Update@Noon

Speaker of Parliament, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula has encouraged South Africans to actively engage with this year's State Of The Nation Address proceedings. In the build up to the address by President Cyril Ramaphosa, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters, Julius Malema said he was not expecting much from President Cyril Ramaphosa's SONA. Malema was addressing students in Pietermaritzburg ahead of...

South Africa currently has about R4.5 billion in unclaimed assets, and the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) is seeking to launch a nationwide initiative to match claimants with their unclaimed monies. Following the issuance of the Financial Sector Conduct Authority's (FSCA) discussion paper in 2022, the pressing issue of unclaimed financial assets in South Africa was brought to the fore. This inc...

The inventor of the Please Call Me service, Nkosana Makate says he is relived that the Supreme Court of Appeals has ordered certain costs to be paid out by cellular network giant Vodacom over the prolonged court impasse between the two parties. Yesterday, the SCA ordered Vodacom to make a new offer to Makate over his creation of the Please Call Me Service. Initially, Vodacom offered Makate a payou...

Electricity Minister, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says nearly three-thousand megawatts that will be recovered to the Eskom grid by the end of this year, easing the levels of blackouts. Ramokgopa was conducting an oversight visit at Koeberg Nuclear Power Stattion in Cape Town. He anticipates that Eskom will not raise to higher levels the stages of load shedding. SABC reporter, Thandiswa Mawu has more.

Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts has received an update from the Department of Higher Education regarding investigations into the National Skills Fund investigation and the National Student Financial Aid Scheme. The forensic investigation was commissioned at the committee's insistence and direction, following disclaimer audit opinions from the Auditor-General for the 2019 / 2020...

The Democratic Alliance has delivered its alternative State of the Nation Address, with party leader John Steenhuisen making a presentation in Sandton, Johannesburg. Steenhuisen accused President Ramaphosa of publicly refusing to act against the Deputy President Paul Mashatile, despite alarming evidence of systemic corruption.

The ross-examination of accused number one in the Senzo Meyiwa Trial, Muzi Sibiya, has resumed in the trial-within-a-trial at the High Court in Pretoria. Sibiya and four others have been charged with the murder of the Bafana Bafana captain who was shot and killed in October 2014. The defence is challenging the admissibility of confession statements allegedly made by Sibiya and accused number two,...

Parliament says its all systems go for the 2024 State of the National Address by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday evening. Speaker of parliament, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula addressed the media a short while ago where she revealed that parliament has adopted a new set of joint rules that are designed to regulate proceedings during joint sittings of the National Assembly and the National Council o...

A group of parents and learners from Mahikeng, in the North West, have marched to the district offices of the Department of Basic Education demanding solutions to overcrowded schools. The parents say their children have not yet been placed for the 2024 academic year and are seeking assistance from authorities to ensure that every child has access to quality education. Sakina Kamwendo spoke to one...

The Khulumani Support Group has accused the Justice Department led by Minister Ronald Lamola of redirecting funds contributed by European countries for the purpose of victim redress and rehabilitation. The group says it campaigns for truth, healing, and redress for those damaged through the history of apartheid, and for the advancement of the ongoing struggles in order to create a democratic, non-...

South Africa's leading debt management company, DebtBusters, says there has been a 41% increase in the number of consumers seeking debt counselling in the South Africa. Due to the high cost of living, many South African consumers are continuing to battle to make ends meet. There has also been a rampant increase in payday loans as consumers try to supplement their salaries. SABC reporter, Matimu Kh...

Earlier in the week, ANC president, Cyril Ramaphosa sounded the alarm on potential interference by foreign intelligence agencies on the elections. This follows the party's stance and that of government on the Israeli and Palesntianian conflict. Ramaphosa says there is a strong fight back against South Africa. Ramaphosa's sentiments were also echoed by International Relations Minister, Naledi Pando...

The IEC says it all system go for the upcoming final voter registration weekend starting tomorrow. For the first time in the history of the country, the national voters' roll has surpassed the 27 million mark and the IEC hopes the number will increase by the end of this registration drive. Eligible voters can also use this weekend to update or change their details before the voter's roll is closed...

The IEC adds that beyond 14 Million young people are eligible to vote but remain not registered, especially in urban areas. Ground Work Collective says some of these young people are under the age of 30 years. For more on this, we spoke to Founder and CEO of Ground Work Collective, Mbali Ntuli...

Pretoria Moot Station Commander, Karel Swanepoel is continuing his testimony in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial at the Pretoria High Court . Swanepoel is testifying in  the trial-within-a-trial on the occurrence book at the Silverton police station where accused number one alleged that he was assaulted. SABC reporter, Pearl Magubane filed this report.

Workers at the Themba Hospital in KaBokweni, Mpumalanga have downed tools as they continue their demand for better working conditions, additional staff members and functioning equipment, among other demands. The hospital has been operating on a skeleton staff since Tuesday, forcing relatives of admitted patients to provide food for their loved ones. SABC reporter, Eric Lubisi has more. 

Management at the  University of the Witswatersrand, in Johannesburg says the smooth running of the registration process for the 2024 academic year could be attributed to institution having pro-actively addressed some of the challenges faced by students, such as funding.  In recent years, a number of universities experienced violent protests over fees. Wits received 140 000 applications for the 20...

The Dr Harry Surtie Hospital in Upington, in the Northern Cape has been plagued by complaints of poor service delivery. The air conditioning system at the hospital has reportedly been broken for some time, leading to some patients showing symptoms of heat stroke. Sources inside the hospital say there are concerns that medication will be spoiled because of the high temperature and lack of cooling i...

The International Monetary Forum revised down South Africa's economic growth, this year from a previous projection of one-point-eight to one-percent. The IMF attributes the downward revision of the country's growth to persistent logistical constraints and shortages in electricity supply.  The IMF's World Economic Outlook, further projects global economic growth to reach three-point-one percent thi...

The Tsitsikikamma community, along the Garden Route, remains in limbo over the future of some Grade 10 learners in the area. Two weeks since the re-opening of the new school year, some learners are said to be stuck at home as their parents cannot afford to pay for scholar transport to schools situated at nearby towns, which stand 70 to 80km away. Allegations are that Tsitsikamma Primary School was...

Former President Thabo Mbeki has launched a scathing attack on his successor, Jacob Zuma. He was speaking at the ANC National Executive Committee Lekgotla in Boksburg, following the NEC's decision to suspend Zuma for contravening the party's constitution. Our senior political reporter, Samkele Maseko compiled this report...

Chaotic scenes have continued at the Theresa Park High School, north of Pretoria. Parents have claimed that learners of the school attend classes only twice a week, while Grade 9s attend three times due to capacity issues. The school opened last year and is situated in the same yard as another school called Amandasig High School. The school does not have teachers available for at least three subje...

Member of Parliament, Mosebenzi Zwane has given evidence to Parliament's Powers and Privileges Committee, which is currently holding a hearing into his failure to appear in the National Assembly in May last year. At the time, Zwane had been called to apologise for undeclared benefits he received from the controversial Gupta family. Zwane says on the day in question he was attending to a family mat...

International crimes falling under the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court or ICC cannot be addressed through a passive posture or through the acceptance of continued non-co-operation of States. That was message from Prosecutor Karim Khan in his latest report to the Security Council on his office's investigations and prosecutions in relation to Council resolution 1593. This referred t...

Sixty-three of the sixty-five alleged instigators who were arrested during the 2021 unrest have made their first appearance at the Durban High Court. The suspects are facing  charges in connection with the unrest and public violence that occurred in several parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. Over 350 were killed when the unrest spread from KwaZulu-Natal to Gauteng. SABC reporter, Nonkululeko Hlop...