First Take SA

Eighteen year old South African Climate Justice Activist Ayakha Melithafa says no one is going to survive climate change is actions is not taken now. Melithafa is one of the speakers who will participate in the 10th Desmond Tutu International Peace Lecture today. Today also marks the 89th Birthday of Tutu.

Court proceedings at the Senekal Magistrate's Court in the Free State were yesterday disrupted by angry farmers, who overturned and burnt a police vehicle. The group also stormed the court building and damaged some property. The farmers were baying for the blood of two suspects -- who appeared in court in connection with the murder of farm manager -- Brandon Horner

Former Independent Consultant at Eskom, Nicholas Linnell revealed that he was appointed by former SAA board chairperson Dudu Myeni to head an inquiry into challenges facing Eskom which also included loadshedding. Linnell says on the 8th of March 2015 Myeni invited him to former President Jacob Zuma's official residence in Durban to discuss the details of the investigation into Eskom's affairs. Lin...

ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa has lauded the recent work done by different law enforcement agencies. Recently the Hawks embarked on a countrywide swoop arresting some of those involved in corruption including senior ANC members. Those arrested include among others former ANC MP Vincent Smith and former Mangaung Executive Mayor Olly Mlamleli as well as several business people. Speaking at the end o...

ActionSA has announced that it will contest the local government elections in all parts of the country, next year. This is after the party had initially said it will only focus on Gauteng - in the hope of winning the Ekurhuleni, Tshwane and Johannesburg Metro Municipalities. Party leader, Herman Mashaba, says the appointment of John Moodey as Gauteng Leader, Doctor Makhosi Khosa as KZN Leader, and...

President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday launched one of the biggest residential infrastructure projects in the country's history. The 33-billion-rand Mooikloof Mega Residential City project in Pretoria will provide affordable housing through the Finance Linked Individual Subsidy programme that the Human Settlements Department has initiated. The project, one of 62 similar projects to be undertaken, is...

Free State residents have expressed their anger over the poor conditions they are living in after the provincial government spent 25- million rand on an asbestos roof audit project that did not benefit them. Last week, seven people accused of fraud, corruption and money laundering appeared in the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court after the Hawks arrested them in the Free State, Gauteng and KwaZulu-N...

Former ANC MP Vincent Smith will be back in court again in a fortnight, after he was granted 30-thousand rand bail in the Palm Ridge Magistrate's Court yesterday. He will be facing fraud and corruption charges emanating from his relations with executives of African Global Operations formerly BOSASA. At the heart of his charge sheet is an amount of over 600-thousand rand which was paid into his com...

Public sector unions will today announce how they plan to tackle their wage impasse with the government. Government refuses to increase salaries of civil servants by seven per cent this year, in line with a three-year public sector wage agreement, signed in 2018.

More than 660-thousand people have lost their jobs in Gauteng since the beginning of the national COVID-19 lockdown. Premier David Makhura revealed this at yesterday's weekly briefing on the province's response to the coronavirus pandemic. The Premier says moving to alert level 1 of the lockdown gives government an opportunity to continue with its economic development plans, and he hopes there won...

South African borders are officially open to international travellers, subject to some restrictions. Government says only people with a valid PCR test certificate which is not older than 72 hours from the time of departure from the country of origin will be allowed into the country. Those entering the country will also be screened upon entry and may be asked questions about their contacts.

The long-awaited Vrede Dairy Project probe has been completed. Public Protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane says the investigation has identified all implicated parties and they have been served with notices. The Vrede Dairy Project was established in 2012, on the Krynaauwslust farm in the Free State. An earlier investigation by former Public Protector, Thuli Madonsela revealed that no payments were made...

The Hawks and the Special investigating Unit are still searching for two suspects they believe are linked to the Free State asbestos tender saga, currently under the spotlight at the State Capture Commission in Johannesburg. Six suspects were arrested YESTERDAY (wednesday 30 September), three in the Free Sate and three in Gauteng. Among those arrested are ousted Mangaung Metro Mayor, Olly Mlamleli...

Labour unions say the latest unemployment figures are unacceptable and a disaster, despite a decrease in the numbers. Stats SA yesterday reported that official unemployment decreased to 23-point-three per cent in the second quarter from 30-point-one per cent in the first quarter of the year. The country also lost 2-point- 2 million jobs in the second quarter. However, the expanded definition of th...

Residents of Diepsloot extension 13, north of Johannesburg, are angry at Eskom for cutting off illegal electricity connections in their area yesterday. The power utility's energy management and losses campaign is targetting those tapping into the grid illegally. Eskom says illegal connections in Gauteng cost the company 2.5-billion rand annually and are a leading cause of network overloading and r...

ActionSA leader, Herman Mashaba, has described as ridiculous the refusal by the Independent Electoral Commission to register his party. Mashaba reacted to the rejection of his party's application while leading a delegation to Mashishing, Mpumalanga, following calls from the local community for help

Advisor to Former MEC for Human Settlements Mosebenzi Zwane in the 2010 1billion rand housing project insists there were some positive aspects to the scheme. Mmbuso Tsoametsi who was the former Deputy Director General in the Free State Local Government and Housing department says there were over 5 thousand 2 hundred houses built and small contractors were capacitated. The scheme however also saw 6...

The High Court in Johannesburg is today expected to conclude sentencing of former head of Crime Intelligence, Richard Mdluli and his co-accused, Mthembeni Mthunzi, The case relates to the 1999 murder of Oupa Ramokgibe, who allegedly had an affair with Mdluli's customary wife - Tshidi Buthelezi. In July last year, Mdluli and Mthunzi were found guilty of kidnapping, common assault, assault with inte...

Former president Jacob Zuma has written to the state capture commission, requesting the chairperson deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo to recuse himself. In his formal notice to the commission, Zuma cites what he calls "historical personal, family and professional relations that ought to have been publicly disclosed" by Zondo. This follows Zondo's order that the former president must appear before...

Parents who've applied online to have their children enrolled in grades 1 and 8 in Gauteng next year will have 7 days to accept the school where their children have been accepted, or risk forfeiting the space. Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi says they have received more applications than their capacity allows. He was briefing the media in Johannesburg. Lesufi announced that Gauteng will THIS...

Five suspects arrested in connection with tender fraud at the South African Police Service are expected to appear in the Pretoria Magistrates Court today following the arrest of two police employees and three civilians, of which two of them were re-arrested. Those arrested include a colonel, and administrative employee within the SAPS Supply Chain Management Division and three civilians. The arres...

President Ramaphosa reprimanded Mapisa-Nqakula for using a military jet to give a "lift" to a delegation of senior ANC members to Zimbabwe. Mapisa-Nqakula will lose three months' salary to the Solidarity Fund established to fight the spread of the coronavirus and has to make sure the ANC reimburses the state for the trip.

There are mixed reactions to president Cyril Ramaphosa's action against Defence Minister, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula. The president says there was an "error of judgement" on the side of the minister, when she gave a lift to top ANC leaders to Zimbabwe earlier this month. Now, Mapisa-Nqakula will lose her three month's salary to the Solidarity Fund for Covid-19. But many say the president could have d...

The book, 'The Lie of 1652: A decolonised history of land' by prominent historian and heritage activist Patric Tariq Mellet was launched this week. It's a radical critique of established pre-colonial and colonial history and retells the story of dispossession, the destruction of livelihoods and the brutality of slavery in South Africa. Decolonisation is a common thread in the book that also focuse...

A recent expose by a South African online news publication has forced police investigations into allegations of abuse and money laundering at the KwaSizabantu Mission Church at Kranskop in northern KwaZulu-Natal. The KwaZulu-Natal Social Development Department has called on people who may be victims of abuse to come forward.