First Take SA

The Free State high court in Bloemfontein is expected to deliver judgement on the urgent application brought by Dr. Magudumana. Magudumana approached the court following her decision to suspend her bail application in the Bloemfontein magistrate's court. She is among the seven people arrested for aiding and abetting convicted Facebook rapist and murderer Thabo Bester to escape from prison. 

The Special Investigating Unit, SIU says they will be challenging Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane's application to interdict the unit from continuing its investigation into allegations of maladministration and impropriety at the University of Fort Hare. Mabuyane is challenging President Cyril Ramaphosa in court over the SIU investigating how he obtained his qualifications at the University. Ma...

Time to take a look at the current top African economic stories. Elvis Presslin 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... TALKING POINTS: ***Illegal fishing cost West African nations billions in revenue *** Rwanda's capital Kigali remains Af...

The death of a 73-year-old woman in Mpumalanga has brought the cholera outbreak death toll to 25. The patient died after being admitted at the Mmametlhake hospital last Friday. 23 people have died of cholera in Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria, and one in the Free State province. Elvis Presslin spoke to National Department of Health spokesperson, Foster Mohale 

Employees of the Mohokare Local Municipality in the Free State province will not receive their salaries for the months of May and June. The municipality issued a notice informing workers that they were unable to pay salaries due to financial challenges and constraints. Elvis Presslin spoke to the shop steward for the South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) at the Mohokare Local Municipality,...

Former ANC Secretary-General Ace Magashule has been given seven days to explain why he should not be expelled from the party. This after the ANC's national disciplinary committee found Magashule guilty of misconduct for failing to apologise to party president Cyril Ramaphosa and structures, for "unilaterally suspending" Ramaphosa in 2021. Elvis Presslin spoke to Political Analyst Arthur Shopo...

North West Health MEC Madoda Sambatha says five managers at the Mahikeng Provincial Hospital will be transferred to other healthcare facilities to allow the second stage of investigations where babies at the neo-natal unit were placed in cardboard boxes instead of incubators or cribs at the hospital due to shortage of equipment. MEC Sambatha was briefing the media yesterday regarding preliminary i...

The Democratic Alliance, DA will table the Western Cape Provincial Powers Bill to devolve national powers to the province. The party says the Bill was motivated by the national government's alleged failure or unwillingness to act in the best interests of the residents of the Western Cape. Bill will be deliberated by the Standing Committee next week. Phil Craig, Co-founder of the Cape Independence...

Operation Dudula is expected to march to the Union Buildings today, alongside other organisations to demonstrate against illegal immigration in South Africa. The Movement has been critical and vocal on the matter, saying the country has an immigration crisis that should not be ignored. In the same breath, Operation Dudula has been accused of being an anti-immigrant movement. Elvis Presslin spoke t...

The Democratic Alliance, DA has launched a court application to compel the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin when he arrives in South Africa. The party is seeking a declaratory order for the government to effect an arrest against Putin if he arrives in the country to attend the BRICS Summit as obligated by the Rome Statute. Elvis Presslin spoke to Advocate Glynnis Breytenbach, the DA's Sh...

Tributes continue to flood in for Political analyst, broadcaster and author Eusebius McKaiser who died of a suspected epileptic seizure yesterday. McKaiser was 45. He worked for several media houses including hosting SABC 3 current affairs programme Interface and as a Radio 702 talk show host. He also worked as a political and social analyst at the Wits Centre for Ethics and at the University of J...

The Congress of South African Students, COSAS in Gauteng is calling on the provincial department of education to deploy school patrollers to keep school zones safe. This follows the brutal rape and murder of Palesa Malatji, a 17-year-old Grade 12 pupil from Ntsako Secondary School in Soshanguve, Tshwane last week. Elvis Presslin spoke to COSAS provincial spokesperson Thamsanqa Nkosi...

Non-governmental organisations delivering child protection services say they are facing serious financial challenges as rising operational costs outstrip stagnant subsidies. During her launch of the Child Protection Week campaign in Cape Town on Sunday, Social Development Minister, Lindiwe Zulu called on all sectors of society to unite and strive for what is best for the children of South Africa....

TALKING POINTS: *** 3 African countries to connect the Indian and Atlantic oceans via a trans-African rail way line *** Mtn will be leaving Liberia - why? ***Malawi - President Lazarus Chakwera says Malawi is the next biggest investment destination.    Elvis Presslin spoke to Victor Kgomoeswana, author of " Africa Is Open For Business" and " Africa Bounces Back"... 

The Health and Allied Workers Indaba Trade Union (HAITU) has defended nursing students who have been protesting at various campuses of the Gauteng College of Nurses. This after Gauteng MEC for Health, Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko was granted an urgent interdict at the High Court, to prevent students from participating in the demonstrations. The students embarked on the protest action after the Gauteng D...

ANC Parliamentary Chief Whip, Pemmy Majodina has refuted claims that she tried to solicit funds from suspended Public Protector Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane to make her Section 194 Inquiry into her fitness to hold office "go away". Majodina, alongside former cabinet minister Tina Joemat-Pettersson and the Chairperson of the Inquiry, Qubudile Dyantyi, were fingered as trying to exhort money from Mkh...

The Democratic Alliance has welcomed the appointment of a three-member independent panel that will investigate circumstances surrounding the docking of a Russian vessel in the Western Cape last year. The panel which will be chaired by retired Judge Phineas Mojapelo has been given six weeks to conclude investigations into claims made by US Ambassador to South Africa Reuben Brigety that a Russian sh...

Former Cosatu Unionist and political analyst Dr. Ebrahim Harvey says provisions in the Employment Equity Amendment Bill of 2020  were designed by the ANC-led government to influence the outcome of the 2024 national elections and feels the bill will not pass constitutional muster. The government says the amendment bill seeks to advance the transformation of South Africa's workforce by setting equit...

President Cyril Ramaphosa Is in Nigeria to attend the inauguration ceremony of the country's President-elect Bola Tinubu, who will be sworn into office today. The 80-year-old will succeed current President Muhammadu Buhari once he is sworn in as Nigeria's 16th democratically elected president. Elvis Presslin spoke to Jonathan James Lyamgohn, a journalist based in Lagos, Nigeria...

The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA) in the North West has called on the government to address the shortage of resources in hospitals. The union says the provincial Health Department must not blame the nurses, for newborn babies that were placed in cardboard boxes instead of incubators or cribs at the Mahikeng Provincial Hospital. The department says it will act against emp...

Indebted South Africans should brace themselves for another potential interest rate hike. This is as the South African Reserve Bank is expected to increase the country's repo rate as it makes its announcement on interest rates today. Economists anticipate that the Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee will raise interest rates by anything between 25 and 50 basis points. So can South Africans su...

Nelson Mandela Bay Metro Mayor Retief Odendaal will face a motion of no confidence in a council meeting. This comes after the ANC and EFF filed a motion against Odendaal. The DA says the motion of no confidence against the Mayor is politically motivated. To further discuss this Elvis Presslin spoke to Andrew Whitfield, Provincial Leader of the Democratic Alliance in the Eastern Cape.

President Cyril Ramaphosa will today deliver the keynote address at the national Africa Day celebrations at the Cradle of Humankind in Krugersdorp in the Westrand. Africa Day this year marks 60 years since the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity in 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The OAU was inevitably disbanded on the 9th of July 2002 and replaced by the African Union, AU. With wars...

The mother of a three-year-old boy, who's among the 15 people killed by Cholera in Hammanskraal, has expressed disappointment with the government's response, following the outbreak of the disease in the area. Despite the government's announcement to activate immediate relief, residents including families, who lost their loved ones, have raised concerns about the handling of the crisis. In March th...

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, NUMSA has rejected Eskom's latest wage offer of 4.5 percent. The power utility tabled the latest wage offer at the Centralized Bargaining Forum yesterday. Eskom was initially offering a 3.75 percent increase - Numsa is demanding a double-digit wage increase. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to NUMSA National Spokesperson, Phakamile Hlubi-Ma...