First Take SA

Stellenbosch University's faculty of medicine and health sciences has performed a second successful penile transplant at the Tygerberg Academic Hospital. The 40 year old recipient had been without a male organ for 17 years due to complications from a traditional circumcision. The organ will be tattooed at a later date to match the recipient's natural skin colour. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Professo...

Western Cape Premier Helen Zille has declared the province a disaster area in response to the current drought crisis. According to the premier's office, the declaration will be formally gazetted during the course of this week after it was adopted by the provincial cabinet last week. The disaster will be classified for a three-month period which can be extended if the need arises. Tsepiso Makwetla...

A child goes missing every five hours in South Africa, this according to the recent stats from Missing Children South Africa. According to the Missing Persons Bureau, between 1 May 2016 and 30 April 2017, 304 adults were reported missing, 167 were found and out of 181 children that were reported missing, 145 were found. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Bianca van Aswegen, the National Case Officer for Mi...

A call has been made for men in the Gauteng area to join a march in Pretoria tomorrow to raise awareness of gender based violence. The men's march themed "not in my name" is set to serve as a platform for men to have a conversation about abuse against women and children. The march follows a number of killings and violence against women being reported. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Not In My Name March...

Dam levels remain critically low in the Western Cape. This as Water Minister Nomvula Mokonyane addressed a dialogue with different stakeholders on how to address the water challenges the country is facing. South Africa has been facing a severe drought which has led serious water shortages in the Western Cape. The city of Cape Town has now called on residents to only use water for washing, cooking...

The minister of Energy, Mmamoloko Kubayi, says those responsible for selling the country's fuel reserves will be investigated - and criminally charged if necessary. Minister Kubayi was delivering her department's eight-point-one billion rand budget in Parliament. About two weeks ago, Kubayi admitted to Parliament's Energy committee that most of the country's strategic fuel stock was indeed sold an...

The National Executive Committee of the South African Council of Churches has urged the ANC to examine their way of governance before the country reaches a point of no return. Speaking at the historic Regina Mundi Catholic Church in Soweto, the Council's secretary-general Bishop Malusi Mpumlwana presented a report from its Unburdening Panel on the challenges of corruption, maladministration and lo...

International relations expert and former South African ambassador to Turkey Tom Wheeler has died. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to the Chief Executive of South African Institute of International Affairs (SAIIA) Elizabeth Sidiropoulos, where ambassador Wheeler once worked

Power utility Eskom says it is considering reviving a nuclear project that was halted in 2010. Eskom Chief Nuclear Officer Dave Nicholls was speaking at the African Utility Week conference underway in Cape Town. Billions of rand have been poured into the Pebble Bed Modular Reactor project, with bulk of the money provided by the government. The technology was designed in Germany, with South Africa...

The National Consumer Commission will institute a public inquiry into timeshare industry. This after, the commission was inundated with complaints from consumers alleging serious misconduct from role players in the vacation ownership industry. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to National Consumer Commission's commissioner Ebrahim Mohamed

Police are investigating four cases of murder after the bodies of young women were discovered at the weekend in and around Soweto. The body of Popi Qwabe, was found in Naledi, while that of her friend Bongeka Phungula was found in neighbouring Tladi. In another incident, the body of Lerato Moloi was also found in Naledi. A fourth, unidentified body was found at a dumping site in Mofolo. Tsepiso Ma...

Today's arts and culture feature focuses on South African movie, "Vaya", which opened the New York African Film Festival earlier this month. Directed by award-winning director Akin Omotoso, Vaya premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last year and has been playing at festivals around the world. The New York African Film Festival (NYAFF) is a showcase of celebrated films from the Afri...

Caller on PM Live explains to Tsepiso Makwetla how he brutally killed his fiance in 2008. He was arrested and came out of prison in 2015. He explains what drove him to do it ...

The Goodwood Magistrate's Court has been told that three-year-old Courtney Pieters was raped twice before she was killed and buried in a shallow grave. Mortimer Saunders, the 40-year-old suspect who is believed to have lived with the Pieters family, earlier faced angry members of the public when he appeared in court on charges of murder and rape. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) says the t...

Gauteng police have made a breakthrough in the murder of two of the four young women killed and allegedly raped in Soweto over the weekend. The women's bodies were discovered dumped in the veld. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Sonke Gender Justice's Nonhlanhla Skosana...

The world is becoming a more dangerous place for women. Women are victims of violent crimes like sexual assault and domestic violence on a daily basis. Many women are interested in learning how to protect themselves against violent situations but don't know where to go. So can gender-based violence be prevented through self-defense classes? To answer this question Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Sensei...

Stats SA's 2016 Demographic and Health Survey in collaboration with the National Department of Health and the South African Medical Research Council (MRC) has revealed shocking numbers on domestic violence in South Africa. On questions to women 18 years and older about domestic violence, the report shows that ever-partnered women have experienced physical violence by a partner, and 8% say they hav...

Over 150-countries have been hit by a ransomware cyber-attack. The attack took place over the weekend locked users' files and demanded payment to allow them access into their computers. Software giant, Microsoft has since criticised governments around the world saying the ransomware assault should be treated as a wake-up call. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Cyber Monitor at Wolfpack Risk, Matthew Simon...

Advocate Dali Mpofu representing the UDM at the Constitutional has argued that the purpose of the secret ballot is to protect the voters. The UDM is seeking an order on whether a secret ballot should be allowed or not when a motion of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma is debated. The party approached the court after Speaker of the National Assembly Baleka Mbete refused to allow a secret ballot...

The national office of the ANC has slammed the decision by Northern Cape Premier, Sylvia Lucas, to reshuffle her cabinet on the eve of a provincial elective conference. The ANC says the reshuffle was done without proper consultation. In a strongly worded statement the party says the decision smacks of blatant arrogance. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to ANC's National Spokesperson Zizi Kodwa.

The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) says it will appeal a ruling by the North Gauteng High Court granting service provider Net1 permission to continue making deductions from social grant beneficiaries' accounts. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to SASSA Spokesperson, Paseka Letsatsi..

A potentially dangerous social media game, which has been linked to 130 teen deaths in Russia, is making its way to South Africa. The Blue Whale Game an online game targets teenagers enticing them to commit suicide. After downloading the app into a smartphone or computer, the user is then assigned tasks including self-harming, watching horror movies, and waking up at odd hours. On the 50th and fin...

Tsepiso Makwetla speaks to SABC economics editor, Thandeka Gqubule about her book titled 'No Longer Whispering to Power: The Tenure of Thuli Madonsela'

Disgruntled residents of Finetown in Johannesburg have vowed to continue with their protest until Gauteng Human Settlement MEC Paul Mashatile comes and address them. They says they want land to build their own houses. A Gauteng government official was dispatched to the area and met with the protesters. The protest which started in Eldorado Park on Monday, has since spread to Enerdale, Finetown and...

The Helen Suzman Foundation says it has approached the Constitutional Court for relief against the President and the National Assembly. The foundation says President Zuma has established a pattern of irrational and unlawful behaviour without proper regard for the Constitution. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to Chelsea Ramsden who is a Legal Researcher at the Helen Suzman Foudation...