First Take SA

The department of water and sanitation has warned of possible flooding along the Vaal River as Vaal Dam reaches full capacity. The Vaal Dam, among other areas in Gauteng, reached 100 percent capacity for the first time in six years. The Water and Sanitation Department says it's started releasing water from Bloemhof dam and will do the same for the Vaal dam. The department has also announced that i...

KZN MEC for Community Safety Mxolisi Kaunda has welcomed the swift arrests of two suspects in connection with a shooting that left four people dead and seven others wounded at uMlazi G-section over the weekend. The two are believed to be friends of the three men who allegedly killed four members of the Mzila family and also wounded seven others at a tavern nearby. The third suspect died in a shoot...

Acting National Police Commissioner Khomotso Phahlane says they have the situation in the Pretoria CBD under control, this after violence broke out between locals and alleged illegal immigrants. Phahlane also indicated that over 130 people have been arrested in the past 24 hours. Ike Phaahla spoke to Mametlwe Sebei who is part of Coalition of communities against xenophobia for his reaction to the...

The ANC has called for tolerance towards foreign nationals and condemned the violence that broke out in Pretoria today. Police used stun grenades to disperse groups of people in the Pretoria CBD after a stand-off between locals and migrants. Earlier this month, similar scenes were seen in Rosettenville, south of Johannesburg, where houses believed to be drug dens and brothels were torched. The ANC...

During a press conference earlier today, Minster of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba condemned xenophobic attacks in the country, stating that crime has no nationality. The Director General of Home Affairs Mkhuseli Apleni spoke to Ike Phaahla about the departments sentiments and plan of action. We also spoke to the leader of Nigerian Youth Council Murtala Gamji who denies vandalism of a MTN building in...

DA says Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan should consider alternative ways other than a tax increase, to reach the R28 billion budget for the financial year 2017/2018. Some of these alternative are economic growth, selling assets and cutting wastage and expenditure. These were revealed when DA finance spokesperson David Maynier and his deputy Alf Lees shared the party's "tax alternatives" at a brief...

As Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan prepares to deliver the budget speech tomorrow, President Jacob Zuma emphasised in his State of the Nation Address that the state will play a role in the economy to drive transformation. Zuma said Government will use legislation, regulations, licensing, budget and procurement as well as Broad-based Black Economic Empowerment Charters to influence the behaviour of...

Dancing the Death Drill, journalist and author, Fred Khumalo tells the story of the SS Mendi

Madibeng municipal area branch chairperson, Bethuel Mmutle, former ANC deputy chairperson in the North West China Dodovu, and political analyst from the University of the North West, Professor Andre Duvenhage on Brain Molefe membership.

ANC KwaZulu-Natal provincial chairperson Sihle Zikalala has reflected on the mistakes the party made leading to and during the Polokwane elective conference in 2007. Speaking at the party's Cadres forum at the Durban Exhibition Centre, Zikalala says both the policy conference and the national conference will either make or break the ANC. Sihle Zikalala spoke to Tsepiso Makwetla...

Human rights lawyer Dumisa Ntsebeza has been appointed as the chancellor of the University of Fort Hare. Advocate Ntsebeza takes the reins at the institution after the death of former sports minister Makhenkesi Stofile. He speaks to Tsepiso Makwetla about fees must fall campaign and transformation at higher learning institutions

The Competition Commission says it has filed with the Competition Tribunal a settlement agreement reached with Citibank for being part of the forex trading cartel. Citibank will pay an administrative penalty of almost 70 million rand . The Commission found that from 2007, Citibank and its competitors had a general agreement to collude on prices for bids and offers for the spot trades in relation t...

Are you looking for love but can't seem to find it? Statistics South Africa's handy Valentine's week data map, can help you narrow down your search. StatsSA has a series of maps based on the 2011 Census figures to help you fine-tune your search. They narrowed the statistics down to unmarried people between the ages of 20 and 34. They then plotted this data on maps, marked in pink or blue. South Af...

Some students at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University in the Eastern Cape could lose their accommodation on campus if their approval for financial aid support delays further. Earlier reports suggested that some students have been stranded, camping out in TV rooms and halls as they waited for their funding to be approved. Meanwhile National Student Financial Aid Scheme says it has already pro...

Parliament has confirmed that former Eskom CEO, Brian Molefe's name, is to become a member of Parliament. He has been nominated to fill a vacancy on the list of ANC Mp's from North West. Recent reports have suggested that with Molefe becoming an MP, President Jacob Zuma may reshuffle his cabinet and appoint Molefe as Finance Minister. ANC Parliament spokesperson, Moloto Mothapo says it is not yet...

The Competition Commission has found seventeen banks guilty of price fixing and market allocation in the trading of foreign currency pairs involving the Rand since April 2015. Commission also found that the traders used trading platforms such as the Reuters currency trading platform and Bloomberg instant messaging system (chatroom). Tsepiso Makwetla spokesperson Bloomberg Journalist, Mike Cohen...

One child has died and 18 other people, including the deputy principal of Bhekizizwe School in the Eastern Cape have been rushed to hospital after an alleged incident of mass hysteria. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to provincial health spokesperson Sizwe Kupelo

17 banks that were involved in the collusion of the rand are to face prosecution. The Competition Commission has been investigating a case of price-fixing in the trading of foreign currency involving the rand since April 2015. The banks include Absa, Standard Bank, Barclays, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas, JP Morgan Chase, Investec, HSBC Bank, and Credit Suisse. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke...

The Competition Commission has referred a collusion case to the tribunal for prosecution against 17 banks. The commission has been investigating a case of price-fixing in the trading of foreign currency involving the rand since April 2015. The banks include Absa, Standard Bank, Barclays, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch, BNP Paribas, JP Morgan Chase, Investec, HSBC Bank, and Credit Suisse. The Commi...

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) head Robert McBride told Parliament's police committee that the acting national police commissioner, Kgomotso Phahlane is well aware of the investigations against him from as early as 2016. McBride has also denied that forensic investigator Paul O'Sullivan had interviewed Phahlane. Tsepiso Makwetla spoke to the Senior Researcher in the Crime...

Academic activities at Tshwane University of Technology's Pretoria west campus, are expected to resume on Thursday, following a shutdown due to over night protests. The motive of the protest is not known but some students cite a lack of student accommodation and tuition fees. Protesting TUT students have since submitted a memorandum of demands to their institution management. Tsepiso Makwetla spok...

The Economic Freedom Fighters says it is taking speaker of the National Assemby Baleka Mbete to court over parliament's failure to discipline President Jacob Zuma. This is after the constitutional court ruled, last year, that he violated his oath of office. EFF members were once again carried out of parliament by security officers last week after the party disrupted the State of the Nation Address...

A report by Statistics South Africa has revealed that South Africans are increasingly feeling unsafe and have lost hope in what police can do about crime. Most households interviewed in the Victims of Crime Survey released have indicated that they don't report crime as they believe the police could not or would not do anything. According to the survey, South Africans say violent and property crime...

The case of Forensic Investigator Paul O'Sullivan and his co-accused Sarah Jane Trent has been postponed to the 19 of May. The two appeared briefly at the Pretoria Magistrate's court- where he presiding Magistrate Estel Van Biljon granted the prosecution postponement to afford police enough time to conclude their investigations. Tsepiso Makwetla speaks to forensic Investigator Paul O'Sullivan....

Rhodes University Vice-chancellor Sizwe Mabizela says he's confident of a productive academic year and that it's all system's go. As many universities suffered from often violent fees must fall protests which disrupted learning, Rhodes believes they came out largely unscathed. The institution did experience violent scenes and a cessation of teaching over what students called a rape culture which t...