First Take SA

DA leader Mmusi Maimane says Gauteng Premier candidate Solly Msimanga will bring much-needed change for the people of Gauteng. Maimane has announced 38-year old Tshwane mayor, Msimanga, as the DA's Gauteng premier candidate in next year's general elections. SABC News reporter, Pearl Magubane reports..

DA leader Mmusi Maimane says Gauteng Premier candidate Solly Msimanga will bring much-needed change for the people of Gauteng. Maimane has announced 38-year old Tshwane mayor, Msimanga, as the DA's Gauteng premier candidate in next year's general elections. Tsepiso M\kwetla spoke to political analyst, Professor Tinyiko Maluleke

Today we begin our Women's Month feature. We'll be speaking to phenomenal women who are in and outside of the media glare; influential women; those who are bringing change to their communities. We start the conversation with Dr. Tshepo Motsepe, a medical doctor who champions maternal, child and neonatal healthcare, and early childhood development. She's also been a pioneer in reproductive healthca...

A group of Movement for Democratic Change supporters arrested on charges related to post election violence that broke out in Harare, Zimbabwe, are expected back in court on Monday. Zimbabwe President elect, Emmerson Mnangagwa, has called for unity following the announcement of the country's election results. Six people died in protests that saw the deployment of the army in the capital. Tsepiso Ma...

The Afrikaans Sunday Newspaper, Rapport is reporting that three former National Party ministers‚ including Magnus Malan‚ have been identified as central figures in a paedophilia ring that operated during apartheid. The investigations into Malan‚ a former defence minister who died in 2011‚ John Wiley‚ former apartheid minister of environmental affairs‚ and a third person who is still alive‚ were al...

While the country celebrates the legacy and resilience of women who marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria in 1956 -- women in the LGBTI community say more still needs to be done. This includes making women's month more inclusive of the LGBTI community, and the challenges they face. Bafedile Moerane reports

July is South Africa's National Savings month and we have been running educational feautures on how you can make your rand stretch and also save enough for rainy days. Today, we are looking at household savings. According to analysis done by MyTreasury, South African's household savings rate comes last when ranked against the G20 countries. This means that too many South Africans are living in deb...

The Nelson Mandela Rules for the treatment of prisoners, meant to encourage the humane treatment of inmates around the world, have been officially launched. The rules were unveiled by Correctional Services minister, Mike Masutha, at a ceremony held on Tuesday at the Drakenstein Correctional facility in Paarl. The Mandela rules are a set of minimum standards for the treatment of prisoners to which...

The 10th Summit of Heads of State and Government of BRICS countries begins today in Johannesburg. This is the second time South Africa has hosted the summit, since 2013. The summit ends on Friday, and will discuss various strategies that can strengthen the BRICS economic partnerships. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Professor Ari Sitas is chairperson of the South African BRICS Think Tank

The Khoisan community leader, Chief Khoisan SA, who led a group of protesters that staged a month-long protest and hunger strike outside the Union Buildings in Pretoria last year, has accused government of NOT taking them seriously. They claim that since handing over their memorandum of demands to then deputy president Cyril Ramaphosa more than seven months ago, they have not received any feedback...

As Mthatha residents prepare to participate in their first public hearings on land expropriation without compensation on Monday, some say the land must be owned by communities and not the state. Mthatha West residents particularly, those who have been embroiled in legal battles with their local municipality over land invasions, strongly believe that land should be registered under traditional coun...

National Police Commissioner - General Khehla Sithole - has given a team of top investigators 72 hours to trace and arrest killers of eleven men in Colenso, in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands. The eleven deceased and six survivors belonged to the Ivory Park Taxi Association in Midrand, Johannesburg. They were on their way back to Johannesburg after attending a colleague's funeral at Matimatolo, in KwaZ...

There are growing calls for government to urgently set up a team to probe ongoing arson attacks on Metrorail trains. This follows Saturday's torching of 7 coaches, 2 motor coaches and 5 plain trailers at Cape Town Station. The damage is estimated at 30 million rands. But how will this affect metrorail operations in the Mother City this morning? Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Western Cape Metrorail spok...

National Police Commissioner - General Khehla Sithole - has given a team of top investigators 72 hours to trace and arrest killers of eleven men in Colenso, in the KwaZulu-Natal midlands. The eleven deceased and six survivors belonged to the Ivory Park Taxi Association in Midrand, Johannesburg. They were on their way back to Johannesburg after attending a colleague's funeral at Matimatolo, in KwaZ...

Some members of a panel of experts on a Setswana language station of the SABC concurred that Section 25 of the constitution on land expropriation should be reviewed with the sensitivity it deserves . This was during a round table debate which followed public hearings by a delegation of the Joint Constitutional Review Committee which toured the North-West this week. The panel consisted of a constit...

Only twenty-two of the 46 Trek4Mandela climbers made it to Africa's highest peak, Uhuru on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Many climbers experienced altitude sickness. They started their expedition to summit Mt Kilimanjaro on Saturday 14 July, as part of the Mandela Centenary celebrations. The 2018 expedition also sought to raise enough funds to ensure that 500,000 girl children will not miss a day...

The South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) says its working class summit set to take place this weekend in Johannesburg will present the working class an opportunity to unite into a mass campaign for a free, democratic and equal society. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to SAFTU General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi

Economists say the Reserve Bank MPC statement indicates that the bank is not in a hurry to hike interest rates. The Reserve Bank's monetary policy committee has decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 6.5 percent as widely expected. Tshepo Mongoai reports

The Public Works department has lost over 2-billion rands due to fraud and corruption as a result of 16 -thousand suspicious transactions. This was discovered during an investigation by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).These revelations were made during a joint media briefing by public works Minister Thulas Nxesi and SIU head, advocate Andy Mothibi in Pretoria. Phumzile Mlangeni reports

He stands today as a beacon of universal values, peace and forgiveness and is recognized as one of the greatest leaders of our time. So says the United Nations Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, who along with actor and UN envoy, Forest Whitaker, headlined the official commemoration of Nelson Mandela International Day at the United Nations in New York. The UN's Postal Administration also unveile...

The CEO of the South African Post Office Mark Barnes says he's relieved that they've reached a wage agreement with recognised unions. The deal with the Communications Workers Union (CWU), the Democratic Postal Workers Union (DEPACU), and the South African Postal Workers Union (SAPWU) was signed. It brings to an end the strike which started on the third of this month. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to CEO...

President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged South Africans to emulate the legacy of the late former President Nelson Mandela by making a meaningful and lasting difference in their communities. The country will celebrate Madiba's birthday next Wednesday. The late struggle icon and statesman would have been 100 years old had he lived. Former US President Barack Obama will deliver the 16th Nelson Mandela ann...

Former US president, Barack Obama, has outlined various ways in which the youth in Africa can become involved in politics and leadership. Obama was speaking during an engagement with young people at the Young Leadership Academy held in Honeydew, in Johannesburg . This as South Africa celebrates the late former president Nelson Mandela's centenary birthday. Mbali Sibanyoni reports…..

Former COSATU Secretary General and Minister in the Mandela administration, Jay Naidoo, says South Africa and the World need to look to Indigenous Knowledge Systems to resolve their challenges like Madiba did. He says one of the major reasons the former statesmen had such great empathy was because of his self knowledge and his bid to find greater understanding of the earth and its workings. Naidoo...

Power utility ESKOM was on Tuesday night expected to table a revised wage offer to employees. Labour unions have rejected the power utility's wage increase of seven per cent. Eskom has indicated that it wants a three-year wage deal and the unions' demands for bonuses to be deferred. Elvis Preslin spoke to spokesperson for the National Union of Mine Workers, Livhuwani Mmamburu.