Update@Noon

Eastern Cape Health MEC Sindiswa Gomba is answering questions before the Special Tribunal today. This follows allegations of financial irregularities involving her department's controversial R10 million scooter project. The Special Investigative Unit (SIU) alleges that the contract was "awarded in an unusual and unexplained haste". We spoke to Adv. Selby Makgotho- Spokesperson for the Special Trib...

SA Express employees are bidding to buy the state-owned airline in an attempt to save jobs and to prevent the carrier's final liquidation. A bid for the airline's assets would be backed by private investors and Fly SAX, with the employees as the owner. Last week the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria granted an extension for SA Express's final liquidation to the 28th of October. Fly SAX Spokespe...

Former Prasa security guards are demanding their jobs back. This follows the appointment & insourcing of 3 100 PRASA security personnel as part of the plan. A protest ensued just before the launch of the Ministerial Security Plan started by Minister of Transport, Fikile Mbalula. Angry security guards say PRASA needs to respect the court order which says service providers must go back work. We spok...

Eskom has submitted a R5.4 billion supplementary tariff application to energy regulator Nersa, and for the first time it has also included interest – to the tune of R1.3 billion – in the application. This is over and above the R27 billion application Eskom made for its Regulatory Clearing Account. Eskom won a court case against Nersa after the regulator unlawfully and irrationally truncated Eskom'...

The Health Department says it will take legal action against funeral undertakers who contravene the law as undertakers started a three-day strike action yesterday. Government mortuaries are starting to take strain as the strike gains momentum. Undertakers are currently protesting over their working conditions and remuneration. They are also demanding the out-sourcing of mortuary facilities. The st...

More than 3000 funeral industry employees are on strike, saying all members of 17 black funeral associations and forums are non-operational in all provinces from today. This after they and the National Health Department failed to reach an agreement on the outsourcing of mortuary facilities owned by black funeral undertakers to be recognized and legalized amid the Covid-19 lockdown. We crossed live...

Economists and transport experts warn that cable theft and vandalism of Metrorail's commuter rail network is economic sabotage. Stations are bricked up, hacked-off cables dangle over the lines, and the tracks are just open land for people 's makeshift homes. Just seven of Metrorail's 34 commuter lines are currently operating countrywide with only reduced services. As The Passenger Rail Agency of S...

The current decline of Growth Domestic Product (GDP) is at 17.1% instead of the 51% proclaimed by Stats SA. That's according to an economist, Dr. Roelof Botha, who is an economic advisor at Optimum Investment Group. Botha has lambasted Stats SA and says the figure given by Stats SA is woefully misleading, and is not reflective of the state of the economy at all. He spokes to us.

Tributes continue to pour in for Human Rights Lawyer Advocate George Bizos who passed on yesterday. George Bizos, died at the age of 92 in Johannesburg. From a teenager forced to flee war in Greece, Bizos became a South African lawyer of international standing. Let me take you down memory lane when I hosted him on the 16th of March 2018 on the Forum at 8 .

South Africa is now ranking 90th out of 162 in the Economic Freedom of the World annual report of 2020. An improvement from previous years. In 2000 South Africa ranked 58th. Free Market Foundation has just released the report. Leon Louw, CEO, Free Market Foundation says South Africa can achieve more economic freedom if it wants to and is serious about it....he spoke to us.

City Power claims that only 4% of residents are paying for electricity in Alexandra. The utility has been in the township since morning with police, the JMPD and SANDF members to clamp down on illegal connections which cost around R2 billion per year. Our reporter Maageketla Mohlabe gave us the latest update.

Santaco's chief strategic manager - Bafana Magagula says fighting over positions and money are the main reasons for the cause of fights in many associations. He is currently giving testimony at the Commission of Inquiry into Taxi Violence. The president of the South African National Taxi Council (Santaco) Phillip Taaibosch told the commission that taxi violence is the worst in Gauteng, with confli...

Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs minister, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, says the Covid-19 pandemic will most likely lead to more local government entities to become unavailable. She is today addressing the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) on the challenges and opportunities in local government. Our reporter Zalene Merrington gave us an update.

Clicks Group CEO Vikesh Ramsunder responds to the whole hair advert saying that he was deeply disappointed that the company allowed insensitive and offensive images to be published on its website.

The Passenger rail Agency South Africa (PRASA) says they are experiencing unprecedented levels of vandalism across all regional Metrorail and Shosholoza Meyl services resulting in massive disruption to services. In Gauteng alone, over 672,000 daily train commuters are left stranded by the collapse of train services, while 1,833 incidents of train stations have been vandalised over the past three y...

John Moodey has resigned as leader of the DA in Gauteng and as member of the party. Moodey has been a member of the party since 1998. He joins a string of prominent members who have left the DA since last October. Former city of Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba and former party leader, Mmusi Maimane led the exodus from the party. Moodey says he cannot be part of an organization which is comfortab...

Rostec Techinal College (High School) students in Gauteng are up in arms after the received notice from the institution that an additional amount of R2700 needs to be paid for them write their final exams and to pay for the invigilator. Most students fees are allegedly already in arrears. The students say school management informed them that they will need to be that additional R2700 to pay for th...

Large amounts of copper cables belonging to the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (PRASA) has been recovered at New Canada rail station, West of Johannesburg. Early this month we reported about criminals continuing to targeting Gauteng rail infrastructure stripping it bare. Metal railway lines, overhead cables, and other items are being taken from local stations and lines. Vandalism of the net...

Mayhem has erupted in Eldorado Park, where residents clashed with police and several police cars were torched. This follows the death of a teen with a disability was allegedly shot by the police yesterday. The teen has since been identified as Nathaniel Julius and his family says they want justice for his death. Our reporter Wisani Makhubele gave us an update and we also spoke to Eldorado Park War...

Government has allegedly revoked permission for powerships to provide electricity to South Africa. The Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries (DEFF) says it has revoked directive granted to Karpowership for activities linked to the emergency generation of electricity. The department verbally approved the request on 26 June 2020. Following receipt of confirmation that all environmental r...

SABC Reporter Samkele Maseko interviews ANC'S Deputy Secretary General Jessie Duarte about the outcomes of the ANC's national working committee meeting and other issues affecting the party currently.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has "strongly reprimanded" finance minister Tito Mboweni for his tweets at the weekend criticizing the removal of Zambian Central Bank governor Denny Kalyalya by President Edgar Lungu. Reacting to the news, Mboweni criticized the move and threatened to "mobilize" if not given reasons why Kalyalya had been fired, saying "hell was on its way. We spoke to Dr. Somadoda Fikeni...

The Special Tribunal of South Africa has granted an urgent order freezing R38, 7 million held in the bank accounts of 40 Gauteng-based companies involved in the implementation of the contract for the supply and delivery of various Covid-19 Personal Protection Equipment. We spoke to Selby Makgotho, spokesperson for the Special Tribunal of South Africa…

Afriforum's s Private Prosecution Unit has brought a mandamus application against Justice Minister Ronald Lamola to force the Department of Justice to take steps to facilitate mutual legal assistance in the money-laundering & fraud case in which Bridgette Motsepe-Radebe is implicated. Afriforum also gave an update on the Rwanda and the Grace Mugabe cases. Advocate Gerrie Nel says the department of...

Former eThekwini mayor Zandile Gumede has been sworn in as an ANC MPL in the KwaZulu-Natal provincial legislature in Pietermaritzburg despite her ongoing corruption case. This comes months after she was demoted to be an ordinary councillor in eThekwini. Her appointment comes after the corruption case against her and several co-accused was postponed to September. She appeared in the Durban Commerci...