First Take SA

Political parties across the board have welcomed the resignation of the Chairperson of the SABC Board Mbulaeni Maghuve. He was the only remaining member of the beleaguered SABC Board. President Jacob Zuma has accepted Maghuve's resignation and wished him well in his future endeavours.

African Union Chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma says the continent has to prioritise education. She was speaking during a State of the Continent media briefing in Durban earlier today. Dlamini-Zuma, whose tenure comes to end next month says five universities of excellence have been established to create diversity in the courses that African students study. She has also emphasized that attempts ar...

A round up of all the stories that made headlines not only in the news, but also on social media.

The Institute for Justice and Reconciliation says South Africans should not take the National Day of Reconciliation as lightly as they do. The organisation which is involved in reaserching matters around reconciliation says an atmosphere needs to be created that will allow people to contribute as equals in society.

President Jacob Zuma's reconciliation speech has been left blowing in the wind after the marquee tent he was speaking from at Zeerust in North West was blown over by a freak storm. The incident happened on the spot where Zuma was arrested by apartheid security forces in 1963. Zuma was whisked off by his bodyguards when the tent was ripped to pieces as the president was midway through his key-note...

The National Credit Regulator has warned consumers to be weary of “buy-now-pay-later” deals. The organisation says consumers need to be careful when entering into contracts especially now over the festive season and should not let excitement cloud their judgement. We spoke to Legal Advisor at the NCR Nosipho Zikishe and started by asking her what consumers should lookout for before signing contrac...

SABC's former Non Executive board member Rachel Kalidaas told Parliament that she only became aware of the contents of the Public Public Protector's report into the SABC for the first time on the Website of the Public Protector. She also confirmed to the Inquiry that Communications Minister Faith Muthambi allegedly suggested the permanent appointment of Hlaudi Motsoeneng as COO. Kalidaas was the l...

Private Investigator Paul O'Sullivan has rubbished allegations that he, IPID boss Robert McBride and former hawks' boss Shadrack Sibiya conspired to kill hawks head Berning Ntlemeza, Acting police commissioner Khomotso Phahlane and NPA head Shaun Abrahams. Head of the Hawks in Gauteng Prince Mokotedi earlier opened a case of conspiracy and treason among others against the three. PM Live host, Tsep...

Head of the Hawks in Gauteng, Prince Mokotedi has opened a criminal case against IPID boss Robert Mcbride and three others, claiming they're conspiring to have him assassinated. Others to be investigated include forensic investigator Paul O'Sullivan, former Gauteng Hawks boss Shadrack Sibiya, and police captain Candice Coetzee. Coetzee is on suspension after she allegedly leaked classified informa...

The Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) in Bloemfontein has set aside the ruling by the Pretoria High Court which allowed doctors to perform euthanasia or assisted suicide on terminally ill patients. In May 2015 the high court in Pretoria gave 65-year-old Cape Town advocate Robin Stransham-Ford permission to be assisted in ending his life by a medical doctor. Stransham-Ford, who suffered from advanced p...

The South African Litigation Centre has argued in the high court in Pretoria that the decision to withdraw from the International Criminal Court was made to protect Sudan's leader Omar Al Bashir from arrest when he visited the country for the African Union summit in June 2015. SALC's advocate, Max du Plessis, says the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that the hosting agreement for the summit did not...

The Nelson Mandela Foundation will mark the third anniversary of Nelson Mandela's passing at an event which will include guest speakers Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa, Deputy Minister Ayanda Dlodlo and Dr Leon Wessels. Speakers will offer reflections on Madiba's legacy in relation both to what is happening in the world today. The event will take place at the Foundation's Houghton office.

Auditor General Kimi Makwetu says government's pharmaceutical, water infrastructure and urban renewal departments face serious skills shortages as well as lack of accountability problems and funding challenges. He was tabling three performance audits. He was tabling three performance audits dealing with the managements of the pharmaceuticals, water infrastructure and urban renewal projects.

The Fatuous State of Severity is a collection of short stories written by Phumani Pikoli. The book is full of diverse stories that vary from the very relatable experiences of young black millennials, to the profoundly absurd and jarring. The self-published work will be the author's debut. Phumlani is a former multimedia journalist, playwright aspiring filmmaker

A massive HIV vaccine trial is under way after the first participant was injected with the HVTN702 vaccine at Verulam north of Durban. The trial is also being formally launched at sites at Soshanguve and on the Cape Flats, but it' s not clear if injections will begin at the other two sites. Trials will be run over the next three years in the world's latest attempt to find a vaccine for HIV. More t...

The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, PRASA has told parliament that it has spent 108 million rand on a forensic investigation into 102 contracts the entity entered into in the past five years. The state owned company was appearing before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts over irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure of 14 billion rand.

President Jacob Zuma will not be recalled. ANC Secretary General Gwede Mantashe made the announcement at Luthuli House, Johannesburg, today. This follows an extended NEC meeting in Irene, Pretoria, during which a motion of no-confidence in President Zuma was introduced. Mantashe says party veterans, who have been critical of President Jacob Zuma's leadership in recent weeks, have committed to work...

The Msukaligwa local municipality in Ermelo Mpumalanga has fired two hundred (200) workers for embarking on an illegal strike. This, after workers from the South African Municipal Workers Union ( SAMWU) downed tools last week and locked the entrance to the municipal offices.

National Director of Public Prosecutions Shaun Abrahams has handed in his representations to President Jacob Zuma, arguing why he should not be suspended. This after President Jacob Zuma instructed Shaun abrahams to provide reasons why he should not be suspended. Zuma wrote to Abrahams and NPA directors, Sibongile Mzinyathi and Torie Pretorius two weeks ago, asking them why they should not be susp...

Local and foreign media are camped outside a hotel in Irene, south of Pretoria, where the ANC's National Executive Committee is discussing a request by Tourism minister Derek Hanekom for President Jacob Zuma to resign. ANC spokesperson Zizi Kodwa has told journalists that the meeting will go on until late. Three cabinet members are reportedly supporting Hanekom's motion.

The Monetary Policy Committee of the Reserve Bank has left the repo rate unchanged at seven percent - meaning that the prime lending rate remains at ten point five percent. Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kaganyago has cited concerns about the increase in consumer inflation - but he says the central bank also has to take weak economic growth into account. The move was widely expected by economists.

COSATU has resolved to support and lobby for Cyril Ramaphosa as the next ANC president. This is one of the resolutions of the labour federation's Central Executive Committee meeting. COSATU says Ramaphosa is best placed in a position to unite the ANC. COSATU's general-secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali briefed the media in Johannesburg following the meeting.

COSATU has resolved to support and lobby for Cyril Ramaphosa as the next ANC president. This is one of the resolutions of the labour federation's Central Executive Committee meeting. COSATU says Ramaphosa is best placed in a position to unite the ANC. COSATU's general-secretary Bheki Ntshalintshali briefed the media in Johannesburg following the meeting.

NPA head, Shaun Abrahams and his two colleagues, Torie Pretorius and Sibongile Mzinyathi are the heart of the NPA and cannot be removed on untested allegations. Advocate Hilton Epstein has told the high court in Pretoria that Abrahams cannot be fired based on a perception that he may charge Finance Minister, Pravin Gordhan again. The Hellen Suzman Foundation and Freedom Under Law want President Ja...

Police say they cannot, at this stage, confirm that the body found in Buccleuh, North of Johannesburg is of a three year old Everite Chauke. Chauke went missing two weeks ago during the flash floods in Johannesburg. Emergency services officials have been searching for her body and had yesterday extended the search to parts of Hartebeespoort.