Update@Noon

The Public Works Department says it has completed most of the disciplinary hearings against employees implicated in the Beitbridge border fence scandal. This comes after Special Tribunal ordered contractors involved in the R40 million project to pay back their profits earned from the costly development to the department. The fence was put up as part of the COVID-19 emergency procurement in 2020, h...

According to Statistics SA; South Africa's gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 1,2% in the fourth quarter of 2021. The personal services industry increased by 2,7%, contributing 0,4 of a percentage point to GDP growth. Increased economic activities were also reported for community and other producers. The manufacturing industry increased by 2,8% in the fourth quarter, contributing 0,3 of a p...

The Special Tribunal is today hearing the joinder application in the Digital Vibes cases. The respondents are opposing the application and have filed their Heads of Argument as per the outcomes of several case management meetings preceding the hearing of the joinder application. However, the SIU is said to have obtained evidence showing that the R150-million tender was awarded to Digital Vibes unl...

Calm has been restored in Alexandra, north of Johannesburg, after some residents blocked roads with rubble and burning tyres.  The residents were calling for a total shutdown of the township following tensions yesterday between Dudula movement members and foreign national traders. Major General Max Masha says they have deployed more officers to control law and order in the area. Sakina Kamwen...

The Independent Communications Authority (Icasa) has today begun the auctioning of the International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT), also referred to as high demand spectrum. Six telecommunication operators including Telkom, Vodacom, MTN, Cell C, Liquid and Rain are participating in the auction. This as Telkom has asked the high court in Pretoria to impose a "structural or supervisory" interdict...

ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa is in Mpumalanga on Tuesday in a bid to quell widening tensions within the ANC structures ahead of the much anticipated provincial elective conference. However the conference has been postponed to a later date and not this coming weekend as was initially scheduled. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to our SABC politics reporter, Abongile Dumako...

An organisation representing students and staff across South Africa will approach the Constitutional Court should institutions of higher learning not urgently abandon their COVID -19 vaccine mandates by Tuesday. The organisation, Universities Alliance South Africa,  is against the vaccine mandates, which have been adopted by several institutions. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to Stephen May, Universi...

Parents supported by activists are taking the Eastern Cape Department of Education to court for its failure to deliver books and stationery to over 3,000 schools in the province. The Khula Development Project is an organisation based in Peddie, which, along with concerned parents and some teachers, want the court to declare the department's inaction unlawful. Flo Letoaba spoke to Petrus Majola, Di...

Western foreign ministers are gathering in Brussels to assess their response to the war in Ukraine. Earlier the International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA said essential equipment at Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was unaffected and there is no change in radiation levels after a fire. The IAEA's statement followed assurances from Ukrainian regulatory authorities. Flo Letoaba spoke to Rome...

Removing carbon from the world is the greatest ever investment opportunity of our lifetime, according to our platinum miner Sibanye. Zimbabwe has stolen a march on South Africa by awarding a 185 MW solar power licence to South Africa-linked platinum miner Zimplats. Fears are being allayed that the Russia-Ukraine conflict will negatively impact South Africa's mining industry. Flo Letoaba presets an...

A Pietermaritzburg primary school teacher is accused of raping a 12-year-old Grade 6 learner. He appeared at the Pietermaritzburg Magistrates court on Friday. Flo Letoaba spoke to SABC reporter Vusi Makhosini. 

Several licensing centers in Gauteng have reportedly shut their operations after two weeks of protest action organised by the National Driving School Association of SA against the online booking system. Protests have flared up due to recent changes made by the Gauteng Provincial Government to driver's license and testing booking system which blocks third parties from booking services on behalf of...

The National Lotteries Commission has raised concerns over what it calls 'several inconsistencies' in the Special Investigation Unit's (SIU) presentation to parliament. The SIU presented its report with allegations of maladministration, fraud, and corruption at the NLC to Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Trade, Industry and  Competition on Wednesday. A probe by the Special Investigating Un...

Pietermaritzburg High Court Judge Isaac Madondo has dismissed with costs the application for a declaratory order made by the wife of the late AmaZulu King - Queen Sibongile Zulu - about what she is entitled to in the will. Queen Sibongile had claimed half the king's estate based on the fact that they were married in a civil union and in community of property in 1969. She and her two daughters were...

The third part of the state capture commission of inquiry's report has been handed over to President Cyril Ramaphosa and made public. The report reveals that senior ruling party officials received illicit payments from Bosasa. These include Mineral and Energy Affairs minister Gwede Mantashe, and Nomvula Mokonyane, the former water minister. Witnesses previously testified before the Zondo Commissio...

Trade union Solidarity has drafted a parliamentary petition to pressure the government to deregulate the petrol price and to lower fuel prices. According to Solidarity, the government has a stranglehold on fuel prices which must be broken. In its petition Solidarity demands that the determination of fuel prices be left entirely to the market so that healthy competition can prevail for the benefit...

The Foreign Press Association Africa, has criticised western media's ‘skewed’ coverage of the war in Ukraine. The association faulted western media's narrative suggesting it was unthinkable to witness violence in white-dominated countries. Flo Letoaba spoke to the chairman of the Foreign Press Association Africa Kennedy Wandera 

The South African Police Service (SAPS) has also bid farewell to Captain Kay Makhubele who retired after 37 years of service. Captain Makhubele also served as the spokesperson for the police here in Gauteng. He has been lauded for his dedication and excellent service to the police service and the community. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to him.  

The Johannesburg Metro Police Department (JMPD) has hailed Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar as a diligent servant, as he retired from office after after 41 years of Service. Sakina Kamwendo had a chat with him. 

South Africa risks becoming a failed state if the "lack of decisive, ethical, and courageous leadership" persists and no action is taken to bolster economic growth and address high levels of poverty, unemployment and inequality. This is according to  the Institute of Risk Management South Africa. The institute says it is now particularly important for the government and private sector leaders...

Public sector trade unions have lost their battle to force government to honour a wage agreement reached in 2018. The Constitutional Court has on Monday dismissed the bid by the unions, ruling that that the agreement was invalid and enforceable. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to General Secretary of the National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (NEHAWU), Zola Saphetha.   

Sakina Kamwendo in conversation with the Head of Public Diplomacy at the South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation, Clayson Monyela, as thousands of people in Ukraine evacuate to neighbouring countries following the Russian invasion.  

South Africa’s biggest iron-ore miner is to deploy new technology that turns mine waste into wealth. Platinum miners are on the cusp of a big breakthrough into the use of platinum group metals in batteries. South Africa’s biggest miner, Anglo American, has produced its best-ever financial results. Sakina Kamwendo presents another Update From The Coal-Face with Martin Creamer, publishin...

Truck drivers affiliated to the All Truck Drivers Forum and Allied South Africa will be embarking on a nationwide shutdown this weekend, with several demands, including that all foreign national truck drivers be removed from the freight industry. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to secretary-general of the All Truck Drivers Forum and Allied South Africa,  Sifiso Nyathi and Road Freight Association chief...

Hundreds of Ukrainians have arrived by train in Poland after fleeing a Russian assault on the country. Poland has set up nine reception points for Ukrainians crossing the border - where they can receive food, medical assistance, and information. A number of countries have imposed sanctions on Russia. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to Romeo Kokriatski,  Managing Editor of The New Voice of Ukraine and C...