Update@Noon

Zingiswa Losi speaks about her appointment as Cosatu's 1st female president and the way forward

The South African Communist Party (SACP) has described COSATU's 13th national congress as a success and says the election of Zingiswa Losi as the first female president of the trade union federation is a progressive step. COSATU has been meeting over the past four days to elect new leadership and to reflect on its direction. The SACP's First Deputy General-Secretary Solly Mapaila says the congress...

The DA in the Eastern Cape says it has resigned itself to being an opposition party after its application seeking to nullify the council meeting which ousted its member Athol Trollip as mayor, was dismissed by the high court in Port Elizabeth. The party says it will not be appealing the decision unless the national office decides otherwise. The DA took to court claiming that last month’s meeting,...

Senior UN officials have warned that there are legitimate questions and concerns about the commitment of the parties to peace agreement signed by the leaders of South Sudan less than a week ago. A previous deal, signed in 2015, fell apart and fighting between government forces and rebels have killed at least 50 000 people and displaced 2 million. The UN's Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping p...

Nedbank CEO, Mike Brown, says the bank decision to end its business relations with the Gupta family was motivated by the family’s continued negative media reporting about its activities. Brown is testifying at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture led by Deputy Chief Justice, Raymond Zondo. Brown has told the commission that he did not feel pressured by the ANC to re-open the Gupta’s busine...

Confusion persists as two factions of trade union SAMWU continue to butt heads. Simon Mathe who claims to be the genuine General-Secretary of the union, says they have been meeting with COSATU leadership to ensure unity but this has been disputed by a group led by Chebeitsine Mokoto who says Mathe and his group refused to go to a mediated meeting earlier this week.

Trade union NEHAWU says the new COSATU president Zingiswa Losi, together with her new leadership should focus on economic growth and job creation as a matter of urgency. The union’s General-Secretary, Zola Saphethe, who is attending the trade union federation’s 13th congress in Midrand, north of Johannesburg, says Losi will help to unite COSATU. The union, it is understood, had nominated a second...

The Eastern Cape Transport Department says it is awaiting treasury to confirm whether it will comply with a request for an increased budget for scholar transport in the province. It says it only received part of what they requested last year. Members of taxi association SANTACO have shut down main roads in the areas of Port Elizabeth, East London, King William’s Town and Uitenhage, demanding an in...

FNB's former Chief Executive testifies before State Capture Inquiry

The Constitutional Court has ruled that the private use of cannabis is decriminalized. In a unanimous landmark judgment the court found that the private use of cannabis is a constitutional right and that it can be cultivated in a private space for private consumption. Last year the Western Cape High Court found certain sections of the Drugs Act and the Medicines Act which criminalised the use and...

COSATU speaks of a stronger united tripartite alliance

Labour union, BEMAWU is considering taking legal action against the SABC - after the public broadcaster confirmed that it will embark on a process to retrench hundreds of workers. The Communications Workers Union is also rejecting any retrenchments.

The government of Zimbabwe has declared a state of emergency in the capital Harare after 20 people died from cholera. There are fears of this outbreak infiltrating South Africa. The Limpopo Health Department is currently working contingency plans to deal this with the outbreak if it enters the country.

The Congress of South African Students (COSAS) marches to the Union Buildings and the national offices of the Education Department in Pretoria to protest over the lack of proper infrastructure such as ablution facilities and the number of schools available for learners. The organisation has called on all learners to stay away from school but the department says learners should remain in class

Learners and teachers could not control their emotions during the morning devotion session at Ramotshere High School in North-West. 24-year-old Gadimang Mokolobate, a teacher from Ramatlabama village in Mahikeng, was stabbed to death allegedly by a 17-year-old learner yesterday while he was invigilating.

The widow of the late fomer Secretary-General Kofi Annan, Nane Maria Annan has paid tribute to him today during his state funeral service which is being held at the Accra International Conference Centre in Ghana. Annan passed away last month at the age of 80 after a short illness. His body lay in state for two days where the public paid its last respect. His wife's message was read by one of the m...

Home Affairs minister, Malusi Gigaba, is expected to appear before Parliament's inquiry into the naturalisation of the Gupta family today. The chairperson of Parliament's Home Affairs inquiry, Hlomani Chauke, says it has been brought to his attention that a witness in this matter, Ashu Chawla, is out of the country. The committee is in its second phase of the inquiry, to clear up some questions it...

Four babies died last week at Christiana Hospital in the North West during a night shift allegedly due to a shortage of oxygen. Fortunately the fifth baby was transported to a hospital in Klerksdorp and survived. A few staff members have allegedly been suspended or had their employment terminated after raising alarm about the tragedy. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to a whitsleblower.

Ratings agency Moody's says due to the country's stable outlook, there is little chance of credit rating downgrade later this year. The rating agency is hosting its Sub-Saharan Africa summit in Sandton, Johannesburg and it is the only ratings agency still holding South Africa above junk status. Responding to questions from the media, Moody's Senior Credit Officer Lucie Villa cautioned that a commi...

Chairperson of the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo says the Gupta brothers have no lawful reason to fear prosecution and ultimately refuse to personally appear before the commission. Zondo was giving judgement on applications brought forward by the brothers for leave to cross examine witnesses that had implicated them in allegations state capture, corru...

According to MTN, the Nigerian Attorney General's office exceeded its powers when it demanded the cellphone network giant pay about $2bn (R30.2bn at current exchange rates) in back taxes. MTN Group has been rocked twice in the past two weeks in its biggest market, with the central bank and the attorney general accusing it of illegally repatriating funds and failing to pay the back taxes, making co...

The Human Rights Commission is holding an inquiry following allegations of the sale of fake and expired goods at shops operated by foreign nationals. The allegations led to incidents of looting and unrest in Soweto and surrounding townships. The commission says after assessing reports and conducting site visits to the affected areas it has decided to hold a two-day inquiry.

Home Affairs Parliament Committee members have questioned the authenticity of the e-mails and how Rudie Heyneke from Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse, (OUTA) gained access to them. Heyneke testified that e-mail evidence shows that Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba had a close relationship with the Gupta Family. The Committee is currently holding it second phase of a inquiry into the naturalisation...

Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi has established a team to investigate the death of two learners at the Kumalo Primary School in Katlehong on the east rand. The siblings had earlier complained of stomach cramps and nausea. The grade one and grade four learners were rushed to hospital by their teachers but were certified dead on arrival. An educator who went to the pair's home to report their d...

Water restrictions in Cape Town are set to be lowered from level 6b to level 5 from next month. This means residents are now limited to using 70 litres of water per person per day, instead of 50. Capetonians are also set to pay less for municipal water. Mlamli Maneli reports.