First Take SA

Residents of Vanderbijilpart, in Gauteng's Vaal Triangle are still reeling in shock following an explosion at one of the town's substations. A video of the explosion shows motorists driving past the substation making frantic U-Turns as a ball of fire and thick smoke filled up the sky. The explosion has caused widespread power outages in several areas surrounding the substation and the damage is es...

Police have arrested a 13-year-old in connection with the murder of a 19-year-old learner in Mondeor, Johannesburg. Kulani Mathebula was stabbed in the chest while walking to school yesterday morning

Former SARS commissioner, Tom Moyane is TODAY* (wed) expected to ask for leave to cross-examine Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture. Reports say Gordhan is opposing the bid by the former SARS boss to cross-examine him on the basis that Moyane is being used to advance an alleged political campaign against him. Moyane's legal representative...

SABC employees will be paid their March salaries at the end of this month. This is according to Group CEO Madoda Mxakwe in an interview with SABC news in Parliament. This is contrary to what is reflected in the SABC's hardcopy presentation which states that the SABC cannot guarantee that it will be able to pay staff at the end of March

An escaped Lion from the Karoo National Park in the Beaufort West is now believed to have made its way approximately 42 kilometres north-east of the town of Sutherland in the Northern Cape. The lion escaped on February the 15th by digging its way underneath a fence after heavy rains in the Karoo. Infrared technology is being used at night to try and locate the animal as four sheep and two goats ar...

Gauteng Education MEC, Panyaza Lesufi says the newly released school admission regulation will give parents access to school beyond their immediate communities. The new guidelines, which are to be gazetted soon will expand the province's feeder zones for schools from the current radius of five kilometres to a 30 kilometre radius. The new regulations will also shift the power to admit or not to adm...

The National Energy Regulator of South Africa has granted Eskom a total tariff increase of 13,8% for the 2019/20 financial year. Nersa officials made the announcement during a media briefing at Regulator's headquarters in Pretoria. Cash strapped power monoploy Eskom had requested a 15 percent increment. NERSA's decision follows Finance Minister Tito Mboweni's announcement in his budget speech that...

Neighbors and relatives of a family in Durban are still reeling in shock after a man allegedly shot dead his wife and their three children before turning the gun on himself. Police say the motive of the killing is not known. In another incident, three pupils were killed and a fourth critically injured after they were allegedly knocked over by a mini bus taxi on their way to school in KwaMashu, nor...

The latest election poll by the South African Institute of Race Relations puts the ANC at 55 percent of the national vote while the DA stands at 22 percent and the EFF at 12 percent. The poll shows that the ruling party has suffered a decline of 1.3 percent from the previous poll conducted in December. The DA has meanwhile improved by over three percent while the EFF has gained the largest growth...

The Pinetown magistrates court west of Durban has granted Kwaito star Mandla Maphumulo, popularly known as Mampintsha, two thousand rand bail. He briefly appeared in court facing a charge of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. This after his girlfriend Bongekile Simelane or Babes Wodumo released a video on Instagram, that shows a man believed to be Maphumulo hitting Simelane in a be...

The Gauteng Health department says it has made some progress in tracing missing Life Esidimeni mental healthcare patients. Health MEC Dr Gwen Ramokgopa says in the past two weeks five more patients have been traced bringing the number of those still unaccounted for to sixteen.

Independent Police Investigative Directorate head Robert McBride has filed an urgent review application in the High Court in Pretoria to have his contract extended. This after parliament's police committee on police decision that McBride's contract as the head of the Ipid, should not be renewed. The committee had set aside this week to determine whether they agree with the Police Minister, Bheki C...

Cries for better services by thousands of jobless young people within the Amahlathi Municipality in the Eastern Cape have finally been heard. The municipality has been placed under provincial administration following months of violent protests which led to the torching of municipal buildings and a clinic. Officials within the municipality are accused of providing jobs in exchange of sexual favours...

India and Pakistan are on the brink of a major confrontation after Pakistan claimed to have shot down two Indian fighter jets in response to the bombing of alleged "terror" targets inside Pakistan. The incursion across the ceasefire line that divides Kashmir came after New Delhi threatened retaliation over the 14 February suicide bombing that killed 40 Indian troops. Pakistan's Prime Minister Imra...

Parliament's Communications Portfolio Committee has resolved to put on hold the shortlisting of candidates who were going to be interviewed to fill vacancies at the board of the SABC. This follows a heated discussion about whether or not to dissolve the current board as it does not form a quorum. The current board assumed office in 2017 but only four members are remaining, the other eight resigned...

Four people have now been arrested and one taken in for questioning in connection with the killing of a 28-year-old man in Polokwane. A video of the alleged killing surfaced on social media over the weekend. In the video a leaner from Capricorn High school is seen in his school uniform bragging about the brutal murder.

South Africans continue to express their outrage following claims by a Johannesburg based pastor that he raised a man from the dead on Sunday. A video showing Pastor Alph Lukau of Alleluia Ministries has gone viral on social media where he claims to be praying for a dead man who resurrected back to life. The Kings and Queens Funeral Services whose vehicle was used to ferry the alleged deceased man...

Kings and Queens funeral parlour says they are shocked by the resurrection stunt pulled by Pastor Alph Lukau using their car. The company says it is going to take legal action for damages to the company image cause by his actions.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has established a special tribunal to enable the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to fast-track the recovery of money and assets lost by state institutions through corruption and irregular spending. In a statement YESTERDAY (Sunday), the Presidency said the Special Tribunal will be headed by Judge Gidfonia Mlindelwa Makhanya for a period of 3 years.

Tributes continue to pour in as South Africans mourn the death of music icon Dorothy Masuku. Masuku's passing has been described as a great loss for the country and the music industry. She died at her home in Johannesburg on Saturday at the age of 83

Two suspects have been shot and killed and a third wounded during a shootout with police at the Edenvale High school on Gauteng's East rand. Police are looking for an unknown number of suspects who fled the scene.

on-prifit organisations Media Monitoring Africa and Support Public Broadcasting Coalition -SOS, have raised concern over the delays in appointing candidates to fill eight vacancies on the SABC board. The organisations have written a letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa, the speaker of the National Assembly Baleka Mbete and the chairperson parliament's portfolio committee on communications Prof Hlen...

The community of Makhanda, formerly known as Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape is in a state of panic following social media reports about high levels of toxin in their limited water. According to the Gift of Givers, the East side of town has less than ten days of water while the vast majority in the West require one mega-litres of bottled water a day. Blocked drains and sewage spilling along the st...

The Financial assistance to Eskom is expected to take centre stage when Finance Minister Tito Mboweni tables this year's national budget in the National Assembly today. The question is.... where is the money going to come from, considering that the national fiscus is already under pressure and its implications on the expenditure ceiling.

ANC's national spokesperson, Pule Mabe is expected to return to work THIS *MORNING at Luthuli House after being cleared of sexual harassment charges. Last year Mabe's personal assistant levelled the allegations against him in a detailed letter of complaint to the organisation. Mabe was then removed as party spokesperson in order to allow for internal investigations to take place. A panel looking i...