First Take SA

Unions in the Gold sector have declared a dispute with the Chamber of Mines accusing them of providing misleading information in financial statements. The two parties were meeting in Boksburg on the East Rand to discuss wage increments.

The High Court in Pretoria has struck the application by Lawyers for Human Rights against Operation Fiela from the court roll. Judge Jan Hiemstra has ruled that LHR should carry the costs. The group was seeking a court order declaring government's Operation Fiela unlawful and unconstitutional. Fiela is a national operation by the police, the SANDF, the army and Home Affairs officials that often in...

The Tourism Business Council of South Africa has released the findings of its impact assessment study on South Africa' s new immigration regulations on the travel and tourism industry. The study, whose outcomes were released at a national press club briefing this afternoon,this is the second of two impact assessment studies the Council has conducted since the implementation of the new regulations.

The parties to the Gold-Sector wage talks tabled their offers this afternoon, they also agreed finally to Moe Allie as the chairman of the talks. The National Union of Mineworkers says it is up to the Chamber of Mines to give mineworkers a wage increase in line with the costly standard of living. Wage talks in the gold mining sector are expected to start today. The NUM is demanding up to 80 per ce...

the Mpumalanga health department is also under fire for alleged sickening conditions at KwaMhlanga hospital. It's alleged patients admitted to the hospital are not fed on time and relatives visiting them are forced to bring water in bottles due to water shortages.

Two patients died yesterday while in the Intensive Care Unit in Letaba hospital near Tzaneen after the hospital's generator failed to kick-in during load shedding. The Minister of Health, Doctor Aaron Motsoaledi is visiting the hospital this afternoon.

SISANDA Myataza is a relentless young woman who has been performing for audiences since Age 7. This great great grandaughter of choral composer BB Myataza. is now embarking on a trip to the UK to record an EP and share her south African heritage in an international space. Today, she joins us in today to talk about her cultural exchange plans....

South Sudan's former Vice President Reich Machar has called for president Salva Kiir to resign in July when his term comes to an end. Machar has been in the bush since 2013 when violence erupted. Kiir had accused Machar of planning a coup - a charge Machar has denied. His call comes as the African Union heads of state summit decided on a new peace process that will include all of the continent's r...

[LISTEN] The South African National Defence Force, Head of Communication Siphiwe Dlamini has denied reports that the Sudanese army reportedly held hundreds of South African peacekeepers hostage to guarantee the safe return of President Omar al-Bashir.

Judge Hans Fabricius has ruled that the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir, be prohibited from leaving South Africa, and that the Department of Home Affairs should ensure that the order is sent to every port of entry and exit in country. This pending the final ruling by the High Court in Pretoria tomorrow, on the application by Southern African Litigation Centre to have the South African government...

At a recent Security Summit on Cyber Crime, it was revealed that South Africa is the most attacked country on the African continent. Although the problem is acute in the country, it is not widely reported. One of the major ways is the theft of personal identities. This costs in excess of three-billion-rand per annum. Director of the Centre for Cyber Security at the University of Johannesburg, Prof...

Cosatu remains adamant that next month's Special National Congress will continue whether or not the eight affiliates sympathetic to NUMSA attend. Cosatu briefed the media yesterday following its court victory on Tuesday against NUMSA's bid to participate in the Congress. The labour federation's President S'dumo Dlamini also took swipe at former Cosatu General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi accusing him...

Cosatu remains adamant that next month's Special National Congress will continue whether or not the eight affiliates sympathetic to NUMSA attend. Cosatu briefed the media yesterday following its court victory on Tuesday against NUMSA's bid to participate in the Congress. The labour federation's President S'dumo Dlamini also took swipe at former Cosatu General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi accusing him...

Oscar Pistorius is set to be released from prison on parole in August after serving 10 months for culpable homicide in the killing of his model girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. The Paralympic track star is currently serving a five year prison sentence after being convicted in October last year. Meanwhile, The Supreme Court of Appealsays it's most likely that a full bench will hear the State's arguments...

The Correctional Services Department has confirmed that Oscar Pistorious who was jailed for killing his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp has been recommended for release on parole. Pistorious will be released on 21 August 2015 after serving only ten months of his five year prison term. The recommendation to release him on parole was made last week by officials at Kgosi Mampuru II last week. Meanwhile th...

Former British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says if Africa can secure funding for its infrastructure roll out - its growth rate could surpass that of China and India. Brown says he is pleased that there is political will from the continent's leaders to invest in the much needed infrastructure. Brown was speaking after meeting President Jacob Zuma on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on Afri...

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development is expected to release a statement this afternoon indicating how it plans to move forward on the parole of Clive Derby Lewis. The North Gauteng High Court ruled last week that Derby Lewis, who is serving a life sentence for the murder of SACP leader Chris Hani in 1993, be released on medical parole by the end of the day today. The statement...

he latest allegations of corruption to hit Fifa are coming from Egypt, who lost the bid to the 2010 World Cup to South Africa. According to an Egyptian sports official, the country refused to pay a $7m bribe to the former Fifa vice-president. The FIFA scandal is the focus of this week's edition of Talk on the move.

Former Fifa vice-president Jack Warner has said that he will reveal all he knows about corruption at the world football body. Warner, who said he feared for his life, also said he could link Fifa officials to general elections in his native Trinidad and Tobago in 2010. He is one of the 14 people charged by the US over alleged corruption at Fifa.

Minister of Sports and Recreation, Fikile Mbalula and the the department's Director General, Alec Moemi hosted a media briefing earlier on to address the issue of 10 million US alleged bribery to bring the 2010 world cup to South Africa. Mbalula says the 10 million US dollars paid to the Caribbean countries was a donation for the Diaspora Legacy Programme Fund and not a bribe

The SA Revenue Service has withdrawn its sequestration case against EFF leader, Julius Malema. Without supplying reasons, lawyers representing SARS told the high court in Pretoria they had been instructed to withdraw the matter. Malema is said to owe SARS 18 million rand. After a compromise was reached he had to pay just over seven million rand. SARS initially went with the sequestration applicati...

The Western Cape Department of Economic Opportunities says South Africa's new visa regulations for children have already begun to affect tourism in the province. A new law kicked in today which requires that minors travelling to and from the country apply for new birth certificates. We speak to the Western Cape Department of Economic Opportunities Minister, Alan Winde.

The long awaited Labour Force survey has been released and its not looking good. According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey, official unemployment figures in the first quarter of this year were at 26.4 percent. Statistician General Pali Lehohla says this is a highest unemployment rate since the early 2000s when unemployment figures were around 30 percent. Lehohla however says year-on-year empl...

The editor of the Daily Dispatch newspaper in the Eastern Cape, Bongani Siqoko has dismissed allegations by the ANC that the paper is plotting to tarnish the provincial government and the premier of the province Phumullo Masualle. This follows a meeting between the ANC and the South African National Editor's Forum today in Johannesburg after the ANC accused the Dispatch of plotting to bring down E...

The editor of the Daily Dispatch newspaper in the Eastern Cape, Bongani Siqoko has dismissed allegations by the ANC that the paper is plotting to tarnish the provincial government and the premier of the province Phumullo Masualle. This follows a meeting between the ANC and the South African National Editor's Forum today in Johannesburg after the ANC accused the Dispatch of plotting to bring down E...