First Take SA

Management of the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, NSFAS have met with the South African Students Congress, SASCO to discuss some of their grievances over the implementation of NSFAS's new app. Yesterday Tshwane University of Technology students blockaded the entrance into the University's Pretoria West Campus in protest against the eZaga app that facilitates monthly allowances to students....

Rand Water says it is still going ahead with its planned water shutdown today despite the adverse weather conditions in Gauteng. Speaking to our Senior producer Ronald Phiri earlier on, Rand Water spokesperson Makenosi Maroo says the 58-hour planned water shutdown will be undertaken from Tuesday night to Friday morning despite the recent snow fall in the province...

Several truck drivers have been attacked and their vehicles set alight in the past few days. Yesterday 3 trucks were torched in Limpopo and this past weekend, six trucks were set ablaze on the N3 in KwaZulu-Natal, while another five were torched in Mpumalanga on the same day. So what's behind this spate of arson attacks on trucks? To shed light into the sporadic attacks, which seem to be highly-ta...

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

Former Northern Cape MEC of Transport, Roads and Public Work, John Block is expected to appear in the Kimberley Magistrate's Court today after new charges were pressed against him. The new charges emanate from his alleged part in the awarding of a tender for the construction of the Kimberley Mental Health Hospital in 2003 - costing tax payers over R1 billion. Block is serving a 15-year jail term f...

Political party Xiluva has officially registered with the Independent Electoral Commission, IEC.  The party founded by former Mayor of Midvaal, Bongani Baloyi will appear on the ballot paper in next year's general election. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to Bongani Baloyi, Leader of Xiluva...  

President Cyril Ramaphosa says there are no plans to remove Paul Mashatile as his deputy. This follows claims by Mashatile of an alleged plot to remove him from office, before August this year. Responding to the allegations during an engagement with members of the media at the ANC's National Executive Committee meeting at the weekend, Ramaphosa says he spoke to Mashatile and assured him there no p...

Temperatures are plummeting as a cold front has hit parts of the country. The South African Weather Service has cautioned residents across the Western Cape, Northern Cape, Gauteng and KZN to brace themselves for freezing temperatures as the cold front sweeps across the country. For more on this Elvis Presslin spoke to South African Weather Service Forecaster, Lulama Pheme

Convicted former police officer and serial killer, Rosemary Ndlovu has been internally charged by the Department of Correctional Services after she was caught in possession of a cellphone in prison. Ndlovu made headlines in 2018 when she was arrested and later jailed for orchestrating the murders of six family members to receive insurance payouts. She is serving multiple life terms for murder. For...

Labour union Bemawu says it will seek a meeting with the recently appointed SABC board following reports that the public broadcaster is once again on the brink of financial collapse and may not be able to pay staff salaries in the near future. Media reports have suggested that the SABC may suffer the same fate as the state-owned Post Office, which has been placed under provisional liquidation. To...

Today is the last day for the public to submit to Parliament their nominations of suitable candidates for the position of Public Protector. The position will become vacant on the 15th of October when the seven-year term of the currently suspended Public Protector, Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane, comes to an end. For more on this Elvis Presslin spoke to Al Jama-ah President Ganief Hendricks, who is al...

Operation Dudula members will today embark on a march to the Home Affairs department to call for the mass deportation of illegal immigrants. The call follows a recent High Court Judgment which declared Home Affairs Minister Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi's decision to terminate the Zimbabwean Exemption Permits unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid. For more on this Elvis Presslin spoke to Nhlanhla Nyandeni...

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

The Kimberley Action Group will today lead a march to the office of the Sol Plaatje Local Municipality Executive Mayor Kagisho Sonyoni, to demand his resignation. The group  raised concerns over the recent electricity tariff hikes implemented by the municipality, citing the detrimental impact it will have on the already struggling business sector. Electricity tariffs have been increased by 15 perc...

South African dads are facing mounting debt, as many strive to provide the best life for their families. In a society where financial pressures weigh heavily on families; it is crucial to acknowledge the often-overlooked role of fathers in managing household finances. CEO of National Debt Advisors, Charnel Collins, says that many dads are struggling with increasing debt to secure their family's' f...

The Congress of South African Trade Unions, Cosatu will today embark on a national strike action, as part of its National Day of Action. The federation and its 16 affiliated unions will be protesting against socio-economic factors and several other issues affecting workers. The protest action is set to take place in all nine provinces. Meanwhile, the South African Federation of Trade Unions, SAFTU...

Three Defense Force trainees have opened cases of assault against the VIP Protection Unit officers that assaulted them on the N1 freeway in Johannesburg on Monday. This was done with the assistance of the Independent Police Investigative Directorate at the Sandton police station. The policemen are attached to Deputy President Paul Mashatile's VIP security team. In the video that has gone viral, po...

An investigation by the Special Investigating Unit has revealed that the Department of Human Settlements in Mpumalanga has paid a service provider for the installation of water storage tanks at a cost of 5 million rand each. The SIU says while the prices were grossly inflated, it also discovered that the water storage tanks in question were not operational. For more on this Freddy Ngobe, Head of C...

Joburg Water is urging its customers to stock up water this weekend before Rand Water's planned interruption next week. The planned water shutdown will commence from the 11th to the 13th of July. Joburg Water Spokesperson, Nombuso Tshabalala spoke to our senior producer Ronald Phiri about the purpose of the shutdown.

The City of Tshwane says its planning to hold an urgent meeting with Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu on Rand Water's water challenges. Rand Water has been struggling to recover its systems due to a series of power outages in the city. The power failures have left residents in several parts of Tshwane without water. To further discuss this Elvis Presslin spoke to Tshwane MMC for Utility...

Calls are mounting for Deputy President Paul Mashatile's security detail to be brought to justice following an alleged assault on military trainees. In a now viral video, members of Mashatile's VIP protection unit were recorded assaulting a motorist and passengers on the N1 in Johannesburg, near Sandton at the weekend. Mashatile's office has promised to reach out to the victims of the N1 highway a...

The Ministry of Justice and Correctional Services has 30 days to pay a R5 million fine, for breaching the Protection of Personal Information Act, POPIA. This after the Department was issued a fine by the Information Regulator for failing to renew its anti-virus and IT security solutions licenses. In 2021, the Department suffered a security compromise on its IT systems, leading to all its informati...

The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA) in Limpopo, says it is gravely disappointed by the provincial Health department's decision to terminate the contracts for over 700 nurses. The union says this will aggravate the shortage of nurses and other healthcare workers in various facilities across the province. For more on this Elvis Presslin spoke to DENOSA Provincial Chairperson...

The Durban High Court is expected to sentence brothers Dylan and Ned Govender for attempted murder of Mondli Majola during the 2021 civil unrest in Phoenix, KwaZulu-Natal. In May, the accused were found not guilty for the charge of murder. However they were found guilty on a charge of attempted murder and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm. Majola was among at least 30 people who were...

City Power says it will take two months to restore electricity to Diepkloof hostels in Soweto. The City of Johannesburg's electricity distribution company, held a meeting with hostel indunas yesterday following a visit by Joburg Mayor Kabelo Gwamanda to the hostels last week. His visit followed a violent protest by residents last week, over electricity, water and basic sanitation. To further discu...