First Take SA

Business groups and industry players have welcomed Finance Minister Tito Mboweni'S Supplementary Budget. The minister tabled a hard hitting budget yesterday warning of increased government debt and escalating unemployment. The minister said the country will likely borrow more money and miss its tax revenue collections target by over three-billion Rands. Furthermore the economy will contract by 7-p...

AfriForum's private prosecution unit will assist the government of Botswana in a high-profile money-laundering and fraud case involving a well-known South African businesswoman. The Unit, under the leadership of Advocate Gerrie Nel, has officially been appointed by that government to represent it in a case in which businesswoman Bridgette Motsepe-Radebe is implicated. Afriforum believes this is a...

More than 200 learners at Makaula Senior Secondary School in the Eastern Cape have tested positive for the coronavirus. The alleged non-compliance with the lockdown rules and regulations has been cited as one of the major causes of the massive infection at the school. Parents had to force their way inside the school as they were made to wait outside the premises

A 150-million rand large-scale clinical trial for a COVID19 vaccine begins in South Africa on today. This has been announced at a virtual media conference hosted by the University of the Witwatersrand. The trial titled "South African Ox1Cov-19 Vaccine VIDA-Trial" is sponsored by the University of Oxford and the Jenner Institute and funded by the South African Medical Research Council and the Bill...

Transport Minister, Fikile Mbalula, says now is the time to restructure and formalise the taxi industry. Today, he will continue talks between government and the taxi industry regarding taxis carrying their full capacity of passengers, and the re-opening of long distance routes. YESTERDAY Mbalula visited Soshanguve where police had to fire teargas and rubber bullets to disperse crowds during the t...

President Cyril Ramaphosa has made a passionate plea for men to respect and love women. He was speaking during an alliance virtual dialogue on gender based violence in Johannesburg last night. The dialogue took place under the theme - Men and Boys Fighting Gender Based Violence. It follows the recent wave of attacks and killing of women in the country. Other participants included ANC Women's Leagu...

Former president Jacob Zuma and his co-accused -- French arms company -- Thales* -- are due back in court today for pre-trial proceedings. The case was initially set down for May, but it was postponed after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. A stayed warrant of arrest still hangs over Zuma's head after he failed to appear in court in February due to ill-health.

Taxi commuters could be left stranded this morning following a total shutdown by SA National Taxi Council in GAUTENG. This is in protest against a relief package announced by Transport Minister, Fikile Mbalula on Friday. Mbalula says government has allocated more than one billion Rand to the taxi industry as a relief fund during the COVID-19 pandemic

Residents of Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape, who have fully recovered from COVID-19, say they are being unfairly targeted for having contracted the virus. The Nelson Mandela Bay metro has been declared a hotspot. And, recovered patients allege their lives are made difficult by the ignorance of some people

Men should be taught to use their strength for the protection of women and children instead of harming them. This is the message that emerged from the Father's Day Virtual National Men's Dialogue hosted by parliament to mark Father's Day. Speakers from a broad spectrum of organisations said men need to step up and lead the fight against the scourge of Gender-based violence.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has faced pressing questions ranging from his decision to ease the lockdown regulations, to the ailing economy and why a lockdown was necessary. Ramaphosa was addressing a hybrid sitting of the National Assembly during his first virtual oral reply session

Fear grips many women across the country, as they ask themselves if they too will become a statistic of gender based violence. This comes as a suspect in the murder of Tshegofatso Pule was arrested and appeared in court on Wednesday. Tshegofatso Pule - who was 8 months pregnant - was found hanging from a tree - with stab wounds - in Roodepoort west of Johannesburg, early this month. She is just on...

The Department of Correctional Services has described as 'thuggery and hooliganism' a video of 34 awaiting trial inmates brandishing manacing weapons inside a prison cell at Butterworth Correctional Centre in the Eastern Cape. The prisoners can been heard demanding to have their day in court as their cases have been further delayed by the covid-19 pandemic. This comes as over a 1 500 positive COVI...

A multi-million rand drug lab has been discovered on a game farm in Marble Hall near Groblersdal in Limpopo. Two suspects, who are foreign nationals, have been arrested. Police say that they are looking for an unknown number of suspects who are on the run

The assets value of regional airliner SA Express has decreased from one point eight billion to a hundred and thirty million in five weeks. This is according to the airliner's liquidators in a virtual briefing to Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts,-SCOPA. The liquidators appeared before SCOPA to brief it about the airliner's liquidating process. The liquidators took office last mont...

One of the investors in the liquidated VBS Mutual Bank and former board chairperson, Madambi Muvhulawa says investors and depositors are happy at the arrest of the bank's former executives. The executives allegedly contributed in the looting of over two-billion rand of the bank's money. Muvhulawa says properties of those implicated in the looting must be sold for depositors to recoup their money.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced the easing of lockdown regulations against restaurants and personal beauty care services including salons. He made the announcement during his address to the nation on the 100th day of the national lockdown at the Union Buildings in Pretoria last night. But he issued a stern warning against the abuse of alcohol which he said contributes to criminality, espec...

Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi says his country wants peace, however they will respond if provoked. This after the Indian army reported that 20 of its soldiers were killed in fighting with Chinese troops on Monday night. It is the first time deaths have been reported during a standoff between the two countries in decades. The confrontation happened in Galwan Valley in the disputed Ladakh reg...

Researchers at the Imperial College London in the United Kingdom, have described as "ground-breaking" the results of a drug trial, in the fight against Covid-19. The low-dose steroid treatment called Dexamethasone, is part of the world's biggest trial, testing existing treatments to see if they also work for coronavirus. The cheap and widely available drug is believed to cut the risk of death for...

President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged young people to lead the country's economic recovery after the COVID-19 pandemic. He virtually delivered his annual National Youth Day message yesterday. The president also had an interactive panel discussion with four influential young people about challenges facing the youth, and how they can contribute to the country's recovery post the pandemic

The Educators Union of South Africa has given president Cyril Ramaphosa two months to get rid of Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga. EUSA's Kabelo Mahlobogwane says since the re-opening of schools more than two-thousand learners and teachers have tested positive for COVID-19. He adds that more than 100 schools across the country had to close and teachers have already died from disease. Howe...

The brutal murder of a 42-year-old woman has left the community of Eersterus, East of Pretoria reeling from sudden shock. The mother of two was reportedly stabbed multiple times, allegedly by her boyfriend whom the police are still searching after he fled the scene leaving the deceased in a pool blood. The deceased was discovered by relatives at her parents backrooms yesterday afternoon.

Student movement, Congress of South African Students COSAS has threatened to shut down all schools, from today, that have not fully implemented strict control guidelines to combat the spread COVID -19. The movement has also reiterated its call for covid-19 tests to be made compulsory in all public schools. Last week, a group of COSAS members forcefully removed learners at various schools in Bloemf...

The controversy surrounding the costly construction and use of nuclear power in South Africa is back in the spotlight. This as the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has begun consultations in preparation for the development of the proposed 2,500 megawatt nuclear power plant building programme. The department says through the consultation process it aims to get some insight into the costs,...

News and Current Affairs show between 5 & 6 am on SAfm 104 to 107 anchored by Tsepiso Makwetla