First Take SA

With the possibility of retrenchments heightened by the current COVID-19 lockdown, Some South African companies have come under fire for using the Coronavirus as an excuse to retrench employees. Millions of South Africans face retrenchment as a result of the pandemic which has claimed more than 700 lives and infected over 35-thousand people in the country

South Africans flocked to liquor outlets across the country from the early hours of yesterday following the lifting of the ban on the sale of alcohol. Under level 3 of the lock-down alcohol can be sold from Monday to Thursday, between 9am and 5pm only. No alcohol sales are permitted on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays or public holidays. Traders will also only be permitted to sell alcohol for off-site...

Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga says the schooling system has to be re-engineered, timetables adjusted, and curriculum reviewed as the whole school term has now been lost due to the Coronavirus crisis. Schools were scheduled to reopen on the 1st of June for grade seven and twelve learners. However the minister postponed re-opening to the 8th of June, saying this was to allow the procureme...

Thousands of Unisa students failed to write their online examinations last week after the system crashed. A number of papers were postponed after lecturers failed to upload examinations. Other exams went ahead with students answering questions but failing to upload the answers. The university, which was the only institution to forge ahead with online examination, hopes this week will be better.

The Covid-19 regulations that forbid the viewing of a deceased body by bereaved families have had a negative impact for Sigamlele family in Cofimvaba in the Eastern Cape and the Madlala family in Mthwalume in KwaZulu Natal. The bodies of their loved ones were mistakenly swapped by the mortuary. The bodies were transported from Western Cape to the respective families.

The department of basic education LAST NIGHT announced that schools will now re-open on the 8th of June 2020 for Grades 7 and 12. Learners were initially scheduled to report back at schools THIS MORNING. The department postponed, at the last minute, its briefing that was supposed to take place LAST NIGHT. Minister Angie Motshekga is now expected to brief the media at eleven o' clock this morning....

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the media has informed, stimulated debate and helped hold those in government accountable. Ramaphosa told editors during a virtual discussion with South African Editors Forum (SANEF) on the role played by media in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. He said he will instruct Police Minister Bheki Cele to insure the safe return of South Africa journalist, Paul Nth...

After days of peaceful protests across the United States following the death of George Floyd at the hands of police in Minneapolis earlier this week, nights of rage followed in America this past weekend. Chaos ensued in several cities from the East Coast through the Midwest to the West Coast of the country as tens of thousands clashed with law enforcement officers to express their anger, leaving d...

The Restaurant Association of South Africa - RASA - has warned that massive job losses can be expected within the industry as the serving of sit-down tables remain prohibited under level 3 of the covid-19 lockdown. From Monday, the approximately 13-thousand sit-down establishments nationally, which employ around 500-thousand employees, can conduct their business for deliveries and collections only...

The Vaal Dam has dipped below the 50% mark for the first time in a year. The department of water and sanitation says Gauteng residents need to limit water use. The department says other dams that form part of the Integrated Vaal River System have also taken a knock.

President Cyril Ramaphosa says churches found violating the lockdown regulations under the alert Level Three will be closed down. All places of worship will be allowed to operate from the 1st of June subject to restrictions in accordance with alert Level Three of the national lockdown. They are expected among others NOT to allow more than 50 congregants. Speaking in an exclusive interview with the...

The Gauteng Legislature's Portfolio Committee on Roads and Transport has expressed concern that thousands of train commuters in the province may be left stranded on Monday. Large numbers of people are expected to return to work when level three of the national COVID-19 lockdown comes into effect. The Committee says it was not satisfied with passenger rail agency PRASA's operational plans presented...

Whilst many religious groups are applauding government's decision to re-open places of worship from next week, the Jesuit Institute of South Africa is not impressed at all. The Institute says places of worship are not immune to the corona virus and churches do not need to open in order to practice their faith. Spokesperson of the Jesuit Institute South Africa, Father Anthony Egan says in the midst...

The North Gauteng High Court has declared former South African Airways (SAA) chair Dudu Myeni a delinquent director for life. The application was brought to court in 2017 by Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse and the SAA Pilots Association, to declare Myeni a delinquent director in terms of the Companies Act. The organisations accuse Myeni of plunging the national carrier into financial chaos while sh...

Former DA Youth Leader and member of the KwaZulu-Natal legislature, Mbali Ntuli has questioned the credibility and fairness of the DA holding its October elective congress virtually. Ntuli, is vying for the position of party leader, alongside Gauteng's provincial leader, John Moodey and the party's interim leader, John Steenhuisen. The DA's Federal council decided to move the elective congress to...

South Africa has implemented diesel stock rationing following the easing of Covid-19 lockdown restrictions from alert level 5 to level 4. That's according to the South African Petroleum Industry Association (SAPIA). The organisation says the diesel shortage is attributed to the re-opening of the economy, which has resulted in a more rapid recovery than expected.

The African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) says religious institutions will take all necessary precautions to limit the spread of the coronavirus. This after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced that all places of worship will be allowed to operate from the 1st of June - subject to tough restrictions in accordance with alert Level three of the national lockdown. The decision followed a meeting w...

All places of worship will be allowed to operate from the 1st of June subject to tough restrictions in accordance with alert Level Three of the national lock-down. President Cyril Ramaphosa made this announcement during his address to the nation in Johannesburg last night. The decision followed his earlier meeting with leaders of the religious sector.

Municipal workers in the Mogale City municipality on Gauteng's Westrand are expected to return to their posts today following a breakthrough in talks over the lockdown payment dispute. These essential services workers who are employed in the supply and maintenance of water and electricity infrastructure and traffic officers embarked on a go-slow from last week. They were demanding to be incentivis...

The National Department of Basic Education says they will accommodate learners whose schools were vandalised during the more than two month lockdown to curb the spread of the Coronavirus. Basic Education spokesperson, Elijah Mhlanga, says 1 577 schools were vandalised.

A consortium of Liquor Trader Associations, made up of township-based taverns and shebeens representing over 50 000 members countrywide, is recommending that taverns be permitted to operate as off-site liquor sales points when level 3 of the lockdown kicks-in. This follows President Cyril Ramaphosa's announcement that a number of economic activities, including the sale of alcohol, will be allowed...

The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) says it is working round the clock to ensure that those who qualify for the Covid-19 social relief grant get paid. South Africans who have no source of income can apply for the 350 rand grant which forms part of the Covid-19 social relief measures announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa. The amount will be paid to beneficiaries until October 2020. Th...

The South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) says if schools have not received the relevant personal protective equipment (PPE) by today, their members will not return at work. This after Education minister Angie Motshekga announced that teachers will return to school today to prepare for the return of Grade 7 and 12 pupils on the first of June 2020. Schools across the country have closed f...

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the whole country will move to Alert Level Three from next Monday. The president says this will allow for the further opening of the economy while government continues to contain the spread of the Coronavirus. He was addressing the nation at the Union Buildings in Pretoria last night.

The African Union had ambitious plans for the year 2020. The African Continental Free Trade Area was finally launched and a secretary-general elected. The end of 2020 was set as the goal to silence the guns -- restoring peace and security across the continent. But -- COVID-19 has complicated the continental body's programme -- adding an unanticipated burden. As the 57th Africa Day is celebrated to...