First Take SA

Workers in the public service sector will today stage pickets across the country after public service negotiations collapsed. Employees belonging to unions including the largest public service union, the Public Service Association, healthcare workers union NEHAWU and police union POPCRU will take part in the demonstrations. The South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) has described as an i...

 AfriForum says there is good history between the Zulu and Afrikaner communities and has called on the two groups to renew the relations that existed between them during King Dinizulu kaCetshwayo's reign. Afriforum leaders attended King Misuzulu's official certificate of recognition handover by President Cyril Ramaphosa at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban over the weekend. For more on this, Elv...

Solidarity has welcomed the arrest of Matshela Koko, his wife Mosima, and his stepdaughter, Koketso Choma, due to alleged corruption at Eskom.  Solidarity filed criminal charges against Koko and others at the Brooklyn police station earlier this year. The fraud, corruption, and money laundering trial has been postponed to the 23rd of March next year at the Middelburg Specialised Crimes Court in Mp...

Advocate Dali Mpofu and his team the legal representatives of suspended Public Protector Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane have withdrawn from her inquiry. Mkhwebane is currently facing a parliamentary inquiry into her competence to hold office. Mkhwebane told the committee it was not communicated to her by the legal team its intention to withdraw from the inquiry. To further discuss this Elvis Presslin...

Gauteng motorists will no longer have to pay for E-Tolls after a decade of defiance against the tolling system. This is after Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced that the e-toll-related debt will be split between the national and provincial governments. Tabling his Medium Term Budget Policy Statement in the National Assembly yesterday Godongwana said the national government will cover 70%...

The South African government says it currently does not have evidence to support claims by the U.S. Government that there could be a terror attack in Johannesburg. This after the US embassy in Pretoria issued an alert warning that it has received information that terrorists could conduct an attack, targeting large gatherings of people in the Sandton area this coming weekend. Minister in the Presid...

The Inter-Ministerial Task Team coordinating the preparations for the ceremonial handover of the certificate of recognition to King Misuzulu ka Zwelithini will today brief members of the media on the state of readiness towards the ceremony. The certificate of recognition handover ceremony will take place this Saturday at the Moses Mabhida Stadium. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to William...

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana will table the Mid-term Budget Policy Statement in Parliament today. He is expected to outline governments' plans to keep the lights on and announce plants to reduce Eskom's high debt burden. If Eskom's debt is transferred, economists expect the debt burden for the country to grow. Treasury is also expected to revise the country's growth prospects downwards. To di...

Ekurhuleni mayor Tania Campbell is set to face a motion of no confidence today. The ANC caucus spearheaded the motion, claiming Campbell had neglected service delivery in the region, particularly in townships. Meanwhile, Dr. Mpho Phalatse has been reinstated as the Executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg after a court yesterday declared her removal unlawful. To further discuss the recent devel...

The South African Federation of Trade Unions, SAFTU is calling for an increase in the public sector wage bill, ahead of Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana's mid-term budget today. The union is demanding that the government give public servants an 8% wage increase. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to SAFTU National Spokesperson Trevor Shaku

Equal Education is calling on the National Treasury to stop cuts to the basic education budget. This as Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana prepares to table his medium-term budget policy statement in parliament today. Equal Education says money must be put towards fixing South Africa's schooling crisis. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to Equal Education researcher Jane Borman

The Matric class of 2022 will begin their final examinations today, amid concerns of disruptions due to load shedding. But the department of Basic Education has expressed confidence that year-end exams can continue despite the ongoing rolling blackouts. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to the Department's national spokesperson Mr. Elijah Mhlanga

The DA will today present its alternative Medium Term Budget ahead of Finance Minister Godongwana's Budget Policy Statement on Wednesday. The party will put forward its own viable policies to rescue the country's economy. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to the DA's Shadow Deputy Minister of Finance, Ashor Sarupen

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 Hawks in Mpumalanga is concerned about the alarming number of hijacking incidents in the province. This, as the latest annual statistics, show hijackings in South Africa are at an all-time high. Earlier this month, a German tourist has fatally shot allegedly in an attempted hijacking close to the notorious Numbi gate of the Kruger National Park. Elvis Presslin spoke to Mpumalanga Hawks spokesp...

President Cyril Ramaphosa says there will be no place for corrupt people, criminal networks, or perpetrators of state capture to hide. Ramaphosa was addressing the nation last night about how the executive intends to implement the findings and recommendations of the State Capture Commission Report. He says the report requires a fundamental redesign of anti-corruption architecture and has assured c...

The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) says recommendations of the State Capture Report will only target inconsequential persons. The party was responding to last night's address by President Cyril Ramaphosa on his administration's course of action on recommendations of the State Capture Inquiry. The IFP says Ramaphosa needs to take decisive action against prominent ANC members implicated in the report....

Members of the Commercial, Stevedoring, Agricultural and Allied Workers Union (CSAAWU) will today picket outside the Ladismith Cheese Factory in the Western Cape, in solidarity with farmworkers facing dismissal. Earlier this year 78 workers embarked on a picket in support of Clover farm workers who were on strike. The workers are now facing disciplinary action from the company for reportedly leavi...

The ANC KwaZulu-Natal has come out in defense of President Cyril Ramaphosa, calling the utterances by former presidents Thabo Mbeki, Jacob Zuma, and Kgalema Motlanthe a "strange occurrence". This, was after the former presidents criticized Ramaphosa publicly over the weekend. Zuma accused Ramaphosa of corruption and committing treason following a cash heist scandal at his farm and Mbeki questioned...

Former president Jacob Zuma's financial benefactor and diamond dealer Louis Liebenberg has denied allegations of racism levelled against him. This follows viral leaked audio where Liebenberg was allegedly recorded using racial slurs such as the K-word during a private conversation. Elvis Presslin spoke to Walter Niedinger, the attorney for diamond dealer Louis Liebenberg

The resignation of Liz Truss as British Prime Minister and leader of the Conservative Party has kick-started a contest to find the next Tory leader and Prime Minister. Truss' resignation follows a failed tax-cutting budget that rocked financial markets, which also led to a revolt within her own party. Speaking outside Downing Street yesterday, she said she could not deliver the mandate on which sh...

TALKING POINTS: ***We start off in Nigeria were mobile payments have surged... ***In Ghana, Producer Price Inflation for September Jumped to 45.6 Percent ***And lastly in Nairobi, Kenya, Electric vehicle manufacturer ROAM has unveiled its first mass transit electric bus.

A South African choir has won gold at the inaugural World Choral Cup in Europe. The Johannesburg-based choir Quava Vocal Group was announced as the winners of both the jazz and adult choir categories, beating thirty-one choirs from 24 other countries, at the international choir competition which took place in Barcelona and Calella, Spain last week. Elvis Presslin spoke to Quava Vocal Group Music D...

The National Assembly will today vote on the new Electoral Bill which will usher in changes to South Africa's electoral system. Civil society organisations such as the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, Defend our Democracy and the Rivonia Circle are calling on Members of Parliament to reject the Bill in its current form. They say the Bill does not favour voters, It is unconstitutional and undermines the...

An alleged kingpin linked to Transnet fuel theft is expected to appear in the Witbank magistrate's court today. The 35-year-old suspect was arrested yesterday during a joint operation between the Hawks and Bidvest Protea Coin for his alleged involvement in a syndicate linked to the theft of fuel from the Transnet pipeline and damages to essential infrastructure. Elvis Presslin spoke to Hawks spoke...