First Take SA

Social Justice Organisation, Black Sash says it will continue its call for President Ramaphosa to extend the Social Relief of Distress Grant and recommends that it be increased to at least the Food Poverty line of just over R600. Ramaphosa is set to focus on the progress made in the four key priority areas he identified last year when he delivers his State of the Nation Address on on Wednesda...

 In the build up to this year's State Of the Nation Address by President Cyril Ramaphosa, there are growing expectations that he will address calls for jobs in some sectors of the economy to be reserved exclusively for South Africans. The possible exclusion of foreign nationals from some sectors was reportedly discussed by the African National Congress, the Congress of South African Trade Uni...

Former DA Federal Chairperson, Athol Trollip has been touted as the latest new member that is about to join Herman Mashaba's ActionSA. This follows meetings by Mashaba in Gqeberha in the Eastern Cape where the party tweeted it would be announcing its new members to lead the province. Trollip, a former mayor of the hotly contested Nelson Mandela Bay metro resigned from the DA following the departur...

40 Richards Bay High School pupils were hospitalized yesterday after a suspected gas leak at the Foskor plant. The plant is a producer of phosphates and phosphoric acid. The were also reports that other residents were also rushed to hospital after experiencing vomiting, nausea and breathing difficulties reportedly due to the unknown gas leak. KwaZulu Natal Provincial Education Spokesperson, Muzi M...

The Expert Panel looking into the July unrest says Cabinet must be held accountable for the violence which claimed over 300 lives. The panel, appointed in August last year, also found that the country's intelligence services failed to intercept and prevent the planned and orchestrated riots. The report released by President Cyril Ramaphosa says Cabinet must take responsibility for failing to conta...

Black First Land First, BLF is expected to hand over an affidavit to the Hillbrow Police Station in Johannesburg, which the party says proves that President Cyril Ramaphosa should be charged criminally for corruption. The party says Ramaphosa is compromised as he was allegedly involved in criminality for contravening Sections 34 of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act of 2004. Th...

Time to take a look at the current top African economic stories with Victor Kgomoesoana, author of "Africa Is Open For Business" and "Africa Bounces Back"...

The Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (CASAC) says the Judicial Service Commission is attempting to misuse the constitutional power in the process of appointing a Chief Justice. The JSC has recommended that President Cyril Ramaphosa should appoint the President of the Supreme Court of Appeal Mandisa Maya to be the next Chief Justice. The other three candidates who were...

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga says schools are ready for learners to return to the classroom full-time, from today. She says the scrapping of the rotational timetable, which was implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic, had already been gazetted. The move comes after a cabinet decision at the end of last month, to end rotational learning with immediate effect and to remove social distan...

Many areas have been flooded following heavy rains in Gauteng at the weekend. Meanwhile, authorities say over one-hundred people have been left homeless following heavy rains in KwaZulu-Natal. The provincial department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Cogta says disaster management teams are continuing with assessments that will provide the extent of the damage in various municip...

Four North West police officers have been granted bail of R500 each by the Coligny Magistrate's Court in the province. They allegedly colluded with petrol attendants between January and December 2020 using fuel cards of police vehicles to pay for fuel that was never poured into these vehicles. For the latest, here is North West Police Spokesperson, Lieutenant colonel Amanda Funani

Chief Justice nominee Dunstan Mlambo has denied allegations of sexual harassment against him. He describes it as a poisonous rumour. Mlambo faced these questions during his interview by the Judicial Service Commission for the top position in the constitutional court. The Judge President of the Gauteng High Court Division also pleaded with the JSC to warn a candidate ahead of the interview -  ...

Time to take a look at the current top African economic stories, here is Victor Kgomoesoana, author of  "Africa Is Open For Business" and "Africa Bounces Back"

The University of Cape Town says rape allegations against a senior member of the SRC are receiving urgent attention at the highest level. This follows protests on campus which were sparked by an anonymous social media post alleging that a member of the SRC had sexually assaulted and raped a first-year student in October last year. The SRC has since also issued its own statement condemning sexual v...

A hospital in Louisiana in the United States has become one of the first hospitals to install a robot designed to assist surgeons in the operating room. However, there are some things we can do to assist our bodies before we need a visit to the operating room. So will a "Chiropractor" be replaced by a robot? To answer this question and other medical matters here is Dr Travis Mitchell, a chiropract...

Community members of Umzinto on KwaZulu-Natal's South Coast are threatening to boycott the upcoming census if their water challenges are not addressed urgently. Stats SA will be conducting a nationwide census up to the 28th of February. This community however says their water woes have been ongoing for more than 4 years without any concrete solutions. This comes after a protest in the area on Mond...

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has defended the government's decision to accept an R11-billion loan from the World Bank saying it is necessary. Briefing Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance yesterday, Minister Godongwana says there are no "specific conditions" attached to the mammoth loan. For more on this, here is Committee Chairperson, Mr. Joe Maswanganyi

Yesterday marked the one-year anniversary of the military coup in Myanmar. Since the start of the coup in February last year, nearly 1,500 people were killed, 11,000 activists and citizens were illegally detained and over 400,000 residents were forcibly displaced. The coup also saw mass protests against the military but despite this, the military continues to commit crimes against humanity with im...

The Pietermaritzburg High Court is expected to deliver judgment in former President Jacob Zuma's application for leave to appeal the dismissal of his special plea, on the 16th of February. Judge Koen dismissed Zuma's special plea in October last year, in which the former president argued that state prosecutor - Advocate Billy Downer - should not prosecute the corruption case because of his alleged...

The Judicial Service Commission is expected to begin its long-awaited interviews for the position of the country's new Chief Justice. The interviews will take place in Sandton in Johannesburg, where four candidates will be interviewed publicly, until Friday. The candidates are Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, Constitutional Court Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, Supreme Court of Appeal President Man...

South Africans are in for yet another price hike, this time at the fuel pumps, as the price of fuel is expected to rise by 53c a litre for both grades of petrol and between 79c and 80c for a litre of diesel. The new prices come into effect as of MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. This comes just days after the Reserve Bank hiked the repo rate by 25-basis points and research showed an increase in the price of food...

Time to take a look at the current top African economic stories.....We are joined on the line by Victor Kgomoesoana, author of  "Africa Is Open For Business" and "Africa Bounces Back".

Soweto residents working under the banner 'Operation Dudula' took to the streets of Rosettenville, south of Johannesburg, over the weekend marching against illegal foreign nationals who are trading without permits in South African townships. The group gained prominence after confronting suspected drug dealers and illegal occupants of government subsidy houses. The group marched through Rosettenvil...

Media watchdogs groups are calling for reports of possible political interference at the SABC to be properly investigated. This follows the sacking of the public broadcaster's head of news, Phathiswa Magopeni. Magopeni's dismissal follows a disciplinary hearing which found her guilty of failing to prevent the broadcast of an interdicted Special Assignment episode. Magopeni has been given until mid...

The Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has decided to increase rates by twenty-five basis points. This takes the Repo rate to four percent and the banks' prime lending rate to seven-point-five percent.  The Bank says the current repurchase rate reflects an accommodative policy stance that will keep financial conditions supportive of credit demand as the economy continues to recove...