First Take SA

As per usual on a Friday we end off with music, on our regular slot Open Mic. Today we profile Jon Magnusson, a song writer, musician, producer and audio engineer from Stockholm, Sweden. Producer Ronald Phiri spoke to Jon Magnusson about his brilliant new EP "Psalms for Sinners"....

The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) says it is outraged and shocked by Sibanye Gold mine's decision to dismiss more than 2000 workers after they participated in an illegal strike. Sibanye Gold earlier confirmed the dismissals at its Cooke operations, but not the number. Workers at the mine have been on an illegal strike for more than two weeks, angered by the company's drive to root out illega...

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Des van Rooyen and Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa have visited the affected communities of Knysna in the Garden Route and Plettenburg Bay areas following the fire. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Environmental Affairs Minister Edna Molewa

Award-winning chef and food writer Hope Malau has recently launched his recipe book "Johanne 14: Real South African Food". Johanne 14 explores the secrets of simple, home-cooked meals in South Africa's townships. The book features authentic, traditional dishes and has been described as a celebration of culture, resilience, human spirit, community and family - through the shared meal. Tsepiso Makwe...

Bodies are piling up at Gauteng mortuaries as the go slow by forensic officers is on its second week. Bereaved families cannot bury their loved ones as the officers who are meant to assist with autopsies are demanding, among others, better working conditions and danger payment. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to national coordinator responsible for public health at the National Health Education and Allied...

South Africans are saying no to crime one download at a time. Citizens are sick and tired of the violence and intimidation and have taken a stand armed with the one weapon that every person, young and old, can safely and effectively use: A smart phone. Namola Mobile Emergency App is the latest most downloaded safety App in Gauteng with 50 000 downloads since it was first launched last year. It is...

Political parties say while they welcome the resignation of Dr Ben Ngubane as Eskom Board chairperson, the inquiry into governance issues at the power utility should still go ahead. Among the issues they want probed is the sudden reinstatement of Brian Molefe as Eskom CEO last month. While the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) has called for the resignation of the remaining Eskom board members....

The South African National Aids Council is launching South Africa's first Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersexed (LGBTI) HIV plan. The 5-year plan supports and runs concurrently with the newly launched National Strategic Plan for HIV, TB and STIs for the period 2017-2022. It is a strategic guide tailored for challenges that are more prevalent to LGBTI people and is a milestone in the c...

A truce has been reached between Western Cape Premier Helen Zille and DA leader Mmusi Maimane. Zille has unreservedly apologised for her colonialism tweets following her suspension by the DA. At a media briefing in Johannesburg earlier today, DA leader Mmusi Maimane says Zille will step down from the positions she holds in the party's various structures including the Federal Executive, the Federal...

The shortage of medical specialists in the country continues to be a challenge, especially in the public health sector. In Limpopo, the Polokwane Provincial Hospital's renal unit has only one kidney physician left. Last year, there were reports that junior doctors were performing neurosurgery, and our reporters in the province say cancer patients from far flung rural areas have to travel to the pr...

Fire fighters are battling several flare ups in and around Knysna in the Southern Cape, despite official word that most of the fires have been contained. Ground and aerial crews are still trying to extinguish blazes in Simola, Karatara, Farleigh, PG Bison and Buffalo Bay. In nearby Plettenberg Bay, fires have also been contained. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Technical Advisor at the South African Ins...

The SABC interim board says they have taken the decision to dismiss Former SABC COO Hlaudi Motsoeneng. This after Motsoeneng was found guilty in an internal disciplinary hearing. Motsoeneng faced charges of bringing the SABC into disrepute and causing irreparable damage to his employer. Meanwhile the SABC's Interim board chairperson, Khanyisile Kweyama, says the contract between the TNA breakfast...

The Department of health's Deputy Director General Dr Yogan Pillay says over two-thousand young women between the ages of 15 and 24 are infected with HIV every week in South Africa. He was addressing young people from various institutions of higher learning at the Higher Education AIDS Youth conference in Durban. The conference is the first that gives the youth an opportunity to engage and come up...

KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo has admitted that the oncology services in the province's public hospitals are facing a major crisis. This comes after 50 doctors who specialise in treating cancer from government hospitals in Durban decided to join the private sector. Grey's Hospital in Pietermaritzburg is the only hospital left with at least two specialists, while Inkosi Albert Luth...

Strong winds in both Knysna and Plettenberg Bay in the Southern Cape have caused fires in the region to flare up again. An aerial fire fighting team is water bombing affected areas and ground crew are also on the scene. Fire fighters still trying to come to terms with the death of their colleague. The 24- year old Bradley Richards succumbed to burn wounds he sustained while fighting this week's fi...

Disaster management teams in the Western Cape say they are working tirelessly to extinguish the fires in various part of Knysna. A family of three was killed in Rheenendal while trying to escape a blaze yesterday, and a three-year old girl's body was today found in Welbedacht. Hundreds of homes, a school hostel, and a church were brought to the ground by the fires. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Chief...

South Africa has suspended imports of all poultry products from Zimbabwe following an outbreak of bird flu virus from that country. The Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries says they've heightened inspections of all consignments in all ports of entry, especially in and out of Zimbabwe. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Director of animal health at the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and F...

Male fertility is at an all time low! This is according to the SA Rooibos Council. The spotlight has fallen on male fertility this June, which is recognised as National Men's Health Month. This follows reports by scientists who claim that sperm counts have halved over the past 50 years. According to a study done by the University of Copenhagen, sperm counts in the 1940s were typically well above 1...

Five learners have died and two others seriously injured in a car accident in the Eastern Cape on Monday morning. The learners from Gumzana high school in Bizana were travelling to school when the accident occurred. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Eastern Cape Education spokesperson, Malibongwe Mtima

The Premier of the Western Cape Helen Zille has until five o'clock deadline on Tuesday to file reasons as to why she should not be suspended from the Democratic Alliance (DA) party activities. Zille was served with a notice of suspension on Saturday by the party's federal executive committee. The disciplinary hearing over her tweets on colonialism is set to take place this Friday. Tsepiso Makwetla...

The Hawks have opened an inquiry into leaked e-mails involving alleged improper dealings between the Gupta family and government. The unit says it will look at the authenticity of the emails and how were they leaked. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Hawks spokesperson Hangwani Mulaudzi

Former Lesotho Prime Minister, Thomas Thabane seems to be leading as the results of yesterday's election start to trickle in. Basotho went to the polls, following a collapse of a coalition government after parliament passed a motion of no confidence in March this years, against the leader of the Democratic Congress (DC) party, Pakalitha Mosisili. Meanwhile, the Election Observers in Lesotho have r...

The labour court couldn't hear an urgent application brought before it by Former Eskom Group CEO Brian Molefe in an attempt to reverse his removal as Eskom CEO. This follows a failure by Eskom and Public Enterprises Minister, Lynne Brown to file responding affidavits. Molefe approached the labour court after the was fired on Friday by the Power utility board following a recommendation by the Inter...

The country's unemployment has increased to 27.7 percent in the first quarter of this year. This is the highest unemployment rate recorded since 2003. According to figures released by Statistics South Africa, the growth in unemployment was driven mainly by the agriculture and services sectors. Agriculture jobs declined by 44 000. We are now joined on the line by Agri SA Executive Director Omri van...

Statistics South Africa says more young people are still finding it hard to find employment. This after the country's unemployment rate increased to 27.7 in the first quarter of this year. This is the highest unemployment rate observed since 2003. Growth in joblessness was driven by the agriculture and trade sectors. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to general secretary of the South African Federation of Tr...