makro stores across the country l...