First Take SA

The City of Cape Town is expected to launch its Land Release Programme on Friday which is aimed at building affordable housing within the inner city. The programme is aimed at bridging the gap between well located vacant land within the City centre and the need for affordable housing. The initiative will be targeting private developers together with housing financiers and social housing institutio...

The wife of Burkina Faso's assassinated revolutionary leader, Thomas Sankara, says she is relieved after his successor was sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the 37-year-old's murder. In reacting to the sentence, Mariam Sankara told members of the media that the people of Burkina Faso and the public would now know who her husband was and the values he stood for. Sankara was gunned down...

The formal bail application of 27 people implicated in alleged passport fraud has been postponed to Friday this week by the Krugersdorp Magistrate's Court. The group was arrested during an early morning sting operation last week through a collaborative raid led by the Hawks working together with the Home Affairs Department and the Johannesburg Central Tactical Response Team. The suspects are belie...

City of Johannesburg's Group Forensic and Investigation Services says it has successfully returned 51 buildings to their lawful owners in the past 5 years. This comes as the unit says it returned a building to its owner in Denver, in the East of Johannesburg. This week, the civil movement Operation Dudula said it will be approaching the Public Protector to investigate the government's role in the...

Security Officers and Cleaners have been camping outside Edenvale Hospital in Johannesburg, for over a month in makeshift tents due to unpaid salaries. The employer Jack Cliffy Trading has reportedly not paid 3 months' salaries to over 40 workers who were assigned to the hospital. JackCliffy Trading has since terminated its contract with the provincial Department. ActionSA is considering taking le...

Time to take a look at the current top African economic stories.....Jon Gericke spoke to Victor Kgomoesoana, 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 Democratic Alliance says foreign embassies in South Africa must be billed for the treatment of patients from their countries in the Gauteng province. The party's Gauteng health spokesperson, Jack Bloom says this is a practical way to deal with the issue of foreign patients overburdening Gauteng hospitals. For more on this, Jon Gericke spoke to Jack Bloom, the DA's Gauteng Shadow Health MEC

The Congress of South African Trade Unions, COSATU is rejecting the proposed 3% salary increase for political office bearers recommended by the Independent Commission on the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers. The Union says this recommendation should be rejected by President Cyril Ramaphosa and South Africans. For more, Jon Gericke spoke to COSATU's Parliamentary Coordinator Mr. Matthew Parks.

The South African Communist Party, SACP has not paid its workers for 6 months according to reports from the Sunday World. The SACP and its alliance partner ANC, have had numerous financial troubles over the year in either paying workers late or not paying them at all. For more on this, Jon Gericke spoke to Dr Alex Mashilo, Central Committee Member of the SACP

The North West Provincial Government has denied reports that it will return R17 billion of a total combined budget of R57.4 billion back to the National Treasury because its departments haven't been able to spend the money. The provincial administration says the report by City Press seeks to purport the Executive Council led by Premier Bushy Maape as an irresponsible government. For more on this,...

President Cyril Ramaphosa will appear before the South African Human Rights Commission's Investigative hearing into last year's deadly July unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. Several senior government officials have already given evidence at the Commission. Today's hearing will take place in Sandton, Johannesburg. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to Human Rights Commission's spokesperson G...

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate says rape cases against police officials in the country are on the increase. This comes after a 20-year-old woman from Mahikeng, in the North West, reported a case of rape against two police officials on Thursday. The victim alleges that police officials drugged her before taking turns raping her. According to IPID, the victim alleges that she was a...

Time to take a look at the current top African economic stories.....Elvis Presslin was joined by Victor Kgomoesoana, 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...

Gauteng residents spend over 10% of their income on public transport, according to a recent General Household Travel Survey by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, CSIR. On Tuesday Gauteng MEC for Public Transport and Roads Infrastructure, Jacob Mamabolo released the latest regional household travel survey results to the municipalities. In 2019, the Department commissioned the CSIR...

The ANC Youth League in the Eastern Cape has called for a full forensic investigation into what it calls rampant corruption at the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, NSFAS. The league says those responsible for erroneously depositing R14 million into the account of now-convicted Sibongile Mani, should be investigated and held to account for their role in the scandal. Mani, who was a student at...

An arrest warrant has been issued for a former Eskom executive after failing to appear in court. Yesterday the Palm Ridge Specialised Crimes Court issued an arrest warrant against France Hlakudi and his 5 co-accused are facing fraud and corruption charges related to an R745 million fraud matter at the Kusile power station in Mpumalanga. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to Sindisiwe Seboka, S...

The DA motion of no confidence in the cabinet has been defeated in the National Assembly. 131 members voted in favor while 231 voted against. The DA and the EFF voted for the motion, while the ANC and IFP voted against it. Only Cope abstained. Elvis Presslin spoke to John Steenhuisen, Leader of the Democratic Alliance, DA

Former Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini will be sentenced this Friday after being found guilty of perjury. The embattled ANC Women's League president was found guilty by the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court for lying under oath before an inquiry into the social grants crisis at the South African Social Security Agency, Sassa, instituted by the Constitutional Court. So will Bathabile Dl...

The National Taxi Alliance has threatened to take the government to court if the industry's demand for a reprieve from car financing and fuel levies is not met. The association says recent rising fuel and other costs are crippling the industry, forcing it to pass the costs onto customers. The association says the current record-high prices have had a devastating impact on taxi drivers and commuter...

Civil society advocacy group, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) says it estimates that come 1 April 2022, South Africa will have well over one million motorists with expired driver's license cards. The organization says this is a significant problem that government will not be able to wish away or dump in the laps of its citizens. OUTA CEO, Wayne Duvenage has called on the transport minist...

Can the ANC be criminally prosecuted for tax evasion? According to recent reports, the governing party owes the taxman over 100 million rands and had been given a ten-day ultimatum by SARS to pay the amount. The ruling party claimed to have paid SARS at the end of last month but remain mum on the amount paid. So what are the ramifications If the ANC doesn't settle its tax dispute with SARS? To ans...

Parliament's vote of no confidence in President Cyril Ramaphosa will go ahead today, despite efforts by the African Transformation Movement, ATM to have it postponed. Recently the ATM's urgent court application to have its motion of no confidence in President Ramaphosa held in secret was struck off the roll by the Western Cape High Court. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spokt to ATM spokesperson...

Statistician-General of South Africa Risenga Maluleke will, this morning, release the results of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the fourth quarter of 2021, at a media briefing in Pretoria. The country's unemployment rate hit a record high at nearly 35% in the third quarter of 2021. Some analysts say they expect job numbers to remain depressed in the fourth quarter of this year. For more on...

Trade union Solidarity is expected to lay charges of corruption, theft, fraud, and mismanagement of State funds against 19 alleged State capturers, including former president Jacob Zuma this morning. The union says it will lay the charges on Dudu Myeni and Brian Molefe, among others at the Brooklyn Police Station at 10am. The union says the charges come on the back of the reports and recommendatio...

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". Victor is also the Executive Director for Marketing and Communication at the University of Limpopo...