First Take SA

Monday's announcement by National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete that the motion of no confidence would be decided by secret ballot took many by surprise. While others thought it was the right decision in order to protect members of parliament from intimation; others thought an open ballot would have been best and in the interest of transparency and openness. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to the decision...

Communities in and around Cape Town. Civic organisation and faith-based movements are marching to Parliament, this is an effort to call on the ANC MPs to vote according to their constitutional obligations, in tomorrow's Vote of No Confidence in President Jacob Zuma. Speakers such as the Former Deputy Minister of Finance, Mcebisi Jonas and Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba are set to make an addres...

ANC in Parliament has welcomed the decision by the Speaker of National Assembly, Baleka Mbete that voting on the motion of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma be by a secret ballot. In a statement, the ANC further says they have always maintained that they will support whatever decision the Speaker takes. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to the ANC's Caucus Spokesperson, Nonceba Mhlauli...

Speaker of parliament Baleka Mbete has decided that tomorrow's 8th motion of no confidence against President Jacob Zuma will be conducted through a secret ballot. Mbete was speaking during a parliamentary media briefing a shortwile ago. Mbete says careful consideration was taken in making her decision...

Speaker of parliament Baleka Mbete has announced that voting on motion of no confidence will be by secret ballot. Mbete announced her decision on whether the motion on the vote of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma will be conducted openly or secretly a short while ago. Debate on the motion of no confidence is scheduled to take place on tomorrow. In June, the Constitutional Court ruled that Mbe...

The family of the late Dullah Omar says they've asked the National Executive Committee of the ANC to remove his name from the ANC's 'Dullah Omar Region' in the Western Cape. In a statement, the family says the Dullah Omar name should not be associated with the planned march for the 8th August 2017 in support of President Jacob Zuma. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to the ANC's National Spokesperson, Zizi K...

South Africa must not bid for the 2023 Rugby World Cup, because we can't afford it. This is according to Unathi Sonwabile Henama; Tourism Lecturer at the Tshwane University of Technology who writes in his personal capacity. This follows Minister of Sports and Recreation, Thulas Nxesi's confirmation that government will support the bid to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Henama says developing countr...

Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba says while the appointment of new CEO for SAA is a welcome step on the way to stabilizing the airline, it has to be accompanied by other measures. The treasury announced yesterday that Vodacom Group Executive Vuyani Jarana is to head up the troubled state owned airliner. Gigaba told parliament's Standing Committee on Finance that government is committed to helping SA...

INTRO: The ANC in Parliament says it is confident that the opposition sponsored vote of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma will be defeated. The party Chief Whip, Jackson Mthembu, says it is inconceivable that a governing party could support an opposition sponsored motion of no confidence to oust its own president. The Speaker of the National Assembly Baleka Mbete has not yet made her decision...

The ANC in Parliament says it is confident that the opposition sponsored vote of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma will be defeated. The party Chief Whip, Jackson Mthembu, says it is inconceivable that a governing party could support an opposition sponsored motion of no confidence to oust its own president. The Speaker of the National Assembly Baleka Mbete has not yet made her decision on how...

The mining industry continues to bleed jobs. The National Union of Mineworkers has expressed shock at the possible retrenchments of more than seven-thousand workers at Sibanye Gold operations. This comes after Sibanye announced that it will restructure operations in its domestic market, a move that could affect its employees at all levels. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Kenneth Buda, NUM Mining House C...

South African Policing Union (SAPU) has announced that the strike by the 10111 operators is set to resume with immediate effect. At a media briefing by the union indicated that they had sough intervention from government, however, that yielded no results. The countrywide strike was temporarily suspended, in mid July. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Oscar Skommere, General Secretary of the South African...

It has been reported that this morning Oscar Pistorius was rushed to Kalafong hospital in Pretoria under armed guard. This after the former paralympian reportedly complained of chest pains. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to the Spokesperson for the Department of Correctional Services, Logan Maistry

A South African man who was held hostage by Al-Qaeda in Mali since 2011 has been freed. This was announced earlier today during a press briefing in Pretoria. Stephen McGown was grabbed in Timbuktu along with Swede Johan Gustafsson and Dutchman Sjaak Rijke, both of whom were subsequently released. McGown has returned to South Africa and been reunited with his family. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Imtia...

South African Airways has new CEO. The Finance Ministry has confirmed that SAA's new chief executive officer is Vuyani Jarana. Jarana has headed up Vodacom's enterprise division since 2012 and was previously its Chief Operating Officer. The news of the appointment comes amid reports that SAA has run out of cash and is technically insolvent. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Mayihlome Tshwete, spokesperson...

Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance has decided to launch its own inquiry into in illicit financial flows. This after Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago told the committee that the bank laid charges but prosecutors declined to prosecute. Committee chairperson Yunus Carrim says they want to find out why so few cases are being prosecuted and why no task team's been set up to address the p...

Public Enterprises Minister, Lynne Brown, has asked her personal assistant, Kim Davids to step down following allegations related to the email leaks this week. The latest Gupta leaks reportedly indicate that a number of key appointments around Minister Brown were Gupta associates. Brown says the continuing allegations against Davids could compromise the legitimacy of her office. Tsepiso Makwetla s...

A new study by the Centre for Competition, Regulation and Economic Development (CCRED) has revealed a worrying low-investment trend among large JSE-listed firms. The research shows the largest 50 companies listed on the JSE expanded their financial reserves to R1.4-trillion by the end of 2016, contradicting arguments that investment in South Africa was being undermined by a lack of savings. Tsepis...

The injured mineworkers, and the widows of 34 miners who died in the Marikana shootings will be receiving a total pay out of one-billion-rand in compensation from government. Since the shooting five years ago, at least 325 claims have been made. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to the Lawyer representing the Marikana victims,Andries Nkome and the President of the Association of Mineworkers and Construction...

An economist say It's time to consider help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to fix South Africa's anemic economic growth. Matthew Kofi Ocran, Professor of Economics at the University of the Western Cape says "the conditions are right for serious consideration of the proposal even though IMF programmes are not very popular with politicians". Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Matthew Kofi Ocran,...

Comedian Chris Forrest is calling all parents, parents-to-be or just fans of comedy to his side-splitting one-man show, Who's Your Daddy. In this comedy, Chris sheds some light on his experiences of becoming a father. From pregnancy to birth, sleepless nights and shares tips about what really happens and how to deal with it. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Chris Forrest...

The South African Minority Rights Equality Movement has laid criminal charges against EFF leader Julius Malema. This follows Malema's utterances at an EFF event in Durban last weekend, where he said that some Indian people often exploit black people. We speak to Professor at the University of Johannesburg Prof Ashwin Desai

The Gauteng department of education is refuting claims that teaching at about 38 "coloured" schools in Gauteng were disrupted yesterday when teachers embarked on a go-slow in solidarity with a Klipspruit school. Coloured teachers in the south of Joburg allegedly embarked on a go-slow in solidarity with parents of Klipspruit West Secondary. The group of parents from the area allegedly locked the ga...

Minister of Energy Mmamoloko Kubayi has dismissed reports suggesting that she has suspended the Board of Directors of Central Energy Fund. Earlier reports alleged that the minister suspended the board over its role in sale of oil reserves, which were sold at a substantial discount. However, in a statements issued this afternoon, Kubayi says she has given the board members letters on the 26th of Ju...

The South African Minority Rights Equality Movement has laid criminal charges against EFF leader Julius Malema. This follows Malema's utterances at an EFF event in Durban last weekend, where he said that some Indian people often exploit black people. We earlier spoke to Ashin Singh, the convenor for the South African Minority Rights Equality Movement