First Take SA

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

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...