First Take SA

The South African Human Rights Commission is assessing a complaint of air pollution at the Medupi power station in Lephalale in Limpopo. The Freedom Front Plus logged the complaint this week, alleging that there had been numerous complaints from residents of the Lephalale Local Municipality about air pollution at the Medupi power station. For more on this, FF Plus Limpopo provincial leader Marcell...

Residents of Florida and Fleurhof, in Roodepoort, are today expected to embark on a mass protest action over service delivery, crime, and illegal mining in the area, among other issues. Residents say the community protests will continue until Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi addresses their concerns. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to Caleb Finn, a DA Ward 70 Councillor, in Johannesburg, who...

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.

Is G4S legally liable to reimburse the government for the R1.4 million costs to deport Facebook rapist and murderer Thabo Bester and his partner Dr. Nandipha Magudumana from Tanzania after fleeing South Africa? This question arose after Parliament recently learned from Home Affairs Minister Dr. Aaron Motsoaledi that the private flight used to bring back Bester and Dr. Magudumana cost R1.4 million....

There have been several reports suggesting that President Cyril Ramaphosa has met with Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa to examine a plan to slow down the decommissioning of old coal power stations. The move is aimed at helping the country battle the problem of load shedding. To discuss this further Elvis Presslin spoke to energy expert at HOHM, Matthew Cruise

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) says it acknowledges and welcomes the Special Investigating Unit's (SUIs) report as presented in the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA). The SIU reported that approximately R 5 billion in NSFAS funds were wrongfully awarded to 40,000 students who did not qualify for the funding. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to South African Uni...

South African Social Security Agency says despite the Post Office facing liquidation beneficiaries will still receive their grants. South African Post Office was placed under provisional liquidation on February 9 after a court application by a creditor owed for rent. The Post Office's most recent financial statements for 2021/2022 to end-March 2022, it owed more than R4.4bn to creditors and its de...

ActionSA is considering legal action against the ANC-EFF coalition after it accused the parties of deliberately collapsing a City of Johannesburg Council programming committee meeting. ActionSA was set to table a motion of no confidence in City Mayor Thapelo Amad yesterday when the meeting reportedly collapsed due to the ANC and EFF's no-show. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to Action SA Ga...

German Prosecutors have applied for an arrest warrant against disgraced former Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste after failing to make his first court appearance yesterday. Jooste was scheduled to face his first criminal case in Germany over accounting irregularities of various subsidiaries of the company. The public prosecutor's office in Oldenburg applied for the suspension of the proceedings and the...

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...