First Take SA

There are fears of an escalation of taxi violence in the Western Cape after the body of one of its top taxi leaders was discovered at Monwabisi Beach on Monday. Congress of Democratic Taxi Associations (CODETA) secretary and deputy chairperson of the SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) Western Cape, Mzoxolo Dibela's body was found dumped at the beach with gunshot wounds to his head. Dibela was murd...

The EFF is expected to march to the offices of Minister of sport, Nathi Mthethwa as they intensify their call for the immediate re-opening of sporting facilities in the country. This comes as the country has enjoyed more relaxed Covid-19 restrictions in recent months; with the curfew being scrapped and more recreational facilities being opened to the public. The EFF says it will go ahead with the...

The class of 2021 has been commended for producing outstanding results in a tough learning environment. The Independent Examinations Board achieved a 98.39% pass rate, slightly higher than last year's 98.06%. Education expert, Professor Mary Metcalfe helps us to understand the results

The class of 2021 has achieved a 98.39% pass rate in the Independent Examinations Board. Results were released at midnight last night (Tuesday 18th) Which is slightly higher than last year's pass rate of 98.06%. The IEB has commended the class of 2021 for producing outstanding results in a tough learning environment. One of the year's top achievers, Christiaan Botes from Helpmekaar Kollege in Joha...

Controversial consultancy firm, Bain and Company, yesterday announced its withdrawal from Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA). The US firm has been linked to allegations of corruption related to work it did for the South African Revenue Service (Sars), pocketing millions of rands in what was subsequently declared as illegal in the State Capture Commission of Inquiry Report. The company has als...

ANC employees have vowed to continue their stay away until the party's leadership addresses the issue of unpaid salaries. Workers say while some have not been paid since last November, others have not been paid since August. The group met with ANC officials last Friday where it was resolved that their salaries would be paid on Saturday but that hasn't happened. A follow-up meeting with the ANC tre...

The Congress of South African Students (COSAS) says it stands by the decision by the Basic Education Department not to publish matric results, in line with the Protection of Personal Information Act. This comes as a court challenge by lobby group AfriForum against the decision will be heard in court TODAY. While AfriForum and the department battle it out in court, COSAS says the only people who be...

Workers in parliament are expected to report for duty today after they refused to work on Monday citing safety concerns. Yesterday staff members gathered outside Parliament's gates, demanding that the management guarantee their safety when working in some of the buildings gutted by fire 2 weeks ago. The National Education, Health and Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU) in Parliament plans to conduct its...

Unit 2 of the Koeberg Nuclear power station will be offline for five months as it undergoes regular refuelling and maintenance. This will be the 25th refuelling outage on Unit 2 since it was commissioned.  The planned outage, to last until June, has hightened fears of power outages and safety at the nuclear power plant. Energy Expert, Ted Blom...

Eskom will today take unit 2 of the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station offline for what they call a regular refuelling and maintenance outage that is scheduled for five months. The Koeberg Alert Alliance - KAA,  an organization concerned about nuclear reactors and opposed to the building of further nuclear reactors at Koeberg, has described the planned refueling and maintenance outage as confusing...

The two Khoi protesters who were arrested by police outside the Union Buildings on Wednesday for illegal cultivation and dealing in dagga appeared in court yesterday. The pair were released on warning ahead of their trial in March. Khoisan SA and Donovan Manuel, who appeared in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court, have been living and protesting outside the Union Buildings for more than three years. T...

Members of the Food and Allied Workers Union - FAWU, the South African Federation of Trade Unions - SAFTU, and the General Industries Workers Union of South Africa -GIWUSA are threatening to occupy the Union Buildings if their demands are not met. The unions are demanding Presidential intervention in their long-running dispute with the management of the dairy company, Clover.  The workers hav...

Some members of Action SA have threatened to collapse the new party over its candidate list for councilors in Johannesburg. The group marched to the City of Johannesburg Council to demand inclusion on the candidate list. The members say, they feel used by the leader Herman Mashaba because they are now seeing new faces representing the party in the council. For more on this, ActionSA's Director of...

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.

Political analysts say South Africans will begin to ask whether some politicians plan to leave a legacy of strengthening or weakening democracy in their process of campaigning. This was after Tourism Minister Lindiwe Sisulu wrote an article in which she questioned the moral standing of judges. She referred to unnamed black judges as mentally colonized Africans who had settled for the mindset of th...

Acting Chief Justice, Raymond Zondo has slammed Tourism Minister, Lindiwe Sisulu for her controversial article in which she attacked the country's Constitution and judiciary. Addressing a media briefing Zondo said the article is an insult to all black judges. In the article published in IOL Sisulu questioned the moral standing of the country's judges and compared unnamed judges with "house Negroes...

Healthcare workers from the Eastern Cape are camping outside the National Department of Health offices in Pretoria. They want the department to intervene following the termination of their contracts. Zandile Finca is a community liaison officer with the group

The battle for the ANC leadership is heating up ahead of the governing party's elective conference in December. With Limpopo having backed President Cyril Ramaphosa for a second term, several names have been suggested for some top six officials' positions.  ANC MP Boy Mamabolo has ambitions to run for the position of ANC deputy president, while some members want NEC Member and Justice Ministe...

Teacher union SADTU has warned that the upcoming year will be tough as teachers and learners play catch up to time lost due to COVID-19 restrictions. SADTU's General Secretary, Mugwena Maluleke..

The Southern African Development Community Troika is expected to extend the mandate to keep the standby force in Mozambique when it meets in Malawi. The SADC Mission - compromising mostly of soldiers from South Africa, Tanzania and Botswana is facing many challenges while fighting insurgency in the Cabo Delgado region. Their biggest hurdle - lack of resources and financial support. The Troika meet...

Time to take a look at the current top African economic stories..... Victor Kgomoesoana, author of  "Africa Is Open For Business" and "Africa Bounces Back", as well as the Executive Director for Marketing and Communication at the University of Limpopo....  

National Professional Teachers' Organisation of South Africa or NAPTOSA is calling for schools to return to full time learning in 2022. The organisation says, the damage caused by rotational and online schooling, particularly to learners in early development stages has been insurmountable. Elvis Presslin Spoke to the chairperson of the Federation of Association of Governing Bodies of South African...

ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa has assured supporters that the party is doing all it can to make sure that it emerges victorious from all the challenges it is currently facing. This on the back of the release of the first part of the State Capture Report, which fingered a number of senior ANC officials. Ramaphosa delivered the January 8th statement, as part of the ANC's 110th birthday celebrations...

Humanitarian organisation, Gift of the Givers is continuing with relief efforts in the Eastern Cape following devastating floods in the province. Six people were reported to have died in the floods which affected areas including Buffalo City, Nyandeni and Mhlonto. Residents have asked government to fast track the distribution of temporary shelter. Elvis Presslin spoke to Eastern Cape coordinator f...

Some opposition parties have different views on whether the State of the Nation Address should be held virtually or in Cape Town. This comes as Parliament is currently scrambling for accommodation to host SONA in February at a suitable event. The National Assembly Chamber from where the President addresses the Nation annually has collapsed after the fire destroyed the building. SONA is an annual a...