First Take SA

Maritime experts have called for greater protection and control of Mozambique's ocean territories, especially in the northern province of Cabo Delgado. This follows reports that at least six people - three villagers and three fishermen - were beheaded by suspected militants. Radicals linked to the Islamic State have been terrorizing the northern parts of Mozambique for a while, recently attacking...

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) says officials of the Department of Health as well as former Health Minister, Zweli Mkhize, flouted the law in awarding contracts to a company linked to Mkhize's associates. The SIU says it has recommended that the department take disciplinary action against officials implicated in the matter. SIU Head Andy Mothibi has told Scopa that the unit has also referred...

US soldiers have destroyed most of the heavy military equipment it was forced to leave behind at the Kabul airport in Afghanistan. This follows the final exit of US soldiers from the country following the force take over by the Taliban. The Taliban group has meanwhile vowed to fix the demilitarized weaponry and appealed to foreign and domestic investors to work with it in rebuilding the country's...

COPE: Presidency's disciplinary process against Diko is 'whitewash'   The Presidency has confirmed that suspended Presidential spokesperson, Khusela Diko, will not be returning to her position but to a different position in the Public Service. The Presidency says it has completed a disciplinary process against Diko which concluded that she failed to disclose her interests in certain companies...

While the EFF has opposed the move, the leader of the United Democratic Movement, Bantu Holomisa, has announced that his party will join the ANC, as it approaches the Electoral  Court asking for the re-opening of the registration of election candidates for a day. The governing party says it couldn't register some of its candidates for the upcoming local elections due to problems beyond its co...

Victor Kgomoesoana, Director at "Africa Is Open For Business" who has also authored a new book "Africa Bounces Back", looks at this week's top African economic stories...... ** Kenya and Tanzania sets December deadline to remove trade barriers ** American company to buy all processed Cashewnuts in Tanzania ** Globacom launches TV streaming service to boost customer experience

South African National Defence Union has written to the Defence and Military Veterans Minister Thandi Modise requesting that she immediately provide starving soldiers who were deployed in KwaZulu Natal and Gauteng, with food or it will take the necessary action. This, as the soldiers have complained about the lack of food allowances since their deployment in response to the unrest last month. Sout...

South African Airways flight tickets go on sale from today (26 August 2021). The airline yesterday announced that it will resume operations on the 23rd of September. Interim CEO Thomas Kgokolo says they will start operating flights from Johannesburg to Cape Town, Accra, Kinshasa, Harare, Lusaka and Maputo. Kgokolo says the aviation sector is currently going through a testing period and that the ai...

Traditional leaders, working together with health experts, have encouraged rural communities to come forward and get vaccinated. This as psychologists have noted that vaccine hesitancy stems from several factors which include, lack of information as well as group thinking influence. The World Health Organization says vaccine hesitancy is one of the main challenges to containing and combating the f...

The governing party's financial woes are continuing to impact employees as salary payments have once again been delayed. The African National Congress informed its staff that it will delay paying August salaries, which were due yesterday (WEDNESDAY). This, as July payments, are also still outstanding. ANC employees have been on a go-slow since last month as a result of late salary payments. For mo...

Non- governmental organisations, Black Sash and the Centre for Applied Legal Studies have welcomed the decision by the Director of Public Prosecutions in Gauteng to prosecute ANC Women's League President and former Social Development minister, Bathabile Dlamini for perjury. The charges relate to her testimony during an inquiry into the social grant crisis by the Constitutional Court in 2018. The o...

The Unemployed People's Movement has described the latest unemployment figures as the next ticking time bomb following the COVID-19 pandemic. This follows the announcement by Stats SA which reveals that the number of employed persons decreased by 54-thousand people in the second quarter of 2021 while the number of unemployed people further increased by 584-thousand people to a total of 7.8 million...

Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema has promised to do away with cadre-deployment during his term in office. Delivering his inaugural speech in Lusaka as the republic's seventh President - he promised an effective executive and a service-driven government. Zambia is a highly indebted country, with high unemployment and high inflation rates. Hichilema's campaign was centered around running an admi...

The IEC has closed the door on political parties and independent candidates after an extended 9 pm deadline to submit their payments and nominations for the upcoming Local Government Elections. This is despite the fact that it still remains unclear when the elections will be held as the promulgated date of October the 27th is being considered for postponement at the Constitutional Court. The IEC i...

DA's mayoral candidate for the City of Cape Town, Geordin Hill-Lewis has promised to bring better service delivery to each and every resident of the City despite their geographical location. Hill-Lewis was announced by party leader, John Steenhuisen as the Mayoral candidate for the Mother City,  set to replace current mayor Dan Plato. His ascension as mayoral candidate was also bolstered by t...

Victor Kgomoesoana, Director at "Africa Is Open For Business" who has also authored a new book "Africa Bounces Back", looks at this week's top African economic stories...... * MALAWI: Israeli Company in Malawi for Possible Industrial Hemp Investment * NIGERIA: Freight Forwarders Say Terminal Operators Lack Capacity, Efficiency  * KENYA: Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Records an Increase...

For the first time in the history of South Africa, independent candidates will be able to stand for election. Political parties and independent candidates had until last night to register for the local government elections. To date, more than 350 independent candidates have either captured their nominations or submitted nominations. Organisation, One South Africa Movement, has been supporting and...

A Johannesburg health worker is expected to appear before the Booysens Magistrate's Court for allegedly selling fake COVID-19 negative test certificates to travelers for five hundred rands. The suspect, based at the Parkhurst Clinic in Johannesburg, was arrested over the weekend following a week-long sting operation that was led by the Group Forensic and Investigative Services within the Johannesb...

A 25-year-old male suspect is expected to appear before the East London Regional Magistrate's Court following the gruesome murder of 23-year-old Law student at the University of Fort Hare, Nosicelo Mtebeni. Mtebeni's murder has sent shockwaves across the country as her dismembered body was discovered inside a suitcase and plastic bags on the streets of Quigney in East London on Thursday last week....

The National Joint Operational and Intelligence Structure (NATJOINTS) has confirmed that law enforcement agencies are on high alert following unconfirmed reports of a national shutdown today ( Monday 23rd Aug). The Centre for Analytics and Behavioural Change at the University of Cape Town has studied social media campaigns geared to misinform. They say they are again seeing calls for a shutdown an...

 A major showdown will take place in the Constitutional Court TODAY (20/08) when it hears the Electoral Commission's urgent application to have the October Local Government Elections postponed. Various political parties and civil society organizations including the ANC, DA, IFP, ATM, One Movement South Africa, Makana Independent New Deal and the Forum for Service Delivery will be pleading the...

Several of the opposition parties in Parliament say they will work with the newly-elected National Assembly Speaker, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, even though they were opposed to her nomination to the position. They say they expect Mapisa-Nqakula will reciprocate by respecting all political parties irrespective of their make-up in the house

It's still not known how much it will cost to rebuild the Medupi power station following the recent explosion. Public Enterprise's Director General, Kgathatso Tlhlakudi, revealed this when he was updating Parliament's Portfolio Committee on the state of financial affairs and governance issues at SOEs, as well as the explosion. He says their recovery manager is still assessing the costs

The United States - joined by 19 countries and the European Union - has issued a statement expressing concern about Afghan women and girls - particularly their right to education, work and freedom of movement. The statement comes despite vows from the Taliban to respect women's rights - a position that has been greeted with skepticism given the group's historic treatment of women and girls in part...

The Democratic Alliance is TODAY expected to oppose the election of former Defence Minister, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula as the new speaker of the National Assembly. Mapisa-Nqakula is the ANC's nominee to replace the former speaker, Thandi Modise, who has been appointed as the new Minister of Defence and Military Veterans. The DA has also vowed put forward its own nominee for the position of speaker o...