First Take SA

The Economic Freedom Fighters, EFF are taking Parliament to court to challenge the Ethics committee's punitive action against its deputy president, Floyd Shivambu. This after the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Ethics and Members' Interests found Shivambu guilty for failure to disclose payments totalling R180,000 from Sgameka Projects - a company owned by his brother, Brian Shivambu. For more on...

South Africans will be paying more at the pumps from today. This after the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy announced a fuel price hike which came into effect at midnight. Motorists will be paying more than R1 for all grades of fuel with Diesel expected to see an increase of between R1,96 to R1,93 per litre. But will the taxi industry refrain from fare increases despite rising fuel costs...

Some residents in the City of Tshwane Metro have threatened to boycott paying their municipal rates, citing poor service delivery, mainly in townships. Residents say they see no point in paying for services that they do not receive. For more on this Elvis Presslin spoke to the Chairperson of Lotus Atteridgeville Saulsville Civic Association, Tshepo Mahlangu

Police Minister Bheki Cele is challenging Parliament's Joint Committee on Ethics which found him guilty of violating its code of ethical conduct for members of Parliament. Cele was found guilty of breaching the code after yelling "shut up" at anti-crime activist Ian Cameron during a police Imbizo in Gugulethu, Cape Town last year. This after Cameron interrupted Cele's speech accusing him of failin...

October is International Spine Awareness month, while October 16th is observed annually as World Spine Day to raise awareness of spinal health. Research conducted by the World Health Organization (WHO), up to 80 percent of people will suffer from back or neck pain during their lives. Spinal disorders, such as back pain, neck pain, and disc disease are common, and they can have a profound effect on...

The Democratic Alliance has welcomed Parliamentary findings against EFF deputy President Floyd Shivambu. An Ethics Committee report found Shivambu guilty of violating the Code of Ethical Conduct and Disclosure of Members' Interests, for failure to disclose payments he allegedly received from the now-defunct VBS bank. The DA laid a complaint with the Committee in 2018 and again in 2019 when allegat...

The African National Congress and Economic Freedon Fighters in KwaZulu-Natal are calling for action to be taken against Umngeni Municipality Mayor Chris Pappas for alleged nepotism. Former DA provincial leader Sizwe Mchunu wrote to the public protector to investigate allegations that Pappas' former fiancée was given R100 000 in funding for his tourism business by the Umngeni Municipality. To furth...

Elvis Presslin discusses the current top African economic stories with Victor Kgomoeswana, 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

Former police investigator, Greg Kading says the rapper, Tupac Shakur's killer talked himself to jail. Kading was reacting to the arrest of  Duane "Keefe D" Davis, the man charged with Shakur's murder nearly three decades after the incident. The hip-hop legend was shot multiple times in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas in 1996. Davis, a former L.A Crips gang leader was indicted by a grand jury in...

Build One South Africa Leader, Mmusi Maimane has announced that he will be gunning to be President after the 2024 general elections. Maimane has promised to introduce far reaching changes in social policy to improve the lives of ordinary South Africans. At the launch of the party's election campaign in Tshwane over the weekend,  Maimane said that should his party win the elections, it will introdu...

The South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU) has welcomed the resignation of Transnet group CEO Portia Derby. According to the state owned company, Derby will be stepping down from her position at the end of October. She has been group CEO of the troubled logistics giant since 2020. Transnet has faced backlash from business - especially in the mining sector - for the inefficient l...

Water utility Rand Water is implementing water shifting as an interim measure to stabilise the low reservoir levels. Reservoir levels in Ekurhuleni, Johannesburg and Tshwane municipalities have been low for weeks, with water tankers deployed in many areas. The Water and Sanitation Minister Senzo Mchunu has encouraged water utilities to implement water shifting in Gauteng due to water supply issues...

Former South African Airways board chairperson Dudu Myeni and her co-accused are facing charges relating to the defunct Bosasa. Myeni and former Sondolo IT director, Trevor Mathenjwa were arrested on Friday and made a brief appearance in the Richards Bay Magistrate's Court on fraud and corruption charges. The pair were granted R10 000 bail each. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to Sindisiwe...

The Economic Freedom Fighters in the Western Cape will be protesting against the impoundment of taxis by local authorities in the province. The party is calling for the release of impounded taxis. The City of Cape Town and the South African National Taxi Council, Santaco have been at loggerheads since August after dozens of taxis were impounded - leading to Santaco staging an eight-day stayaway. M...

 The Democratic Alliance in KwaZulu-Natal will today host a Local Government Summit. The party says the summit is aimed at ensuring municipalities work for the betterment of citizens. The Chairperson of the South African Local Government Association (SALGA) in KZN, Thami Ntuli and the Mayor of uMngeni Municipality Chris Pappas are among those who will deliver key-note addresses. The summit comes a...

It's  time to take a look at the current top African economic stories.....Elvis Preslin spoke to Victor Kgomoeswana, 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

Parliament has been forced to postpone the first day of the start of the preliminary hearing lodged against a number of EFF members after the initiator for the process decided to withdraw. The establishment of the process aims at investigating whether the implicated MPs have indeed breached the Powers, Privileges and Immunities Of Parliament and Provincial Legislatures Act, after EFF MPs stormed t...

The National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union, NEHAWU will today march to the Social Development department In Pretoria over claims of nepotism. The Union is opposing an alleged attempt by Minister Lindiwe Zulu to reappointment Linton Mchunu - her suspected close ally - as director-general for the Department. Mchunu previously served as Zulu's chief of staff during her tenure as Small B...

Medical legal claims against the Health department are showing a significant increase.  That is according to the Office of the Auditor General.  The office of the AG and the department, led by the deputy minister, Dr. Sibongiseni Dhlomo, briefed Parliament's Select Committee on Appropriations on the impact of medical negligence claims on provincial health budgets and mitigations on medical legal c...

Deputy President, Paul Mashatile, has called on engineers to help government tackle infrastructure challenges made worse by destructive weather patterns. He delivered a keynote address at the 9th United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's Africa Engineering Week, which got underway with an engineering conference in Pretoria. South Africa has experienced disasters linked to...

Eleven people are confirmed dead due to a severe weather system, that hit the Western Cape.  According to police reports four of the victims were children aged between 7 and 12 years old.  With heavy rains and strong winds subsiding, clean up assessments and repairs are underway across in the province.  This while many roads remain inaccessible and dangerous. The Western Cape Department of Educati...

The Democratic Alliance in the Eastern Cape has called for  the establishment of a provincial commission of inquiry into state capture in the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality. The party has written to Premier Oscar Mabuyane requesting an independent commission to Investigate alleged state capture in the municipality by politically connected Individuals. The party has given the premier until Friday...

The 32-year-old mayor of the uMngeni Muncipality in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands - Chris Pappas - has been announced as the Da's KZN Premier candidate in the 2024 elections. Pappas was part of the campaign team which ensured a 42 vote victory over the ANC in 2021. This landed the party it's first municipality that it controls outright in the province. Having built a reputation as a hands-on mayor, P...

The Special Investigating Unit, SIU will probe allegations of maladministration and corruption In the City of Tshwane. President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a proclamation authorising the SIU to investigate allegations of corruption relating to the failed Rooiwal waste water treatment plant. The multimillion-rand tender, which was awarded to controversial businessman Edwin Sodi is suspected to have pos...

Emergency services are on high alert as heavy rains and flooding persist in the Western Cape. Heavy rainfall and gale force winds battered parts of the province, causing flooding and damage to infrastructure since the start of the long weekend. This after the South African Weather Service had issued a level 9 warning of disruptive rain and gale force winds. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke t...