First Take SA

Economists and the business community at large have welcomed Finance Minister Titio Mboweni 's2021 budget. Many industry experts who were interviewed said the budget was balanced and showed compassion for the corporate sector that is struggling. Markets also reacted positively to the minister's speech in late evening trade (wednesday 24 February)

Economists say Finance Minister Tito Mboweni is unlikely to increase taxes in order to finance the country's vaccine rollout programme. Their comments come as Mboweni is expected to table the 2021 Budget THIS AFTERNOON. Experts say Mboweni should rather focus on keeping spending low in order to make fiscal room to fund an effective vaccination programme. Other experts say the minister should lean...

Opposition parties have expressed doubt over the ability of government to address the country's economic crisis. This comes as Finance Minister Tito Mboweni is set to table his much-anticipated Budget Speech TODAY (24 February). Mboweni's 2020/21 budget will be the toughest ever presented to Parliament - as the country is still reeling from the prolonged COVID-19 lockdown which has caused an econo...

The Pietermaritzburg High Court has set May 17th as the start of the corruption trial of former President Jacob Zuma and the French arms company Thales*. Zuma and Thales are facing corruption, racketeering and money laundering charges linked to South Africa's multi-billion rand arms deal in 1999. By agreement with the state, Zuma and the Thales representatives were not present in court when Judge...

The pass rate for the Class of 2020 is 76.2%. Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga, says although the national pass rate dropped below 80%, with a drop of 5%, it is much better than she expected. She announced the pass rate in Pretoria.

The community of Doornkop in Soweto is reeling from shock after the body of a mother of four was found buried in a shallow grave inside a shack on Friday. Last Sunday, the body of the woman's husband was found inside the couple's other shack. Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding their deaths. On Friday, Police Minister Bheki Cele announced that from October to December last year,...

It's been seven days since residents in the eastern part of Makhanda in the Eastern Cape had any water in their taps. Leaks at the James Kleynhans Water Treatment Plant have damaged pumps resulting in parts of the town running dry. According to a municipal report, the Settlers Dam is currently at five percent and the Howiesons Poort Dam is at 25 percent.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has emphasised how the country will rise from the effects of the Coronavirus pandemic during his reply to the debate on the State of Nation Address. Although he conceded that there have been mistakes, which include problems with the efficacy of the Astrazeneca vaccine regarding the new variant of the corona virus, he says the country has started rolling out Johnson and Jo...

The Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane has fired the MEC for Health, Sindiswa Gomba. COGTA MEC, Xolile Nqata, will act in Gomba's position until a replacement is named. Gomba is facing fraud and corruption charges related to the funeral of Nelson Mandela in 2013. The former superintendent general of the health department, Dr. Thobile Mbengashe, will also face disciplinary action in line with the...

The state has warned that it's likely to add more charges against ANC secretary-general, Ace Magashule, when he appears in the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court today. Magashule is among eight people and five companies that face multiple charges of fraud, corruption and money laundering relating to the multimillion rand Free State asbestos roofing audit contract.

The first COVID-19 vaccine doses were yesterday administered to President Cyril Ramaphosa and Health Minister, Zweli Mkhize along with a group of healthcare workers at the Khayelitsha District Hospital, in Cape Town. The Western Cape will be receiving 13-thousand of the 80-thousand Johnson and Johnson COVID-19 vaccines which have arrived in the country.

The joint sitting of the National Assembly on Wednesday held the second day of the debate on the State of the Nation Address. Opposition political parties didn't mice their words in criticising President Cyril Ramaphosa's administration, while the ruling party, reitarated its stance in defending and strengthening law enforcement agencies as well cracking the whip on corruption.

Members of Parliament's Public Enterprises committee are deeply unhappy about a fruitless and wasteful accommodation project at Eskom, to the tune of 840-million. Eskom executives appeared before Parliament's Public Enterprise committee to brief MPs on various issues. MPs heard that the cost of a project to provide accommodation for artisans working at the nearby Kusile Power plant in Mpumalanga h...

The South African Human Rights Commission inquiry into the Vaal river system has concluded that the river system is polluted beyond acceptable standards due to untreated sewage flowing into the Vaal river. The commission released findings of its investigation into the sewage problem in the vaal river this morning. In 2018, the South African National Defence Force experts were brought in to assist...

Opposition political parties that debated the State of the Nation Address accused President Cyril Ramaphosa of not doing enough to fight corruption, as well as the way government has handled Covid-19 vaccine acquisition. Meanwhile the ANC committed itself in leaving no stone unturned in holding accountable those accused of corruption.

As members of the uMkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans' Association continue to camp outside former president Jacob Zuma's Nkandla homestead, his family says it's unlikely that the former President will change his views around Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo. On Monday, the Zondo Commission said its secretary would approach the Constitutional Court to apply for a contempt order issued against Zu...

Relations between President Cyril Ramaphosa and his predecessor Jacob Zuma are inevitably rocky. These relations were soured by the removal of Zuma as president. Pressure on him to appear before the State Capture Commission has also worsened the already frosty relations. Remarks by Ramaphosa on the nine wasted years under Zuma compounded the animosity. But Zuma didn't help the situation, alleging...

South Africa is expected to begin its COVID-19 vaccination programme TODAY (wednesday). 80-thousand single doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccines targeted at frontline healthcare workers were due to be delivered YESTERDAY. 17 hospitals have been identified as vaccination sites and these include Soweto's Chris Hani Baragwanath, Durban's Prince Mshiyeni Memorial and Groote Schuur in Cape Town. Me...

Consumers face a hefty electricity tariff hike in April as the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has agreed to Eskom's application to increase its tariff by over 15% for the 2021/22 financial year. The agreement between Nersa and Eskom came after the power utility won a case in the Pretoria High Court in October 2020, which allowed it to push for a higher tariff increase than what...

Former President Jacob Zuma is potentially facing jail time after he failed to appear before the State Capture Commission YESTERDAY (monday 15 February) . Zuma's lawyers confirmed in a letter to the inquiry that the former president would not attend this week. The Constitutional Court earlier ordered Zuma to appear after he walked out of the commission in November and didn't appear before it last...

Stakeholders will have to work together to ensure a success in the education sector this academic year. This is according to Basic Education minister Angie Motshekga during a visit to Nellmapius Secondary school in Mamelodi, east of Pretoria. Motshekga was among government officials who visited schools across the country on the first day of the 2021 academic year, to check on the resumption of cla...

The hearings at the inquest into the death of anti-apartheid activist Neil Aggett have concluded. The focus will now shift to the inquest of another activist, Ernest Dipale, who also allegedly committed suicide at the then John Vorster Square Police Station in Johannesburg in the same year, 1982. The security branch police claimed that both Dipale and Aggett hanged themselves in their cells. Testi...

Attempts by the ANC's top leadership to persuade former President Jacob Zuma to appear before the State Capture Commission TODAY may prove fruitless. High on the party's NEC meeting agenda this weekend has been the implications of Zuma's decision not to appear before the Commission this week. The decision is in breach of a summons issued by the Commission for Zuma to appear, a Constitutional Court...

The ANC Interim Provincial Committee- (IPC) in the North West has condemned the removal of the Mayor of Maqwassi Hills local municipality in Wolmaranstad. She was removed through a motion of no confidence led by the Forum 4 Service Delivery. Thirteen ANC councillors are reported to have joined forces with five opposition party members, and voted in support of the motion.

The Basic Education Department says it's all systems go for TODAY'S schools re-opening. Basic Education minister, Angie Motshekga made the announcement in Pretoria YESTERDAY. Schools were initially supposed to re-open for learners on the 27th of last month, but was delayed by two weeks due to an increase in infections due to a second COVID-19 wave. The Department's Task Team has also concluded tha...