First Take SA

Gauteng Premier David Makhura says he estimates that up to two million people could lose their jobs in the province as the economic impact of Covid-19 is expected to be far worse than initially thought. The premier was answering questions during the Gauteng Legislature's first Virtual House Sitting. The sitting marked the official launch of Gauteng's Digital Legislature.

Schools, in South Africa, are reopening at the beginning of next month. Basic Education minister Angie Motshekga announced this in Pretoria, where she was giving an update on the 2020 academic year amidst coronavirus pandemic. Motshekga says her department has consulted all parties concern about the date set for schools reopening. This despite there being concern in some quarters that schools will...

Some civil society organisations say they are keenly awaiting clarity from the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, on how schools will be prepared to open amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Schools have been closed for nearly six weeks as government battles to contain the virus. To get schools ready to operate during the lockdown, precautions must be implemented. Civil society organisations lik...

Thomas Thabane has announced he will step down as prime minister of Lesotho following months of pressure after he was named as a suspect in the murder of his ex-wife. He did not say when he would leave office but his party said a new premier would be sworn in. Finance Minister Moeketsi Majoro has now been nominated as the incoming Prime Minister.

Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga is expected to address the nation today about preparations for the reopening of schools. This follows a special meeting of the Council of Education Ministers on Monday, which included the Minister together with the nine provincial education MECs. There are suggestions that schools operate at fifty percent capacity with rearranged timetables in order to all...

Scientists and researchers say with the large number of fatalities linked to COVID-19, they are coming under increasing pressure to develop a vaccine. As today marks World AIDS Vaccine Day, doctors say while efforts are still underway to create a vaccine for HIV and AIDS, there is great optimism that a vaccine will be made available for COVID-19 within a few years.

The government has so far approved 15-thousand applications from farmers seeking financial assistance during the lock-down. Most of the applications come from the Eastern Cape followed by the Northern Cape and North West. Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Minister, Thoko Didiza, announced the outcome of the Covid-19 Agricultural Disaster Fund application process in Pretoria

Business organization, Sakeliga, has launched a court case in a bid to have some of government's Covid-19 lockdown regulations amended. The organisation says the litigation seeks to restore the right for businesses to trade without state-issued permits, irrespective of the lockdown level. It wants the court to order that law-enforcement may not obstruct businesses in this regard.

19,000 prisoners are expected to be released soon, from 240 centres across the country. Earlier this month, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced he was releasing 19,000 prisoners to curb the spread of COVID-19 in prisons and ease overcrowding. The parole only applies to low-risk prisoners who would have applied for parole in the last five years.

The Democratic Alliance has vowed to challenge the restrictions of the national lockdown in court in a bid to force government to open up the economy further. The party intends to file papers in the high court, questioning the rationality of three separate lockdown-related issues, namely the night curfew, the ban on e-commerce or online shopping, as well as the restriction on exercise hours. This...

For the first time in 75 years, the Comrades Marathon has had to be cancelled - because of the Coronavirus pandemic. Athletics South Africa, together with the other stakeholders involved in organising the event, took a decision to prioritise the health and safety of everyone that would have been participating in the Ultimate Human Race. The race that was scheduled to be run from Pietermaritzburg t...

The International Labour Organization says COVID-19 has become more than a health pandemic -- it is now a socio-economic pandemic. This as millions of workers here at home and around the world are out of work and struggling to make ends meet

We need to cautiously ahead and the president has to balance the risk of the economy and lives. He is also right on the phasing out of the lockdown as we cannot economically afford to be on lock down forever.

Former Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba says he will be launching his new political party in August. Mashaba made the announcement during a Zoom press conference yesterday. He said the party which will contest next year's local government elections in Gauteng province's three strategic metros - Joburg, Ekurhuleni and Tshwane. Mashaba said the formation of the party follows engagements of 'The Peo...

President Cyril Ramaphosa says by end of May most of the country may be placed on alert Level Three pending consultations. But he said some parts of the country with the highest infection rates will remain under strict regulations at Level Four. The president made this announcement during his address to the nations at the Union Buildings in Pretoria last night

As Coronavirus deaths in the United States topped 80-thousand, President Donald Trump declared that the nation had prevailed over the novel Coronavirus while predicting a strong economy by late 2020 into 2021. And while the numbers of new cases have flattened, the country added over 18-thousand in the last 24 hours with more than 1000 dead. The Coronavirus Task Force also announced that the federa...

Health Minister - Doctor Zweli Mkhize - has dedicated International Nurses Day to the healthcare workers fighting COVID-19 and the nurses in South Africa who have paid the ultimate price. Mkhize was leading a virtual commemoration from the King Edward Hospital in Durban. Nurses' selfless work has been honoured across the country with candle lighting ceremonies

UNICEF has warned that an additional six-thousand children globally under the age of 5 years could die daily from preventable causes, due to a diversion of resources to the covid-19 pandemic. The agency, which is tasked with saving children's lives and protecting their rights, says countries which already have fragile health systems may see disruptions in medical supply chains as financial and hum...

Seven lions that escaped from a private farm in Alladays, outside Louis Trichardt have been recaptured. which include two lionesses, The lions escaped on Monday night as they were last spotted by community members roaming the surroundings of Alldays policing area on Tuesday morning. The police, together with the farm owner and Limpopo's Tourism department have dispatched teams to locate the pride.

Unemployed South Africans can now apply for the South African Social Security Agency's (SASSA) special Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress grant. The application for the 350 rand grant is open to unemployed South Africans over the age of 18. Eligible applicants will receive the money from May until October. The grant is part of the 500 billion rand COVID-19 relief package announced by President Cyr...

President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africans must be prepared for a new reality in which the fight against COVID-19 becomes part of citizens' daily existence, for the coming year or more. In his weekly letter to the nation, Ramaphosa says with many more people gradually going back to work during Level 4, there will be an inevitable increase in infection numbers as well as demands on the health ca...

Industry experts have warned thousands of Small and Medium Sized (SMEs) enterprises will go into liquidation after COVID-19 lockdown because they cannot afford the cost of a Business Rescue Practitioner. Prof Markus Pretorius a business recue analyst says the fees to hire a rescue practitioner can go up to 150-thousand Rands. He has also warned that 95 percent of businesses that will apply for Bus...

The South African Democratic Teachers' Union (SADTU) says the Department of Basic Education is not ready to re-open schools. The union says the department has failed to meet the minimum requirements to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

The Department of Basic Education is set to meet with teacher unions today to discuss its readiness for the re-opening of schools. Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga announced on the 30th of last month that Management Teams across the country should report for duty today to start preparations for the re-opening of schools in a phased-approach. However, some provincial departments have advise...

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize says cluster outbreaks of COVID 19 is one of the reasons for the increase in the infection rate of the Coronavirus in the Western Cape. He was briefing the media following a meeting with the Western Cape Premier, Medical experts and the MEC for Health Nomafrench Mbombo on Saturday.