Update@Noon

Unit 2 of the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station will be taken offline from Monday for regular refueling and maintenance that is scheduled for five months. This will be the 25th refueling outage on Unit two since commissioning and will also see the replacement of the unit's three steam generators. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to Chief Nuclear Officer at Eskom Riedewaan Bakardien

On Tuesday, South Africa will launch a R75-billion project aimed at combating climate change. Countries that transition to clean energy are more likely to attract foreign direct investment. South Africa did very well at COP26 and now is the time to deploy the $8.5-billion concessional finance. Martin Creamer is publishing editor of Engineering News and Mining Weekly . He’ll be back At The Co...

Gauteng police have launched a manhunt after six inmates escaped while being transported to court in  Vosloorus on the East Rand.. Police spokesperson Brenda Muridili says the police truck transporting the prisoners was ambushed by three armed men driving a silver vehicle at the corner of Barry Marais and Rondebult streets. She says the suspects face charges of business robbery, attempted mur...

The Gauteng Department of Education says it has dispatched it's psycho-social team to the Lesiba Secondary School in Daveyton, east of Johannesburg. This is to conduct counselling after two learners died on Wednesday. It's believed a grade 10 learner allegedly shot dead another learner before taking his own life. Police are investigating the incident. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to Gauteng education MEC...

The High Court in Pretoria has declared the AARTO Amendment Act, on which the planned demerit system for traffic offences is based, unconstitutional and invalid. The court delivered the ruling a short while ago. This after the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) challenged the constitutional validity of the Act. In October last year the organisation asked the court to declare both the main Act a...

The death toll in a head-on collision between a minibus and another vehicle on the N1 near Mookgophong in Limpopo, has risen to 17. Transport Department spokesperson Mike Maringa says five more bodies have been discovered inside the burnt bus. Eleven bodies were recovered on Tuesday night. The driver of the other vehicle is among those killed. Eight other people who were passengers on the minibus...

Pietermaritzburg High Court Judge Isaac Madondo has dismissed an application by the first wife and widow of  AmaZulu King Goodwill Zwelithini to amend her founding affidavit. Queen Sibongile Dlamini-Zulu and her two daughters Princesses Ntandoyenkosi Zulu and Ntombizosuthu Zulu-Duma are challenging the validity of his will. Yesterday, Queen Sibingile Zulu's legal team, led by Advocate Nigel R...

The Competition Commission has asked schools and parents to report suppliers who appear to unfairly price school uniforms. Schools are also no longer allowed to force parents to buy uniforms from specific suppliers. The commission says schools should appoint more than one supplier to give parents more options. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to Competition Commission's Head of Communications Sipho Mgwema

 Minister of Transport Fikile Mbalula has unveiled a once-off relief fund to the value of 1.135 billion rand allocated for the benefit of the taxi industry. Mbalula says the Relief Funding is intended to mitigate the negative financial impact of Covid-19 on the taxi industry, without compensating for the loss of income, but rather based on the principle of an ex gratia payment. The minister s...

The case of a 36-year-old man who was arrested for allegedly breaking windows at the Constitutional Court in Braamfontein, Johannesburg, has been postponed to March the 25th. The suspect was arrested on Wednesday after he was caught smashing the windows of the highest court in the land with a hammer. Meanwhile,the case against two suspects accused of kidnapping an 11 year old from her school in Ma...

The City of Cape Town has found that the sprinkler at the National Assembly was last serviced in 2017. It has just  released a report on the fire that engulfed Parliament. The City says the valve appeared to have been closed making it impossible to function during fire incidents. The report further reveals that the fire doors were latched open which assisted in the spread of the fire. Sakina...

The Road Traffic Infringement Agency - RTIA - says it is on track with the national roll-out of the AARTO Amendment Act. One of AARTO's key features is the Points Demerit system - expected to come into effect from the 1st of July. This will see drivers accrue demerit points for each transgression. When drivers exceed the 15 point threshold, their licenses will be suspended. However, critics of the...

The Independent Communications Authority of South Africa-ICASA has lambasted telecommunications company, TELKOM for trying to stop the much-anticipated licensing of the country's International Mobile Telecommunications spectrum which is scheduled for March this year. The licensing via auction is aimed at bringing about universal access to cheaper data and high-speed broadband connectivity in the c...

Several Zimbabwean nationals are feared dead after a makeshift boat carrying about eight of them reportedly capsized. The occupants were reportedly attempting to cross the crocodile-infested Limpopo River into South Africa. South African police say they are assisting the Zimbabwean authorities to retrieve the bodies. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to SABC reporter in Limpopo Rudzani Tshivhase.

The handing over of the National Assembly Building  by the Fire Department to the SAPS is expected to take place once the temperature of the building has cooled off, to ensure safety in entering the building for investigation. This as the DA has called for an independent forensic investigation into the fire that has destroyed several Parliamentary buildings. The roads leading to Parliament ha...

The Democratic Alliance has called on law enforcement agencies to immediately act following the release of the first of the three-part State Capture report. The DA says now the information is available, recommendations from the report can executed.  The report was officially handed over to President Cyril Ramaphosa by Acting Chief Justice, Raymond Zondo at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. Sak...

The High Court in Johannesburg has struck off the roll the application of lobby group Democracy In Action to stop President Cyril Ramaphosa from receiving the first leg of the State Capture report from Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo. It believes that it is in conflict of interest as the President was implicated in testimony before the State Capture Commission. The applicants wanted the matter...

A preliminary investigation by the National Consumer Commission (NCCC) has found that Howe Noodles did not cause the deaths of at least three children. The NCCC had earlier revealed that it was probing two noodle brands, one of them Howe Noodles, in connection with the deaths of the children. Two siblings and their cousin, from Motherwell, in the Eastern Cape, died in November 2021 after eating 2-...

The bail application of the 49-year-old man implicated in the the burning of Parliament has been postponed to Tuesday next week by the Cape Town Magistrate's Court. Chris Mafe was arrested in connection with Sunday's fire at Parliament which destroyed offices and led to the collapse of some ceilings. The Hawks say the suspect will be charged under the National Key Point Act. Flo Letoaba spoke to S...

The Economic Freedom Fighters is calling for parliament to be moved to Tshwane. The EFF says any funds allocated for repairs to what appears to be "irreversible damage" to the National Assembly building should be spent on relocating parliament to Tshwane instead. We spoke to EFF's National Chairperson, Veronica Mente..

Civil society organisation, Democracy in Action says it is heading to court on an urgent basis in a bid to stop the State Capture Commission from releasing its final report to President Cyril Ramaphosa.  Democracy in Action says Ramaphosa is conflicted as he has been implicated by some of the witnesses. Elvis Presslins spoke to Democracy in Action chairperson, Thabo Mtshweni.

As 2021 draws to a close, it is time to look into the proverbial crystal ball of South Africa's economy.  As a small open economy SA is vulnerable to volatility both at a local and global level. The new year represents another inflection point for the SA economy that have been grappling with the deadly coronavirus, rising inequality and rocketing unemployment.. Economist Prof Raymond parsons...

Political analyst, Dr Ralph Mathekga has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to release the long awaited state capture report as soon as possible after it is handed to him. This comes after United Democratic Movement leader, Bantu Holomisa criticised Ramaphosa's request to be given time to consider the report. Holomisa has also suggested that Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo present the report t...

Mourners have flocked in to the St George's Cathedral in Cape Town to view the remains of the late Anglican Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, where he is lying in state. Public viewing begin this morning and will conclude tomorrow ahead of Tutu's burial on Saturday. The 90-year-old died on Sunday morning at his home in Cape Town. The Anglican Church says Tutu wanted to be buried within a week. Tut...

Eastern Cape Police are continuing with their investigations after five family members were brutally murdered at Shisane locality outside Tsolo. Police say the family members were attacked while sleeping by gunmen. The motive for the murders is not known yet. Police spokesperson Thembinkosi Kinana says accordirng to information at their disposal, a family of five people aged between 18 and 82 year...