First Take SA

The ANC's National Working Committee has pledged its support to President Cyril Ramaphosa ahead of the motion of no confidence set to take place against him in Parliament later this month. The motion was called by African Transformation Movement MP, Vuyolwethu Zungula. DA Leader, John Steenhuisen proposed a motion against all Ramaphosa's cabinet ministers. The respective motions were discussed at...

The International Court of Justice has ordered Russia to immediately suspend all military operations in Ukraine. The UN tribunal ruled that Ukraine "has a plausible right not to be subjected to military operations." For more on this here is Foreign Policy Analyst at the Institute for Global Dialogue, Sanusha Naidu

National Assembly has notified President Cyril Ramaphosa about Parliament's intention to proceed with impeachment proceedings against Public Protector Adv Busisiwe Mkhwebane. This follows a recent decision of the Constitutional Court which paved the way for parliament to proceed with the process. In terms of the Constitution, Ramaphosa may suspend Mkhwebane pending the outcome of the process. Lega...

The Young Nurses Indaba Trade Union will march to the office of the Gauteng Department of Health this morning. The march is set to highlight the plight of health care workers, particularly nurses, security personnel, and workers who are part of government's Expanded Public Works Program. For the latest, here is Lerato Mthunzi, General Secretary of the Young Nurses Indaba Trade Union.

The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority has come out in defense of all the approved vaccines in the country, declaring them safe to use, including the Pfizer vaccine. This follows widespread reaction to the news that the Pfizer vaccine has over one-thousand-two-hundred side effects that were not disclosed to the public, until only last week. SAHPRA held a webinar yesterday explainin...

The Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa, Contralesa says initiation schools can reopen. This after the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted cultural practices, forcing several initiation schools in various provinces, except the Eastern Cape, to close down. For the latest here is Contralesa President, Kgoshi Lameck Mokoena

Six people have been killed during a mass shooting in Umlazi, Durban. The shooting reportedly happened in an informal settlement. For more here is Brigadier Jay Naicker, KwaZulu-Natal police spokesperson...

Public Participation Group, Dear South Africa together with AfriForum intend on taking the government to court in order to force it to end the National State of Disaster. This follows reports that despite the low COVID-19 infections, the National Coronavirus Command Council is considering extending yet again the state of the disaster by another month. This is in order to finalize regulations to he...

Leaders of Opposition Parties represented in Parliament are expected to meet today over what they term 'Project South Africa' which they believe is on a slippery slope. Part of the agenda for the meeting is amongst others, lockdown regulations, service delivery issues, and corruption linked to the State Capture Commission. UDM leader, Bantu Holomisa argues the governing party has effectively muzzl...

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...

Over 2000 military veterans plan to bring a class-action suit against President Cyril Ramaphosa over unpaid benefits. The ex-combatants are from Umkhonto weSizwe, Azanian People's Liberation Army, and the Azanian National Liberation Army. Andries Nkome is a lawyer for the aggrieved military veterans...

27 Gautrain workers have been suspended for reportedly refusing to vaccinate against Covid-19, according to the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, NUMSA. Gautrain implemented a mandatory vaccination policy which came into effect from the 28th of February this year. Numsa has since taken Gautrain to the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration, CCMA for suspending workers...

The African Diaspora Forum has called on people to leave relevant authorities to deal with the issue of illegal immigrants, instead of taking the law into their own hands. This follows the clashes, which erupted between supporters of the Dudula Movement and foreign national traders in Alexandra, north of Johannesburg last week. The movement insists foreign nationals should be deported and their bu...

Thousands of passengers were left stranded after Comair's operations were suspended indefinitely at the weekend. The South African Civil Aviation Authority, SACAA grounded Comair's planes indefinitely on Sunday, saying the airline had not adequately addressed safety issues. The suspension has affected passengers of low-cost airline, Kulula, and British Airways. Comair says it is unable to confirm...

New Chief Justice, Raymond Zondo takes up his new appointment on April 1st. President Ramaphosa made the announcement yesterday saying he intends on nominating Mandisa Maya as deputy chief justice. Political analyst at the Nelson Mandela University, Ongama Mtimka

President Cyril Ramaphosa says he intends on nominating Chief Justice Mandisa Maya to fill the now vacant post of Deputy Chief Justice. The two judges' names come from a Nomination Panel list of four which also included Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga and Justice Duston Mlambo. Mbekezeli Benjamin from the Judicial watchdog group Judges Matter

Reactions continue to pour in at the appointment of Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo as the next Chief Justice commencing on April 1st. The African Transformation Movement's spokesperson Sibusiso Mncwabe had hoped Justice Maya would be announced as the first woman Chief Justice.

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 City of Johannesburg has officially reversed the permanent contracts of 130 employees back to fixed-term. This after the conversion of the contracts to permanent employment - under the then ANC administration was found to have been irregular and illegal. The South African Municipal Workers Union (Samwu) who have accused the City's Executive Mayor Dr. Mpho Phalatse of a political witch-hunt, sa...

The General Industries Workers Union of South Africa (GIWUSA) is set to march to CLOVER's head office this morning in anticipation of a meeting between the diary company and the Israeli Central Bottling Company. The union together with the Food and Allied Workers' Union (FAWU) have been on strike over retrenchment at the company since November last year. The prolonged stalemate over jobs has been...

A showdown is looming between the Gauteng Department of Health and the Heads of Clinical Departments at the Baragwanath Academic Hospital in Johannesburg ahead of what the HODs are calling the unnecessary imminent sacking of 800 healthcare workers. The workers were hired at the height of the Covid-19 outbreak following capacity shortages at one of the world's largest hospitals. This comes as staff...

The Alexandra Dudula Movement has threatened a complete shutdown of all South African townships as clashes with foreign nationals intensify. The movement went on a rampage yesterday forcing businesses to close down as they made their demands for land and job spaces. The group alleges undocumented foreign nationals have a complete monopoly and dominance of the township informal market leading to ma...

DA leader, John Steenhuisen has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa's government to end lockdown regulations and open up the economy to make a full recovery. This as the country's state of emergency is set to expire next week following months of extensions since inception back in March 2020. President Ramaphosa has previously indicated that the latest state of disaster extension will be the last,...

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

Disgruntled ANC Mpumalanga members have threatened to interdict the party's provincial elective conference. This, after the provincial executive committee, was disbanded. Last week the ANC disbanded the Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga top structures due to expired mandates and failure to hold conferences in time. Meanwhile, party president, Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to meet with the ANC in Mpumalang...