First Take SA

Former PRASA Board chairperson, Popo Molefe has accused President Cyril Ramaphosa of lying at the State Capture Commission of Inquiry. During his two-day testimony at the commission last week, Ramaphosa said it was disingenuous for Molefe to tell the commission that the ANC Top Six officials failed to help him fight corruption at PRASA. But, Molefe has hit out at the president and says he knew he...

The Solicitor General at the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, Fhedzisa Pandelani, says 35 of the 36 Marikana claimants against the state have been settled following the massacre in August, 2012 at Lonmin Mine in the North West. Pandelani says the total amount that has been paid as compensation to the affected families of the mine workers killed in Marikana to date is almost 70...

The United Nations Secretary General has told the Security Council that the dreams of a generation of young Afghans, particularly women and girls, hang in the balance. Antonio Guterres was speaking during an emergency session of the Council after the Taliban took full control of Afghanistan including the capital Kabul, over the weekend. President Ashraf Ghani has fled to Tajikistan. Guterres calle...

The emergence of the deadly Delta variant in South Africa has retarded the human immunity goals in the country. That's according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases' Dr Melinda Suchard. SA initially intended to vaccinate two-thirds of the population to achieve population immunity. The Delta variant has scuppered these plans. As of last week -- 3.25 million people had received a jab...

Nine years down the line and there's still no accountability for the lives of thirty four people killed by police on the 16th of August 2012 and ten who lost their lives prior to the shocking incident in Marikana in the North West Province. Some political parties are still putting the blame on President Cyril Ramaphosa's door step, who was at the time a shareholder of Lonmin but the Farlam commiss...

Zambian police have appealed to citizens to refrain from expressing their anxiety through protesting on the streets. The country is monitoring the slow trickle of results in the presidential and national elections. Zambians went to the polls on Thursday. There have been several incidents of violence and disturbances around the elections. President Edgar Lungu who is trailing his opposition, Hakain...

Afghanistan president Ashraf Ghani is reported to have fled the country as the Taliban take over Kabul as the last big city under the control of the government. This as foreign nationals scramble to vacate the country fearing for any potential violence that may happen. The Taliban insists it wants a peaceful transition of power following the exit of US led forces which started two decades ago. Tal...

Four countries in Africa have entered their fourth wave of surging COVID-19 infections. According to the Africa Centre for Disease Control, Algeria, Kenya, Somalia and Tunisia are seeing infections rise again for a fourth time since the pandemic. Less than 2-percent of the continent's population is fully vaccinated as countries continue to struggle in securing COVID-19 vaccine doses.

President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday dedicated much of his second day at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, to deal with state security and the renewal of the ANC. The president defended his decision to take charge of the Ministry of State Security and rejected the notion that he is amassing power in order to deal with his enemies.  Ramaphosa also reiterated the ANC's commitment to...

A senior official at the WHO has warned against stigmatization, which could emerge as the divide between vaccinated and unvaccinated people within communities or societies, grows.  This sentiment was echoed by an official at GAVI- The Vaccine Alliance who reiterated their view that vaccinations were an individual choice despite the urgent public health implications of not vaccinating.  T...

President Cyril Ramaphosa says he considered a number of options when he found out state capture was happening under his watch as deputy.  He was testifying at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture YESTERDAY. Ramaphosa, will continue to testify TODAY, giving evidence as head of the ANC and as Deputy President of the Republic from May 2014.  The president also dealt with matters of...

As South Africa continues to record new covid-19 cases and deaths, pharmaceutical company MSD says an effective treatment, in addition to vaccination, could prove to be a critical component in the fight against the virus. MSD says it is in its final stages of developing an Investigational Antiviral Candidate for the treatment of mild to moderate COVID-19.  The organization says clinical trial...

Demand for oxygen and Oxygen cylinders has skyrocketed in the country due to covid-19 related infections. Health care professionals say consumers are prepared to pay any price to purchase oxygen and oxygen cylinders to save the lives of their loved ones. An oxygen cylinder and a regulator could now cost you about four thousand Rands, while refiling oxygen could set you back more than 200 Rands. Am...

The ANC in the Free State has re-iterated that members can support criminally-charged party members in their personal capacity. This is ahead of TODAY'S multimillion rand asbestos corruption pre-trial hearing in the Bloemfontein High Court. Suspended ANC secretary-general, Ace Magashule, alongside 10 others and five companies face more than 70 charges of fraud, corruption and money laundering. The...

The ANC caucus in Parliament has nominated former Defence minisiter, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, as the Speaker Elect. This follows the selection of National Assembly Speaker, Thandi Modise to replace Mapisa-Nqakula in her former position in last week's cabinet reshuffle. Parliament is currently in recess until the middle of this month after which a Speaker will be elected at the sitting of the Natio...

Today's highly anticipated court appearance of jailed former President Jacob Zuma will be heard virtually. This after the former president was admitted at a Military hospital on Thursday for observation by the Military Health Services. The virtual court appearance in the Pietermaritzburg High Court is expected to hear Zuma's application for a postponement of the case. Initially, today's date was s...

President Cyril Ramaphosa says government has allocated approximately R21 billion over the next three years to support the six pillars of the national strategic plan aimed at eradicating gender-based violence. He says the critical pillar of the plan is to ensure womens' economic-financial inclusion. Yesterday, Ramaphosa held a virtual women's day celebration address, marking the sixty years since...

Power utility Eskom has assured consumers that an explosion at the newly completed multi-billion rand Medupi power station would not result in load shedding. The power utility said a generation unit caught alight on Sunday night and affected another unit. All employees who were on duty were accounted for while several employees were treated for shock. No other serious injuries were reported. For i...

This Tuesday, 10 August 2021 edition of Africa Brief we take a look at SADC Cross-Border Payments Become Seamless Agricultural Exports in Egypt Rise to 4.3 Million Tons...and... Nigeria's Dangote Refinery Capacity Scares Off Licensees From Investing in Petrol Refining

Victor Kgomoesoana, Director at "Africa Is Open For Business" who has also authored a new book "Africa Bounces Back", to look at this week's top African economic stories....... EAST AFRICA: The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development - IGAD - Issues Alert Over Ageing Tanker Abandoned in the Red Sea ANGOLA: Isabel dos Santos Ordered to Return to Angola U.S.$500 Million in Shares 'Tainted by Ill...

The battle by education advocacy group, Section 27, to get rid of pit toilets in Limpopo schools is set to continue in the Polokwane High Court today (Friday). In 2018, Judge Gerrit Muller ordered that the Limpopo Department of Education and Department of Basic Education to develop a plan to eradicate pit toilets at Limpopo schools. Section 27 together with Equal Education, who have joined as a fr...

One of the most glaring surprises of last night's cabinet reshuffle announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa was his acceptance of the resignation of a long-standing request by Minister Tito Mboweni to be excused from his position as Minister of Finance. He was replaced by ANC finance guru, Enoch Gondongwana. To find out how he will be recieved by the business sector and the markets here is Dawie Ro...

For some analysis of last night's cabinet reshuffle here is Prof Zwelinzima Ndevu, Director of the School of Public Leadership at Stellenbosch University....

President Cyril Ramaphosa has made some changes to his Cabinet. This saw several ministers being moved around, following the resignation of Health Minister Doctor Zweli Mkhize and Finance Minister Tito Mboweni. The president told the nation as he announced the changes in his cabinet, that this happens at a time the country is facing several challenges which needed to be attended to, with urgency....

Former president Jacob Zuma will have his in-person court hearing next week Tuesday, following a directive that the matter involving him and the Thales Group will be heard in an open court in the Pietermaritzburg High Court. The decision comes after a ruling against an application by prosecutor advocate Billy Downer, who wanted the matter to be held virtually like before. For more on this here is...