Update@Noon

Eskom CEO André de Ruyter, says R626 million has already been spent on diesel for the month of April. Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter says the plan is to drop load-shedding to stage 2 after the evening peak, with it possibly being lifted for the weekend after the Friday evening peak. Eskom says it had to implement stage 4 load-shedding on Tuesday after two units tripped. Speaking at a briefing up...

Convicted murderer and former police officer Rosemary Nomia Ndlovu's case has been postponed to the 25 of May .She appeared briefly at the Kempton Park Magistrates Court in the East of Johannesburg. The former cop is currently serving six life imprisonements for orchestrating hits on her family members to cash in on policies. Ndlovu appeared on two separate matters. We spoke to SABC reporter Hasin...

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the month of March has risen to 5.9% year-on-year compared with 5.7% per cent in February. That's according to newly-released Statistics South Africa figures. On a month-on-month basis, CPI was also higher in March at one per cent compared with zero-point-six per cent in February. The South African Reserve Bank has an inflation target range of three to six per ce...

South Africans fear billions of flood relief money will end up in corrupt pockets. We spoke to Political Analyst Dr Ralph Mathekga

In good news for data users, telecom regulator ICASA has proposed new regulations that will extend the expiry period for data, voice and SMS services to six months. Data bundles are usually only valid for 30 days. The regulations were gazetted at the end of last month and operators have 30 working days (until May 18th) to comment on the proposed changes. 

KZN Human Settlement  and Public Works MEC Jomo Sibiya says contrary to popular belief, there will no mismanagement of flood reflief funds. He says every cent will go towards those that have been affected by the recent floods to assist them. 

Some Zion Christian Church members say it has been difficult to celebrate three consecutive Easter holidays, without gathering at their church headquarters -- Moria -- outside Polokwane in Limpopo. Annually, scores of ZCC members descend on Moria for an Easter pilgrimage, where they are addressed by church leader, Bishop Barnabas Lekganyane. This has been the case since the Covid-19 outbreak and l...

Citizens using social media to update the world about emergencies and natural disasters 

The KwaZulu-Natal Education Department says latest reports indicate that there are now over 600 schools that have been damaged by last week's floods. The damage is estimated to be over 400  million rand. Mobile classrooms are being dispatched to affected schools. In some communities, classrooms are being used as shelters for displaced people. We speak to Nomarashiya Caluza - KZN  Provinc...

Ministers of Water Sanitation Senzo Mchunu, Transport Fikile Mbalula and Human Settlements Mammoloko Kubayi-Ngubane are visiting areas across KwaZulu-Natal today, to assess the damage of the recent floods.  These include the Tongaat Water Treatment site and the Umbilo Waste Water Treatment Works. Umgeni Water says that repairs are underway at several of their water treatment plants. More than...

Johannesburg's Power utility, City Power says its technicians are attending to the power outage in Eldorado Park, south of Johannesburg, following a fire that broke out this morning at a substation. City Power says the fire led to a trip at Orlando Switching Station in Soweto.  Mondeor, Eldorado Park, Naturena, Lenasia and surroundings are some of the areas that have been affected. Sakina Kam...

Some big companies have had to halt their operations due to the heavy rains and flooding in Durban. The Durban Chamber of Commerce has called on local and provincial government to urgently share their disaster management plan with stakeholders, saying the magnitude and the frequency of the storms were proving to be a massive risk to the growth and development of the local economy. Sakina Kamwendo...

Several NGOs and private businesses say they are working to assist residents in KwaZulu Natal, who've been displaced by the flood disaster. The floods have been classified as a provincial disaster - with over 300 people known to have died. Homes have been damaged and washed away, resulting in communities being left without basic necessities. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to SABC reporter Sashin Naidoo&nbs...

The department of home affairs says more arrests are imminent following the arrest of an immigration official at OR Tambo International Airport, east of Johannesburg, on Wednesday. The suspect is believed to be part of a syndicate, bringing in Bangladeshi nationals into South Africa illegally without relevant documents. The arrest occurred during an operation by Department of Home Affairs operatio...

 The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has been granted an application to add more companies to its legal bid to recover money which was allegedly siphoned from government's tender with Digital Vibes. The SIU had argued before the Special Tribunal that it should be allowed to recover money from six companies which had allegedly received payments from the Digital Vibes contract, amounting to R1...

President Cyril Ramaphosa is currently in Kwa Zulu Natal Province to receive an update on the damages caused by floods and the recent heavy rainfalls. The province has been declared a disaster area. Several areas have been affected by inclement weather conditions that have claimed lives of many people

Humanitarian organisation Gift of the Givers has confirmed that their teams are on the ground to assist communities who have been affected by floods in KwaZulu-Natal. The organisation has been busy with on-site assessments identifying areas of severe damage. We spoke to the Founder of the Gift of the Givers, Dr Imitiaz Sooliman...

The South African Association of Meat Importers and Exporters has called for the urgent removal of trade tariffs on all poultry products. The association fears that the increase in chicken prices will hurt poorer households. Chicken is the most affordable source of protein for the majority of households in South Africa. But, with the ever increasing prices, chicken is slowly becoming a luxury. &nb...

The South African Weather Service has issued a very serious alert for KwaZulu Natal. An orange level 9 warning is in place, with forecasters urging residents to be extra cautious as torrential rains continue to pound parts of the province. SABC Meteorologist, Phemelo Zonke gives us the update  

Sports with Jon Gericke 

The Senzo Meyiwa murder case has been postponed yet again in the High Court in Pretoria. This after the lawyer for one of the five accused Sifisokuhle Ntuli asked for the matter to stand down until the 22nd of April to allow them to further prepare for it. The matter was postponed yesterday to allow advocate Zandile Mshololo to further consult. Mshololo argued that granting the postponement was in...

 High Court in Pietermaritzburg has postponed Former President Jacob Zum High Court in Pietermaritzburg has postponed Former President Jacob Zuma's corruption trial to May 17. a's corruption trial to May 17.   Zuma's legal team has argued that the High Court in Pietermaritzburg should be slow to refuse a postponement application where the constitutional rights are implicated, unless...

A 12-year-old girl has been raped and strangled to death, allegedly by a herdsman at Bhaziya village outside Mthatha in the Eastern Cape. Emihle Tukani was one of a group of young girls and boys that undergo virginity testing at a young age to promote sexual abstinence. The victim was sent by her grandmother to fetch 10-rand from the herdsman. The grandmother was going to use the money for taxi fa...

Parenting children in the age of Social Media Parenting has never been easy. But the widespread adoption of smartphones and the rise of social media has introduced a new wrinkle to the challenges of parenthood. In fact, a majority of parents in the SA (66%) - who include those who have at least one child under the age of 18, but who may also have an adult child or children - say that parenting is...

Gauteng Premier, David Makhura, has called on citizens to refrain from taking the law into their own hands - following the unrest in Diepsloot, north of Johannesburg. Residents are calling on law enforcement to be pro-active against crime and illegal immigration. A Zimbabwean national was killed earlier this week - after Diepsloot protestors accused him of being in the country illegally.   Me...