First Take SA

President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged South Africans not to panic and be alarmed by the rising number of Coronavirus infections in the country. He was speaking during the virtual Presidential Imbizo on the Covid-19 pandemic last night. The president interacted with communities across the country through over 80 community radio stations and some SABC platforms.

The ACDP Leader Kenneth Meshoe says government should carefully examine and consider studies that have been conducted to investigate whether there is a link between Gender Based Violence , rape and pornography. Meshoe was participating in the Debate of National Importance on GBV during a hybrid sitting of the National Assembly.

The Federation of Trade Unions says negotiations are underway between government, organised business and labour to extend the UIF Covid- 19 'temporary employer-employee relief scheme' which ended YESTERDAY. The Labour Department and the UIF had earlier pronounced that the scheme, which has been running three months, will not be extended beyond the June 30th deadline. The fund has so far paid out r...

The Passenger Rail Agency, PRASA is expected to resume its train services today with strict capacity limitation and high hygiene standards. Transport Minister, Fikile Mbalula says the train lines to resume operations include those in the Eastern Cape between Port Elizabeth and Uitenhage, together with East London and Berlin. Four lines will open in Gauteng, including from Pienaarspoort down to Pre...

Board chairperson of Prasa Popo Molefe has told the commission of inquiry into state capture that the former administration under president Jacob Zuma failed PRASA. Molefe says irregularities and corruption at Prasa continued to thrive despite the board doing everything in its power to report malaise at the organisation. Molefe has accused the parliament portfolio committee on transport for failin...

In Mpumalanga, traffic was affected in the Mbombela CBD and surrounding areas yesterday following a standoff between the police and taxi operators. The taxi operators wanted to operate at 100 percent capacity in violation of the COVID-19 regulations which only permit taxis to carry 70 percent of their licensed capacity.

Taxi operators in various townships around Durban say they will continue loading 70 percent of their capacity in order to allow senior structures in the industry to negotiate with government. Yesterday some taxi ranks were defying the lockdown regulations and carrying 100 percent of their passenger capacity. But as the day progressed, they went back to 70 percent.

Battle lines have been drawn!...The South African National Taxi Council has warned that if any taxi is impounded for loading at 100 per cent capacity during alert level 3 Covid-19 lockdown, all taxis will stop operating nationwide. SANTACO and the National Taxi Alliance announced that they will be loading at 100 percent capacity starting THIS MORNING ( Monday), despite lockdown regulations restric...

The judicial commission of inquiry into allegations of state capture - the Zondo Commission - will resume its hearings TODAY. The commission had suspended hearings in March due to the nationwide lockdown

Westbury residents in Johannesburg have called for the deployment of the military after three people were shot and killed in the area in renewed gang violence this past week. They fear for the safety of their children. In the latest incident, Kirsten May, a popular barber in the area, was shot and killed while on his way home with a friend.

As the number of COVID-19 infections increases across the country -- frontline workers are not only contracting the virus and dying from it -- they're also at a higher risk due to the physical and mental strain on them. This the case in private and public health facilities. Those who have recovered are now afraid to return to work. They fear re-infection and placing their lives at further risk.

Deputy President David Mabuza has once again called on South Africans to abandon the culture of non-payment for services. He says while this practice was employed to fight apartheid, it is no longer appropriate in the new democratic dispensation. He was replying to questions in the National Assembly that related to among others the financial problems faced by Eskom. He also added his voice to call...

Millions of workers who have come to rely on the UIF Covid-19 Temporary Employer/Employee Relief Scheme or TERS, face a tough time ahead. The TERS benefit scheme is scheduled to come to an end at the end of this month.

Gauteng is working on implementing rotational and shift learning when learners return to school on July the 6th. Gauteng Education MEC, Panyaza Lesufi, made the announcement when the province's Command Council updated the media on COVID-19 developments. Lesufi says 246 learners and educators have tested positive for the Corona Virus in Gauteng schools.

Government and parliament have told the SABC that they do not support its planned staff retrenchments. Deputy Minister for Communications Pinky Kekana told members of the portfolio committee that the department is opposed to the plan. The Department denied that the SABC had consulted it on this plan. The public broadcaster before the committee to explain the decision top lay off staff.

The supplementary budget delivered by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni yesterday has painted a bleak picture of the South African economy, as the country battles the coronavirus pandemic. It shows a deterioration in government finances with marked increases in debt, weak revenue collection and more spending pressures. The local economy is now expected to contract by 7.2% this year.

Business groups and industry players have welcomed Finance Minister Tito Mboweni'S Supplementary Budget. The minister tabled a hard hitting budget yesterday warning of increased government debt and escalating unemployment. The minister said the country will likely borrow more money and miss its tax revenue collections target by over three-billion Rands. Furthermore the economy will contract by 7-p...

AfriForum's private prosecution unit will assist the government of Botswana in a high-profile money-laundering and fraud case involving a well-known South African businesswoman. The Unit, under the leadership of Advocate Gerrie Nel, has officially been appointed by that government to represent it in a case in which businesswoman Bridgette Motsepe-Radebe is implicated. Afriforum believes this is a...

More than 200 learners at Makaula Senior Secondary School in the Eastern Cape have tested positive for the coronavirus. The alleged non-compliance with the lockdown rules and regulations has been cited as one of the major causes of the massive infection at the school. Parents had to force their way inside the school as they were made to wait outside the premises

A 150-million rand large-scale clinical trial for a COVID19 vaccine begins in South Africa on today. This has been announced at a virtual media conference hosted by the University of the Witwatersrand. The trial titled "South African Ox1Cov-19 Vaccine VIDA-Trial" is sponsored by the University of Oxford and the Jenner Institute and funded by the South African Medical Research Council and the Bill...

Transport Minister, Fikile Mbalula, says now is the time to restructure and formalise the taxi industry. Today, he will continue talks between government and the taxi industry regarding taxis carrying their full capacity of passengers, and the re-opening of long distance routes. YESTERDAY Mbalula visited Soshanguve where police had to fire teargas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds during the t...

President Cyril Ramaphosa has made a passionate plea for men to respect and love women. He was speaking during an alliance virtual dialogue on gender based violence in Johannesburg last night. The dialogue took place under the theme - Men and Boys Fighting Gender Based Violence. It follows the recent wave of attacks and killing of women in the country. Other participants included ANC Women's Leagu...

Former president Jacob Zuma and his co-accused -- French arms company -- Thales* -- are due back in court today for pre-trial proceedings. The case was initially set down for May, but it was postponed after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. A stayed warrant of arrest still hangs over Zuma's head after he failed to appear in court in February due to ill-health.

Taxi commuters could be left stranded this morning following a total shutdown by SA National Taxi Council in GAUTENG. This is in protest against a relief package announced by Transport Minister, Fikile Mbalula on Friday. Mbalula says government has allocated more than one billion Rand to the taxi industry as a relief fund during the COVID-19 pandemic

Residents of Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape, who have fully recovered from COVID-19, say they are being unfairly targeted for having contracted the virus. The Nelson Mandela Bay metro has been declared a hotspot. And, recovered patients allege their lives are made difficult by the ignorance of some people