First Take SA

The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa or Prasa has reported an estimated total revenue loss of over seven-hundred-and-fifty-million-rand for the year as a result of the national lockdown. Prasa has indicated that almost two-hundred-million-rand in revenue was lost in one month from April to May 2020. Prasa's Administrator Bongisizwe Mpondo was presenting the company's financial statement in a...

Africa's economy could only start recovering from the impact of the Coronavirus in 2022. This is according to Amit Thakker - Chairman of Africa Health Business. Speaking at a joint briefing by the World Economic Forum and the World Health Organisation - Thakker says the next two years will see economies shrink due to decreased production and activity. He says strong leadership will be needed to pu...

Are the conversations between Former President Jacob Zuma and his son Duduzane a political strategy to elicit public sympathy or simply an opportunity to tell their story as they see it? These are the questions that have been asked on social media following the dialogue between the two men on a new youtube channel titled Zooming with the Zumas. The conversations between father and son earlier this...

Over a hundred South Africans stuck in Vietnam say they are losing hope of ever being repatriated back to South Africa. One of these is Marc Dumont who remains stuck in Hanoi together with his partner. He says that they are running out of money for food and medical supplies while the cost of extending their visas is also becoming unbearable.

Health Minister Zweli Mkhize says his department will introduce systems that will separate patients with respiratory symptoms from those with non-respiratory symptoms. He was speaking during a media briefing at the Job Shimankane Tabane Hospital in Rustenburg in the North West. Mkhize says the introduction of the systems will be in preparation for the expected increase of cases of Corona virus as...

The Traditional Healers Organisation says it's currently working on finding a possible cure for the corona virus, with the help of several local universities. The organisation is not pleased with the World Health Organisation's position on traditional medicine, accusing it of sending out confusing messages. This after the WHO warned against the use of Madagascar's untested medicine, which the coun...

Home Affairs Minister, Aaron Motsoaledi has warned of consequences for security company Enviromongz after thirty seven undocumented migrants escaped from the Lindela Repatriation Centre outside Krugersdorp on Gauteng's West rand. Motsoaledi says the escape, which happened on Sunday, was an inside job allegedly by security personnel. He says those who escaped were waiting to be repatriated to their...

The South African Revenue Service has warned that revenue collection will continue its downward trajectory because of the COVID-19 pandemic. SARS commissioner Edward Kieswetter has warned that revenue performance will be lower than the February budget announcements, by between 15 and 20 percent. This means there will be a revenue collection shortfall of 285 billion Rands this year. The Commissione...

Uncomfortable, but necessary! That's how some Gauteng residents have described their experience of wearing a mask. This comes after government announced that everyone is required to wear a mask in public. Meanwhile, the National Bargaining Council for the Clothing Manufacturing Industry says it is manufacturing 14-million fabric face masks a week in response to President Cyril Ramaphosa's call for...

President Cyril Ramaphosa has praised Co-operative Governance Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma for her leadership during the Covid-19 pandemic. This is despite some opposition parties saying Dlamini-Zuma is law unto herself, and accusing her of undermining the president. The president also lauded Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize for his excellent work in helping the country to adequately respond...

Although advised to stay home as they are susceptible to contract the Covid-19 pandemic, thousands of elderly persons and people with disability were on the streets to collect their monthly social grants. SASSA has set aside Monday and Tuesday to pay grants to the most vulnerable section of our society. The SABC caught up with the 56 year old Beauty Citha who is on a life support due to a lung pro...

A group frustrated with the ongoing national lockdown has taken to social media, demanding that government lift the COVID-19 lockdown. The group -calling itself the 'End the lockdown Mzansi' - wants the lockdown to be lifted within 3 to 5 weeks. End the Lockdown spokesperson - Michael Southwood - says if the lockdown is allowed to continue, it could lead to thousands of people going to bed without...

Government says the provisional costs to accommodate people in private owned establishments who have tested positive to Covid-19 virus will be to the tune of about R28 million. The Department of Public Works says it has identified more than 700 privately owned properties including four star hotels nationwide for quarantine purposes. Briefing both the Public Works and the Select Committees on Publi...

South African non-profit organisations have called on the government to offer them more support. The organisations, which have been providing essential services during the Coronavirus pandemic, say their financial wellbeing is even more uncertain as the economic crisis persists due to the Covid-19. The Smile Foundation and other NPO partners, who include the South African Depression and Axienty Gr...

The Minister of Employment and Labour - Thulas Nxesi - has urged employers to implement the return-to-work measures to protect the health and safety of their employees. The minister was addressing the media in Pretoria yesterday on the country's back-to-work readiness. This is after the country moved from Level 5 of the Lockdown regulations to Level 4 which will result in more businesses and indus...

Co-operative Governance Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma says people will now be allowed a once off opportunity to move to provinces of their workplaces or to move back home during the new Level Four Lockdown regulations. The minister also stressed that once people have moved they will not be allowed to commute back to another province until the end of Level Four. She was speaking in Pretoria la...

Some children across the country have expressed concerns over returning to school next week. The scholars have asked about the safety measures that they can practice in their schools. This as the Department of Basic Education announced that learners in Grade 7 and Grade 12 might return to school on the 6th of May. This as the country also moves to Level 4 - with the gradual reopening of the econom...

The Department of Social Development will begin paying out the unemployment grant on May 15th. South African nationals who have no source of income, registered permanent residents and refugees who are unemployed are encouraged to apply for the 350 rands which is part of government's COVID-19 relief efforts. Minister Lindiwe Zulu briefed the media on the roll out of this temporary measure as well a...

Unemployed doctors who are eligible to work for the state will be placed by provinces soon. This is according to Health Minister Zweli Mkhize. Provinces such as Gauteng, Limpopo and the Northern Cape are recruiting to fill vacant positions of doctors. This week, government came under fire following the arrival of the more than 200 health experts from Cuba to assist with the COVID-19 outbreak - man...

Five weeks into the national COVID-19 lockdown - workers who are not registered with the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), are among the hardest hit financially. For those registered with the UIF - under the Covid-19 Temporary Relief Scheme provision - the fund will pay employers the cost of employees' salaries for up to three months. This was announced earlier by President Cyril Ramaphosa. Howev...

The South African Medical Association (SAMA) has some reservations following the arrival of more than 200 health experts from Cuba to help with the battle against the coronavirus. The medical brigade that arrived from Cuba YESTERDAY includes epidemiologists, physicians and biotechnologists. SAMA says government should first exhaust all the skills available locally before seeking outside assistance...

President Cyril Ramaphosa says as the country celebrate 26 years of freedom, the 1994 dream of a better life for all can no longer be deferred. He used his Freedom Day address to urge South Africans to work together to fight inequality, poverty and unemployment. South Africa celebrates 26 years of freedom since its democratic elections on the 27th of April in 1994. It was for the first time that t...

President Cyril Ramaphosa says from the first of May, the country's current nationwide lockdown will be lowered from Level Five to level Four. He says some economic activities will be allowed to resume subject to extreme precautions to limit transmission. The president was speaking at the Union Buildings in Pretoria last night following his meeting with the National Command Council and some leader...

Political parties have welcomed President Cyril Ramaphosa's announcement of a gradual easing of the nationwide lockdown in curbing the spread of COVID-19. Addressing the nation on Thursday, Ramaphosa said that on May 1st 2020 the country will enter alert level four of the lockdown, which means some activities will be allowed with extreme caution.

We had expected Level 3 lockdown but welcome the president's decision. We are calling on government not to sideline small business when open companies in similar sectors.