First Take SA

President Cyril Ramaphosa remains tight-lipped about his decision on the recommendation submitted to his office for the release of the Abathembu king, Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo. Ramaphosa met the acting King of the AbaThembu nation, Prince Azenathi Dalindyebo, behind closed doors in Mthatha yesterday. Lately, there's been calls by different traditional leaders for president Ramaphosa to pardon the ki...

The Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) says the notice of intention to de-register the union is an onslaught to its efforts for social justice and economic emancipation. This follows the announcement by government which described the union as not being genuine under the Labour Ralations Act. AMCU boasts over 200-thousand members within both the gold and platinum mines which a...

Mopping-up operations continue and residents count their losses, President Cyril Ramaphosa visted many of the areas that have been devastated by the storm

The death toll following the devastating floods in Kwazulu Natal has risen to 51. In the meantime the weather Service is warning that the rains will continue over the province today* - with the weather only expected to clear from tomorrow.

Three disgruntled ANC members in the Free State are today taking the ANC and the IEC to court to have names of 41 candidates nominated at the provincial list conference nullified. They say the ANC Provincial List Conference held in December last year to nominate eleven members to the National Assembly and thirty to the Provincial Legislature was unlawful and unconstitutional. The matter will be he...

24 suspects have been arrested in connection with Sri Lanka bomb explosions that left about 290 people dead and more than 500 injured. The bomb blasts ripped through churches and luxury hotels in Sri Lanka, in the first major attack on the Indian Ocean Island since the end of a civil war 10 years ago. But it is not yet known who carried out the attacks

The Ombudsman for Banking Services says there has been an alarming increase in credit card fraud over the first quarter of the year. The ombudsman says the increase in credit card fraud had grown from 12.2 percent to almost twenty-percent with more than half of the victims being of pensionable age. According to statistics from the ombud, those aged between 61 and 70 account for 21 percent of fraud...

Calls continue to intensify for president Cyril Ramaphosa to appoint the eight candidates to serve on the SABC board. Director at Media Monitoring Africa, William Bird says they will be writing a second letter to the presidency on why the public broadcaster's board has yet to be appointed. The presidency has meanwhile denied that it is employing delaying tactics citing vetting processes that have...

Alexandra residents, north of Johannesburg have vowed to continue with their total shut down today. The residents are demanding that Joburg Mayor Herman Mashaba meets with them and address their concerns. Last week, protestors blockaded roads, over the mushrooming of shacks and illegal structures as well as a lack of service delivery. Alexandra Community leader, Patrick Baloyi speaks to Elvis Pres...

The Carletonville crèche where shocking videos of toddlers being physically abused by an employee were taken has been closed by the Department of Social Development. There was widespread outrage after the videos emerged. Police say the woman was arrested two weeks ago, and is currently out on bail

Energy expert says loadshedding will continue as long as systems remain offline and dont receive due maintenance on time. This follows Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gorhdan saying there is now a better understanding of Eskom's electricity supply issues and that there should be no loadshedding from this point on.

Residents of Alexandra north of Johannesburg, say they are fed up with lawlessness, illegal land invasions and poor service delivery in the township. They took to the streets YESTERDAY (wednesday) to protest. They say illegal structures are being erected close to the river banks and under electricity pylons posing a danger to communities. They say the illegal buildings also have illegal electricit...

Accountability Now director, Advocate Paul Hoffman, is concerned that populating parliament with questionable characters will not advance that which the constitution requires of politicians. Advocate Hoffman spoke to Elvis Presslin about this....

The ANC has referred its entire list of candidates for parliament and the provincial legislatures to its Integrity Commission for review. This emerged at a media briefing in Johannesburg yesterday (Tuesday 2 April ) The governing party has reminded its prospective parliamentarians that representing South Africa and the ANC in parliament and the nine legislatures is an honour not a right. Ntebo Mok...

The ANC has defended its secretary general Ace Magashule following media reports of his alleged involvement in illegal dealings during his tenure as the Free State premier. The reports are based on a book tiltled " Gangster State: Unravelling Ace Magashule's web of capture" by investigative journalist Pieter-Louis Myburgh, which alleges that Magashule was the head of a well-organised state-capture...

South Africa is hosting the 4th Annual Meeting of the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB) for the first time. The meeting in Cape Town started YESTERDAY (sunday) and will run till Tuesday. The BRICS New Development Bank is tasked with mobilizing resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS countries - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa

The Africa Solidarity Network says President Cyril Ramaphosa is to blame for fresh attacks on foreign nationals in the KwaZulu Natal province. Meanwhile International Relations Minister Lindiwe Sisulu is expected to meet with African ambassadors today following last week's violence against foreign nationals in various parts of Durban.

The South African National Defence Force has rescued 525 people in Beira, Mozambique. The city is grappling with the after-effects of the Cyclone Idai which made landfall over a week ago. Latest estimates have put the death toll in Mozambique at over 450 people. Most survivors have been left in desperate need of help, many on rooftops and trees. Some are digging through rubble to search for victim...

Workers at the South African Revenue Service (SARS) could embark on a nationwide strike as early as this Thursday. Trade unions National Education Health and Allied Workers Union (NEHAWU) and the Public Servants Association (PSA) are expected to meet with SARS management TODAY (Monday) in an effort to avert the imminent strike action over salary increases. Deputy general manager of the Public Serv...

The Small Business Institute has called on the government to intensify efforts to resolve the rolling power blackouts which are having a crippling effect on small businesses. The organization says smaller firms are more vulnerable as they do not have alternative sources of energy during load shedding. For more on this spokesperson for the Small Business Institute, John Dludlu speaks to Elvis Press...

Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) says motorists should not ignore summons issued by SANRAL for the non-payment of E-Tolls. Earlier this week, the Electronic Toll Collection, acting on behalf of SANRAL had warned defaulting toll users not to ignore summons to settle their accounts as this may lead to them being blacklisted. The Credit Bureau Association has however dismissed this saying the cu...

AMCU says it has received a mandate from its members to accept the settlement agreement proposed by the Commission of Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration. The agreement is meant to end the wage negotiations deadlock with Sibanye Stillwater that saw thousands of members affiliated to the union embarking on a four month protracted strike action. AMCU president, Joseph Mathunjwa says the proposal...

Johannesburg Water has warned that continued load shedding could affect the city's water supply. The organisation says residents should take note of their load shedding schedules and make the appropriate arrangements

The Copyright Amendment Bill has been passed by the National Assembly and is now sitting with the National Council of Provinces (NCOP), which offered only five days in February for public submissions on the Bill. The NCOP is due to vote on the Bill TODAY (Wednesday 20 March 2019.) The band SATORI SOUTH AFRICA are among many artists that are concerned about the impact of the impending Bill. They sa...

An engineer with a special interest in energy, Andrew Kenny, has warned that the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers' Procurement Programme could lead to more serious consequences in the future