First Take SA

South Africans appear to be at different level of preparedness to deal with the worsening infection rates and deaths related to the COVID 19 pandemic. In his weekly letter to the nation Ramaphosa urged each individual household to look at how it can observe hygiene protocols, protect elderly people as well as plan for the possibility that someone in the family may become infected or sick. But as B...

Many Grade 7 and 12 pupils returned to schools across the country yesterday. Schools had been closed for over two months following the Coronavirus outbreak. However, the readiness of schools has been a source of concern, as hundreds were vandalised and robbed during the nationwide lockdown. There are also worries about whether schools will be able to observe all the safety precautions and regulati...

South African National Parks - SANPARKS - has opened its gates to day visitors for self-drive excursions. SANParks says the reopening of parks, after two months of closure during the Covid-19 lockdown, is being done under strict health protocols to safeguard both staff and visitors.

Eastern Cape premier, Oscar Mabuyane is considering lobbying for the ban on alcohol sales to be reinstated under level 3 of the lockdown for the province. This follows a surge of trauma admissions and cases at various hospitals in the province which have strained facilities and measures to curb the spread of the covid-19 pandemic in the province. The Eastern Cape has been highlighted as one of the...

Most schools around the country are re-opening THIS MORNING with Grade 7s and 12s the first to return to class. While some of the teachers, learners and their parents may be excited, many have equal amounts of anxiety. With the prospect of contracting COVID-19 at schools remaning a real risk, levels of depression, anxiety and irritability have increased

Over 1 million grade 7 and 12 pupils are expected to return to school as the basic education department prepares to catch up after more than two months of NO schooling due to lockdown. Teacher unions, School governing bodies and other stake holders have finally given the department the green light following concerns over the department's state of readiness. The department says it used last week to...

Grace Bible Church in Soweto is one of the churches that opened it's doors to congregants again yesterday. When announcing the level three lockdown, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared churches could re-open again, but only under strict conditions. These included having no more than 50 congregants and no singing. The service was only attended by church elders.

The Minister of Public Service and Administration, Senzo Mchunu, says government needs to employ more civil servants to improve service delivery in the country. At the same time, Mchunu says there is still a need to reduce the Public Service Wage Bill. When tabling the budget earlier this year, Finance Minister Tito Mboweni said this needed to be cut by 160 billion rand over the next three years.

Village Main Reef mine in Orkney near Klerksdorp in North West has until next Wednesday to finalize consultations around restructuring and possible retrenchments. This follows over two months of sporadic workers' demonstrations at the mines operations. Mine management refuted claims that it had taken a decision to retrench workers without consulting workers' representatives

Government will appeal the judgement handed down in the North Gauteng High Court that lockdown regulations which kicked in for level 4 and 3 are invalid and unconstitutional. This was announced by Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu following a cabinet meeting specially convened to discuss the matter in Pretoria YESTERDAY

The Commission of Inquiry into State Capture may resume public hearings from the end of June if it can overcome a number of challenges. This is according to Commission Chairperson, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, who briefed the media on the impact of the lockdown on the inquiry's work. Zondo says the Commission is determined to finish its work by the end of March 2021. Earlier this year, the...

Former Gauteng Judge President, Bernard Ngoepe says although no one is perfect, it is government's duty to protect lives and it should seek a second opinion on the Pretoria High Court's ruling. Judge Ngoepe made these comments after the High Court ruled that some of the alert level 3 and 4 lockdown regulations were unconstitutional and invalid. The court has given government 14 days to amend the r...

The high court in Pretoria has ruled that Covid-19 patients cannot not be forced into state quarantine if they are able to successfully self-quarantine. The case was brought to the court by the lobby group AfriForum. Current regulations instructs that anyone who tested positive for Covid-19, regardless of whether they showed symptoms, could be placed in a government isolation facility. In April, t...

The Competition Commission of South Africa is taking 28 banks to the Competition Tribunal for prosecution for the manipulation of the value of the US Dollar to the South African Rand. This follows an investigation which shows that these banks directly and indirectly manipulated trade of the two currencies in relation to Bids and the Spot Exchange rate. The banks had initially appealed the findings...

The High Court in Pretoria has declared the lockdown unconstitutional and invalid. The court has however suspended the declaration for two weeks, meaning that level 3 lockdown regulations remain in operation for now. Members of the National Coronavirus Command Council have been ordered to review, amend and republish the regulations so that they are in line with the Bill of Rights. The Liberty Figh...

The SA Human Rights Commission has called on the Western Cape Department of Education to stop teaching at schools in the province. The commission says this is in line with a decision which was taken by the Department of Basic Education which stated that schools across the country would reopen on the 8th of June and not the 1st as was previously reported. Schools in the Western Cape, however, re-op...

With the possibility of retrenchments heightened by the current COVID-19 lockdown, Some South African companies have come under fire for using the Coronavirus as an excuse to retrench employees. Millions of South Africans face retrenchment as a result of the pandemic which has claimed more than 700 lives and infected over 35-thousand people in the country

South Africans flocked to liquor outlets across the country from the early hours of yesterday following the lifting of the ban on the sale of alcohol. Under level 3 of the lock-down alcohol can be sold from Monday to Thursday, between 9am and 5pm only. No alcohol sales are permitted on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays or public holidays. Traders will also only be permitted to sell alcohol for off-site...

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga says the schooling system has to be re-engineered, timetables adjusted, and curriculum reviewed as the whole school term has now been lost due to the Coronavirus crisis. Schools were scheduled to reopen on the 1st of June for grade seven and twelve learners. However the minister postponed re-opening to the 8th of June, saying this was to allow the procureme...

Thousands of Unisa students failed to write their online examinations last week after the system crashed. A number of papers were postponed after lecturers failed to upload examinations. Other exams went ahead with students answering questions but failing to upload the answers. The university, which was the only institution to forge ahead with online examination, hopes this week will be better.

The Covid-19 regulations that forbid the viewing of a deceased body by bereaved families have had a negative impact for Sigamlele family in Cofimvaba in the Eastern Cape and the Madlala family in Mthwalume in KwaZulu Natal. The bodies of their loved ones were mistakenly swapped by the mortuary. The bodies were transported from Western Cape to the respective families.

The department of basic education LAST NIGHT announced that schools will now re-open on the 8th of June 2020 for Grades 7 and 12. Learners were initially scheduled to report back at schools THIS MORNING. The department postponed, at the last minute, its briefing that was supposed to take place LAST NIGHT. Minister Angie Motshekga is now expected to brief the media at eleven o' clock this morning....

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the media has informed, stimulated debate and helped hold those in government accountable. Ramaphosa told editors during a virtual discussion with South African Editors Forum (SANEF) on the role played by media in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. He said he will instruct Police Minister Bheki Cele to insure the safe return of South Africa journalist, Paul Nth...

After days of peaceful protests across the United States following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis earlier this week, nights of rage followed in America this past weekend. Chaos ensued in several cities from the East Coast through the Midwest to the West Coast of the country as tens of thousands clashed with law enforcement officers to express their anger, leaving d...

The Restaurant Association of South Africa - RASA - has warned that massive job losses can be expected within the industry as the serving of sit-down tables remain prohibited under level 3 of the covid-19 lockdown. From Monday, the approximately 13-thousand sit-down establishments nationally, which employ around 500-thousand employees, can conduct their business for deliveries and collections only...