First Take SA

Former Eskom board chair Zola Tsotsi has told the commission of Inquiry into State Capture he received pressure from government regarding how the Eskom board was to be run. He explained how various ministers and the president interfered and gave instructions in board related matters at the power utility. The former board chair also detailed his relationship with the Gupta brothers and how that rel...

The EFF has vowed to continue with its protest against Clicks until Friday. The party says the Johannesburg High Court interdict granted to Clicks does not bar them from protesting. On Monday several stores were damaged when the campaign against an advertisement that denigrated black people's hair was published online by Clicks. The company has since withdrawn the ad and apologised. It has also su...

The Democratic Alliance has defended the party's adoption of non-racialism in its policy to deal with the country's economically excluded. Following its two day virtual policy conference this weekend, the party has resolved that it will champion policies of redress without being racially-specific. It has lauded its conference as the most inclusive it has ever held and dismissed reports of purging...

Exposure to other serious diseases in the past may have created an immunity to COVID-19 for many South Africans. That's according to Professor of Vaccinology at the University of the Witwatersrand, Shabir Madhi. He's currently looking into why South Africa's death rate is far lower than was initially predicted. This comes as the number of daily new infections has also dipped sharply.

Several Clicks stores were yesterday vandalised and petrol-bombed amid the nationwide protest by the EFF following a controversial online advertisement. The company placed an advertisement labelling black natural hair as 'dry, damaged and frizzy', while white natural hair was depicted as 'normal'. The pharmaceutical retailer has however apologised and removed the advert. Clicks has also had its Hi...

The EFF has threatened to shut down all Clicks stores across the country from today if it continues operating. The party has called for the closure of the health and lifestyle retailer's stores for five days after it failed to meet its list of demands for corrective action over its controversial online advert. On Friday, Clicks caused social media outrage after an image of a black woman's hair was...

The KwaZulu-Natal Health Department says it will close the temporary field hospital at the Royal Showgrounds in Pietermaritzburg as the province has started recording a decline in Covid-19 infections. Provincial Health MEC, Nomagugu Simelane-Zulu, says the department is also looking at cancelling contracts for some of the rented facilities including lodges and B&Bs, that have been used as quaranti...

Former Environmental Affairs Minister Nomvula Mokonyane has admitted that she had her birthday dinner at the Victoria Guesthouse. It was her second appearance before the commission on State Capture since July when she denied having any party at the venue. Last month the Victoria Guesthouse owner Frederick Coetzee testified that his guesthouse accommodated a function for Mokonyane's 40th birthday i...

DA interim leader John Steenhuisen says the party's former Gauteng Provincial Leader, John Moodey has spread falsehood and untruths to justify his reasons for leaving the party. Steenheisen was briefing the media responding to Moodey's resignation. Moodey, who was a contender for the DA's top job with Mbali Ntuli and Steenhuisen, resigned on Wednesday. He said he no longer felt at home in the part...

The Office of Deputy President David Mabuza, has confirmed that he will be available to answer oral questions from the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) today. This follows several postponed appearances, due ill-health.

Police Minister Bheki Cele says they are following up on some leads in the killing of Glenn and Vida Rafferty at their Normandien farm, just outside Newcastle, in northern KwaZulu-Natal. Cele was addressing a meeting of community policing and farming structures in the area. The elderly couple was shot dead by unknown suspects as they entered their home.

The Democratic Alliance has lost its direction according to the party's long-time Gauteng leader, John Moodey. Moodey resigned from the party yesterday. He says it doesn't care about black, coloured and Indian voters and has been captured by individuals, who want to maintain the status quo in the organisation and the country. Moodey is the fourth senior leader to leave the party in less than a yea...

Artists in the entertainment industry have called for the immediate release of 35 people who were arrested yesterday after they blockaded the N3 near the Pavillion, West of Durban in KwaZulu Natal. This after a group of Durban-based artists took to the highway to highlight the impact the national lockdown has had on their livelihoods. The artists, who also included event organisers, are demanding...

Nelson Mandela Bay councillor, Andile Lungisa says he intends on taking the fight against his suspension back to the ANC headquarters at Luthuli House in Johannesburg. Lungisa was speaking during a media briefing with the SABC YESTERDAY where he announced that he will be writing to ANC secretary Secretary General, Ace Magashule over the decision by the party's regional body to have him resign and...

The National Treasury has told Parliament that various state-owned entities have approached it for extra funding totaling nearly ten-billion rand. These include the SABC, Post Office and the Airports Company of South Africa. The National Treasury was briefing Parliament's Standing Committee on Appropriations on its performance as well as measures taken to curb fraud and corruption related to COVID...

Gauteng Premier, David Makhura, says there's been incidents of corruption in Gauteng but nothing close to the scale and magnitude of the Covid-19 personal protective equipment scandal. He wants those implicated in PPE corruption to be sent to jail and the stolen monies recovered. Two Gauteng Health Department officials, believed to be at the centre of the scandal, have been identified by the Speci...

The ANC's alliance partners have called for less talk and more action in dealing with corruption within the ruling party. This follows decisions taken at last weekend's ANC special National executive Committee meeting that those formally charged with corruption must step aside from their leadership positions immediately. Furthermore, those reportedly involved in malfaesance must face the Integrity...

The National Prosecution Authority says it will oppose bail for two officers accused of killing Eldorado Park teenager Nathaniel Julies. 46-year-old Simon Ndyalvana, commonly referred to as 'Scorpion' in Eldororado Park and 23-year-old Caylene Whiteboy, made a brief appearance in the Protea Magistrates' Court in Soweto, south of Johannesburg yesterday. They face charges including pre-mediated murd...

The ANC National Executive Committee has endorsed the letter written by the President last week, denouncing any acts of corruption by officials deployed in government. President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered a consolidated report on the outcomes of the past weekend's NEC meeting during a virtual media briefing on Monday afternoon. He also told the media that the NEC has come to a conclusion that there...

It is everyone's responsibility to wage war on gender-based violence and femicide. This is according to panellists during a security cluster dialogue on gender based violence and femicide held in Pretoria. The dialogue was held under the theme: "improving access to justice for the victims and survivors of GBV and Femicide". The dialogue marks the closure of the 2020 Women's Month programme and is...

The death of a Newcastle farming couple in northern KwaZulu-Natal has left the tightknit farming community devestated and frustrated. It is believed that Glenn and Vida Homann Rafferty were attacked as they entered their home on their farm in the Normandien area on Saturday night. The murders come a day after bikers across the country gathered in peaceful protest, calling for an end to racism and...

Some health workers believe the handling of the Covid-19 procurement for personal protective equipment (PPE) by government will continue to impact negatively on the health sector, unless drastic measures are taken soon. The PPE corruption scandal has angered many South Africans and the World Health Organisation (WHO) labelled it murder. Twenty-four thousand health workers have contracted the Coron...

The owner of the Victorian Guest House in Krugersdorp, Frederick Hendrik Coetzee, has confirmed that he hosted former Minister Nomvula Mokonyane's 40th birthday party in 2003. The event was paid for by Bosasa. Coetzee was testifying at the State Capture Commission of Inquiry on Tuesday. The Commission also heard that Bosasa ordered meat for Mokonyane to the value of 17-thousand rand. Last year, Mo...

The Chief Whip of the EFF Floyd Shivambu has introduced a private members' s bill in the Standing Committee on Finance to nationalise the South African Reserve Bank .. The bill was originally introduced by the party leader, Julius Malema, in 2018 but lapsed due to the term of the fifth Parliament expiring. But Parliament's legal advisor says the bill could face constitutional challenges. According...

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga says the high number of teachers who were infected with COVID-19 in June did not contract the virus due to the reopening of the schools, but in their communities. Motshekga was responding to the debate on the re-opening of schools brought by IFP MP Lindinkosi Ngcobo during hybrid sitting of the National Assembly. She also says the Department is ready to con...