First Take SA

Political party Xiluva will challenge the appointment of Gauteng Crime Prevention Wardens as Traffic Officers in court. This after Justice Minister Ronald Lamola granted the wardens dubbed amaPanyaza, the same legal status as provincial traffic officers. Police experts have raised concern over the legitimacy of the 6,000 wardens appointed by Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi earlier this year. For mo...

A report by American health information provider, Healthline Media, has revealed that social isolation is one of the biggest predictors of depression, especially during the holidays season. The South African Depression and Anxiety Group (SADAG) says there are a lot of people who feel lonely over the festive season. For more on this Elvis Presslin spoke to Tracy Feinstein, Call Centre Manager at th...

Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi's crime prevention wardens have been granted peace officer status. Justice Minister Ronald Lamola has granted the wardens dubbed amaPanyaza the same legal status as provincial traffic officers. This follows fierce debates over the legitimacy of the 6,000 wardens who were appointed earlier this year to assist police. For more on this Elvis Presslin spoke to Gauteng Pr...

Border Management Authority Commissioner Michael Masiapato will host his Zimbabwean counterpart during a bilateral visit to South Africa today. The visit aims to showcase South Africa's model of administration and border management coordination. To further discuss this Elvis Presslin spoke to Border Management Authority Commissioner, Dr. Michael Masiapato

Civil society organisations have raised concern over South Africa's efforts to increase nuclear power capacity. This after Electricity Minister, Dr. Kgosientsho Ramokgopa announced a procurement process for 2500 megawatts of nuclear power to form part of additional generation capacity. Briefing the media in Pretoria yesterday Dr. Ramokgopa says the new nuclear procurement determination is in the p...

At least eight senior Eastern Cape government officials are out on bail after appearing in court on corruption charges. The suspects appeared in the Zwelitsha Magistrates' Court over a fraudulent R20-million tender for the procurement of 72 temporary classrooms and furniture. To discuss this further Elvis Presslin spoke to NPA provincial Spokesperson, Luxolo Tyali

The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) has called for an end to the discrimination against athlete Caster Semenya. Semenya has been frozen out of the sport for refusing to take medicine to lower her testosterone levels. The commission says there are still many discriminatory hurdles that intersex persons must overcome. This as the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) made a ruling on the Caster...

The lawyers of Prince Simakade Zulu say President Cyril Ramaphosa was warned not to declare King Misuzulu KaZwelithini as Isilo of the Zulu nation. This after the Pretoria High Court declared the President's certification of Misuzulu as King of AmaZulu was unlawful and invalid. Prince Simakade approached the court to challenge the legitimacy of his half-brother King Misuzulu's position. Prince Sim...

The alleged hostage situation at Gold One Mine in Springs, Johannesburg has entered its fifth day, today. More than 400 mine workers have been underground since last week. This is the workers second sit-in in three months at the mine. The miners want colleagues who were dismissed as a result of the first sit-in to be reinstated. The workers say they will not resurface until their demands are met....

Elvis Presslin takes a look at the current top African economic stories with Victor Kgomoesoana, author of  "Africa Is Open For Business" and "Africa Bounces Back". Victor is also the Executive Director for Marketing and Communication at the University of Limpopo

SASSA and Postbank say physical cash payment points and cash withdrawal of social grants inside Post Offices will be phased out from January next year. The two entities say SASSA Gold Card social grant recipients using cash payment points and Post Office branches must now use those cards at facilities that accept bank cards. For more on this Elvis Presslin spoke to Postbank Spokesperson, Dr. Bonga...

NSFAS will from next year take over the accreditation of Private Accommodation Providers as well as the accommodation of NSFAS-funded students. This is one of the agreements reached between NSFAS and institutions of higher learning in the new NSFAS Student Accommodation Pilot Project. NSFAS is calling upon all Private Accommodation Providers to apply for accreditation in order for them to be able...

Former banker Roger Jardine has launched his new political party "Change Starts Now". Jardine launched the party in his hometown of Riverlea, Johannesburg on Sunday. He says the party will contest next year's general elections as change in power is needed for South Africans to reclaim their stolen futures. For more on this Elvis Presslin spoke to Human rights and social activist, Mark Heywood who...

The National Union of Mineworkers, NUM has threatened to review its support for the ANC In next year's elections. This after government representatives failed to receive a memorandum of demands from the union. NUM members to the Union Building at the weekend to raise concerns over the Transit crisis and mass retrenchments in the mining sector. For more on this Elvis Presslin spoke to Bizzah Motuba...

Electricity Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa also says the appointment of Dan Marokane as the new Eskom CEO will restore stability to the power utility. Ramorokane replaces Andre de Ruyter who left Eskom end of March this year. Marokane has previously held positions within the group executives and group capital departments at Eskom. Meanwhile Tshepo Monaheng has been appointed as the new Group CE...

Mafube municipal workers face a bleak Christmas as the municipality is unable to pay salaries yet again. The troubled municipality in the Free State announced it will not be able to pay its workers' salaries in December and for the next two months. The municipality has reportedly been operating with an unfunded budget for the past five years. For more on this Elvis Presslin spoke to Tiisetso Mahla...

Post Bank says it wants to assure all grants recipients that all gold cards will continue to work beyond December this year. Postbank is also warning SASSA Gold Card beneficiaries to beware of false rumors doing the rounds that the SASSA cards are expiring this month. For more on this Elvis Presslin spoke to Postbank Spokesperson, Dr. Bongani Diako

Over 250 Bakubung Platinum Mine workers are still staging a sit-in underground over wages. The disgruntled miners are refusing to resurface until their demands are met. For more on this Elvis Presslin spoke to Geoffrey Moatshe, Rustenburg regional Secretary of the National Union of Mine Workers, NUM

Business 4 South Africa and Business Unity South are petitioning against the passing of the NHI Bill. This after the controversial Bill which seeks to provide universal access to quality health care for all South Africans was passed in the National Council of Provinces on Wednesday. The business organisations have vowed to formally submit a petition to President Cyril Ramaphosa for the Bill to be...

Elvis Presslin takes a look at the current top African economic stories with Victor Kgomoesoana, author of  "Africa Is Open For Business" and "Africa Bounces Back". Victor is also the Executive Director for Marketing and Communication at the University of Limpopo...

The Independent Electoral Commission says the second and final voter registration weekend will take place on the 3rd and 4th of February 2024. The IEC says it is hopeful that the second registration weekend will build on and surpass the satisfactory turn out recorded in November. The registration saw the IEC reach a record 26.8 million voters register to vote in next year's elections. For more on...

ANC general secretary Fikile Mbalula has accused party veterans of trying to de-campaign the organization. Mbalula was addressing the media at Luthuli House. He says veterans have led a charge against the liberation movement by attacking the party while its facing challenges. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to Independent political analyst Dr. Dale McKinley

The South African National Defence Force, SANDF will today hold a media briefing in Pretoria, to respond to allegations of criminal activities within the military. A four-part exposé by by civil society Open Secrets implicates rogue units of the SANDF in murder, kidnappings, torture, corruption and abuse of power among other crimes which date back to 2019. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to...

The Democratic Alliance, DA is taking legal action against expelled party member Tsepo Mhlongo for defamation. The party says action will be taken against its former members, Mbali Ntuli and Tsepo Mhlongo, for their 'defamatory' and 'false' statements on social media posts accusing the party of corruption. Mhlongo who was recently expelled from the party accused the DA for a lack of transparency a...

North West police are calling on citizens to be vigilant following a spate of robberies against locals and tourists in the province. The call follows concerns over increasing crime especially around Rustenburg. Last week criminals attacked and robbed a bus full of international tourists enroute to Sun City. To look into some safety tips for those heading to tourist destinantion sites, Elvis Pressl...