Update@Noon

KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC - Nomagugu Simelane - has advised against the closure of schools affected by the rapid spread of hand-foot-and-mouth disease in the province. The numbers of affected learners has now risen to 195 cases schools based in the North of Durban but cases have also been reported in Ugu and the King Cetshwayo disctrict. Simelane says 146 cases have been recorded in the Ethekwini m...

The National Department of Health has told the South African Human Rights Commission's Inquiry into the Impact of Load Reduction on Human Rights, that interventions have been implemented to address the short, medium and long-term effects of power cuts. Speaking at the inquiry, the Department's, Christoffel Engelbrecht highlighted efforts to exempt key hospitals from load shedding and load reductio...

The unemployment rate has decreased to 31.9 percentage points in the fourth quarter, a 0.2 percentage drop from 32.1 percent in the third quarter.  This was announced by Stastician-General, Risenga Maluleke a short while ago from Pretoria in Tshwane. This becomes the second decease in unemployement since the third quarter of the year 2023. Maluleke explains. Jon Gericke spoke to Mphahlele Ndl...

Eskom has threatened to shut down the City of Ekurhuleni due to unpaid debt. The power utility says it's about to extend power cuts due to unpaid electricity bills. According to Eskom, the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality currently owes over R2.3 billion, excluding its current account of a further R1.5 billion, which will become due on the 7th March 2025. Eskom says it has tried all avenues to...

The murder case involving a widow to a Metro police officer in Ekurhuleni, Banele Sikhosana has been postponed to Friday for further investigations. The wife of the officer, Sibongile Dlamini is alleged to have arranged a hit on her husband, who was shot dead in cold blood on Vilakazi Street in Kwa-Thema, Ekurhuleni, during the early hours of February the 7th. Two suspects stole the officer's fire...

Several roads are impassable due to localised flooding in some parts of Limpopo. It's been raining for a few days in the northern parts of the province and the most affected are rural areas in the Vhembe and Mopani districts. The Punda Maria road between Louis Trichardt and Thohoyandou has also been  severly affected. Some low-lying bridges have been washed away, while some have been badly er...

Several roads are impassable due to localised flooding in some parts of Limpopo. It's been raining for a few days in the northern parts of the province and the most affected are rural areas in the Vhembe and Mopani districts. The Punda Maria road between Louis Trichardt and Thohoyandou has also been  severely affected. Some low-lying bridges have been washed away, while some have been badly e...

The South African Union of Students has reiterated its call for government to address the disparity between the high number of matriculants who qualify for university degrees and the low number of spaces available at university level. The union's calls comes as the minister of Higher Education, Dr Nobuhle Nkabane, is is today beginning her oversight visit to the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Univers...

Mpumalanga Association of Student Accommodation is terminating over 100 students contracts and chasing them out of their residents over non payment by NSFAS since last year. Administration challenges have left many students without a place to stay. MASA which consist of about 150 landlords and provides over 3,5 thousands beds students from University of Mpumalanga, TVETs, and Tshwane University of...

This Friday, SAfm’s radio anchor Sakina Kamwendo once again spoke to Martin Creamer, publishing editor of Engineering  News &  Mining Weekly.  

The City of Johannesburg has announced the indefinite suspension of the Rea Vaya feeder bus services in Soweto, amid safety concerns. This follows a tense standoff yesterday, where taxi patrol vehicles allegedly swarmed Thokoza Park station, demanding 45 Rea Vaya buses halt operations. Two weeks ago, two Rea Vaya drivers were gunned down in the township. Now, with commuters caught in the crossfire...

Sassa beneficiaries, especially for elderly and disabled have raise concerns about long queues in their quest to replace their Gold cards. In Golden Acre, central Cape there has been snakey long queues as beneficiaries try to beat the deadline for the migration from the SASSA Gold Cards to the Postbank Black Cards. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to SABC reporter Mbali Tyhomfa and Post Bank spokesperso...

The families of fourteen South African soldiers who lost their lives in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) are set to receive the remains of their loved ones today. The South African government has vowed that the 14 SANDF members who died in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo will be given decent send-off. The soldiers were fatally caught in the crossfire two weeks ago during clashes bet...

President Cyril Ramaphosa is responding to the debate of his State of the Nation Address, which was delivered last week on Thursday. This comes after two days of heated debate by various political parties in parliament. One of the top issues that have centered the debate is the recent tensions between the White House in the United States of America and the Union Building in Pretoria. Another thorn...

Water utility Rand Water, says its systems are dropping fast as a result of extremely high-water consumption from customers in Gauteng. It says there is high levels of water consumption by the Cities of Johannesburg and Tshwane. The utility says it continues to supply at maximum capacity; however, the storage is declining rapidly owing to high-water consumption. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to Rand Water...

The Special Investigating Unit says an investigation into procurement fraud at Eskom has revealed that thousands of the Power Utility's workers have over the years failed to comply with the company's conflict of interest policy. Addressing Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts, SIU officials say Eskom employees are linked to numerous entities serving as Eskom's vendors, contractor's a...

The Johannesburg Stock exchange is encouraging South Africans to check whether they may be eligible to claim dividends which currently stand at approximately four-point-five Billion rands. This as over 300-thousand South Africans are eligible to claim dividends from Companies such as Old Mutual, Sasol and Naspers.  Sakina Kamwendo spoke to the Director of Marketing and Corporate Affairs at th...

A devastating incident has shaken the community of Siyabuswa in Mpumalanga, where a three-year-old child was allegedly raped by a local shop owner. The incident occurred a week ago, while the child was with their father and the accused. The child has since complained that her private part is painful and her mother can't even help her to bath. According to reports, the suspect confessed to the chil...

The ANC in the North West says it is considering a proposal to do away with the  Ditsobotla Municipality by incorporating to nearby municipalities in the province. This is a resolution of the party which came out from its recent local government summit. The party says this it hoped to implement after next year's local government elections, provided that the last intervention at the municipali...

Cape Town businessman and alleged underworld gang boss, Nafiz Modack  accused of the murder of a top police detective Charl Kinnear has taken a stand to testify at the trial taking place in the Cape Town High Court.  He's started by giving a background of his alleged involvement in the property and security business now alleged to be  part of Cape Town underworld. Mlamli Maneli repo...

Some university students; including those at Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) students are reported to be struggling with various financial aid from the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), including for accommodation. Hundreds of students  at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) are said to be sleeping in a student centre, hallways and even outside due t...

The South African Social Security Agency and Postbank are appealing to grant beneficiaries to replace their SASSA Gold Cards with the new Postbank Black Cards by the end of this month. Should the beneficiaries fail to get the new card before the deadline, they will be unable to access their SASSA grant payments. After the deadline, Gold Cards will no longer be functional for any transactions. SASS...

The Deputy Minister of Correctional Services, Lindiwe Ntshalintshali says the department has fully complied with the Public Protector's remedial actions or directives. This included a mandate to develop an escape prevention strategy and guidelines within 90 days, along with ensuring compliance with Section 95(3) of the Correctional Services Act. Ntsalintshali says the department submitted key docu...

The South African Human Rights Commission's Eastern Cape Provincial Office has unveiled its latest investigation report on school sanitation. The report evaluates the government's adherence to its obligations in ensuring safe and dignified sanitation for learners. The Commission initiated this investigation independently, focusing on the suitability of ventilated improved pit (VIP) toilets in prim...

It is still unclear as to how many suspected illegal miners remain trapped underground at a disused mine shaft in Roodepoort, Johannesburg. This as search and rescue operations resumed today at Shaft 2 of the Rand Leases Mine. Police and emergency personnel are currently on site. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to Johannesburg Emergency Services spokesperson, Robert Mulaudzi...