First Take SA

Indebted South Africans should brace themselves for another potential interest rate hike. This is as the South African Reserve Bank is expected to increase the country's repo rate as it makes its announcement on interest rates today. Economists anticipate that the Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee will raise interest rates by anything between 25 and 50 basis points. So can South Africans su...

Nelson Mandela Bay Metro Mayor Retief Odendaal will face a motion of no confidence in a council meeting. This comes after the ANC and EFF filed a motion against Odendaal. The DA says the motion of no confidence against the Mayor is politically motivated. To further discuss this Elvis Presslin spoke to Andrew Whitfield, Provincial Leader of the Democratic Alliance in the Eastern Cape.

President Cyril Ramaphosa will today deliver the keynote address at the national Africa Day celebrations at the Cradle of Humankind in Krugersdorp in the Westrand. Africa Day this year marks 60 years since the establishment of the Organisation of African Unity in 1963 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The OAU was inevitably disbanded on the 9th of July 2002 and replaced by the African Union, AU. With wars...

The mother of a three-year-old boy, who's among the 15 people killed by Cholera in Hammanskraal, has expressed disappointment with the government's response, following the outbreak of the disease in the area. Despite the government's announcement to activate immediate relief, residents including families, who lost their loved ones, have raised concerns about the handling of the crisis. In March th...

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa, NUMSA has rejected Eskom's latest wage offer of 4.5 percent. The power utility tabled the latest wage offer at the Centralized Bargaining Forum yesterday. Eskom was initially offering a 3.75 percent increase - Numsa is demanding a double-digit wage increase. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to NUMSA National Spokesperson, Phakamile Hlubi-Ma...

The South African Policing Union, SAPU in Mpumalanga will today march to the office of the MEC for Safety over what they term "a leadership crisis in the province". The Union is expected to hand over a memorandum of grievances to the MEC. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to SAPU deputy general secretary Tshepo Matsane

Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni is in Russia for an annual high-level international security meeting. The meeting comes as South Africa faces criticism over its stance on the Russia-Ukraine war. The security meeting will focus on issues like the international security situation and global food security. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to Sipho Mbele, Spokesperson for the Min...

The African Transformation Movement, ATM says it is suspicious about President Cyril Ramaphosa's decision to withdraw his review application on section 89 independent panel report. The Independent Panel led by Justice Sandile Ngcobo last year found that Ramaphosa may have a prima facie case to answer with regard to the 2020 robbery at his Phala Phala farm. Ramaphosa has since been advised to no lo...

Time to take a look at 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

The publisher of ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba's autobiography, Jonathan Ball Publishers is withdrawing Mashaba's unauthorized biography, 'The Outsider', which was authored by political analyst Prince Mashele. Mashaba reportedly gave Mashele R12,5 million to write the book. The publishers say they had no option but to withdraw the book from the market following the disclosure that Herman Mashaba...

A three-year-old is among the 10 people who have died in Hammanskraal, north of Pretoria after they were admitted to hospital with diarrhea. The authorities have now confirmed that the diarrhoeal disease outbreak reported in the area in the last few days is cholera. Lab tests were conducted on stool samples of 19 people who presented at the Jubilee District Hospital with symptoms of diarrhea, stom...

Online applications for next year's Grade 1 and Grade 8 learners will be open on the 15th of June. The MEC for Education in Gauteng, Matome Chiloane says the admission application system has been upgraded to be faster and more efficient. The MEC has urged parents to submit the correct documents and avoid applying from Internet cafes. To further discuss this Elvis Presslin spoke to the National Ass...

A seven-day ceasefire in Sudan has been signed as fighting between two warring factions entered its sixth week. The ceasefire is expected to take effect this evening (Monday). Previous truce attempts between Sudan's regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have tended to collapse within minutes of beginning. Fighting between the two sides has plunged the country into chaos, wit...

EFF leader Julius Malema has reiterated his claim that South Africa could face a grid collapse in the next two weeks. Malema told the SABC yesterday that information about the eminent grid collapse was reportedly exchanged between the FBI and local intelligence authorities - This as the country continues to implement higher stages of rolling blackouts. Meanwhile, power utility Eskom says the count...

Eskom is considering taking action against its former CEO Andre de Ruyter for the breaching confidentiality clause in his employment contract. The power utility's Board chair Mpho Makwana says de Ruyter broke trust and committed various transgressions by breaching the company's rules when publishing his book 'Truth to Power'. In the book, De Ruyter makes serious allegations of political interferen...

The City of Cape Town has raised concerns about the delays in the destruction of illegal firearms confiscated by the police. It has emerged that none of the illegal firearms that the police confiscated in the Western Cape in the first quarter of 2023 have been destroyed. This as last week, Gun Free South Africa lodged papers in the Western Cape High Court on behalf of families, to hold police acco...

Time to take a look at 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

The Government seems to be pushing ahead with its plans to use Turkish company Karpowership's mounted power plants in an effort to alleviate the country's energy crisis. During his appearance before Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA), Public Enterprises Minister, Pravin Gordhan shared his thoughts on the matter, saying that if the terms are right, South Africa should use Ka...

The partial privatization of SAA is underway with Takatso Consortium poised to acquire a 51% stake in SAA. The Competition Commission recently approved the deal on the condition that Takatso agrees to retain a minimum number of employees. Another condition includes starting a process to allow some shareholders in the consortium to exit the deal in the spirit of fair competition in the domestic air...

Residents of Fleurhof and Florida, on Gauteng's West Rand, will embark on a two-day total shutdown starting today, over a lack of service delivery. The residents have accused local government officials of turning a blind eye to long-standing issues, water and electricity supply problems, and illegal mining activities, among other grievances. Major roads such as Main Reef and Ontdekkers could be im...

President Cyril Ramaphosa and his predecessor, former President Jacob Zuma will face off in court today over the private prosecution sought by the former Head of State. Ramaphosa is seeking a final interdict to halt the private prosecution bid against him. Zuma brought an application against Ramaphosa last year, accusing him of failing to act against prosecutor, Advocate Billy Downer, for allegedl...

Grade 4 learners in South Africa have produced one of the worst reading results in the world, with 81 percent incapable of reading for meaning. This is according to the latest Progress in International Reading and Literacy Study report. The country's average score was 288 in the last five-year period in which the study was conducted, far below the 500 international average. For some analysis, Elvi...

The Independent Electoral Commission, IEC says allocations to some political parties are being withheld since they did not submit audited financial statements. The AIC, IFP, and Congress of the People are some of the parties whose funds are being withheld by the IEC. Of the 515 registered parties, only 12 disclosed a total amount of 145.5 million. The ANC, DA, ACTION SA, EFF, and IFP are some part...

Acting Joburg Mayor Kenny Kunene says they will be issuing warnings to Hillbrow residents living in dilapidated and hijacked buildings. He says they will also be raiding scrap yards and buildings where drugs are sold. Kunene was doing rounds in the city centre yesterday. To discuss this further Elvis Presslin spoke to the MMC of Safety and Security in the City of Johannesburg Municipality, Dr. Mgc...

The government's climate body, the Presidential Climate Commission has raised concerns about the financing of the expansion of the electricity grid capacity. The Commission was briefing the media virtually yesterday. It says that while there is consensus between all stakeholders on the significance of upgrading and expanding the national grid - the funding element must be cleared. The commission s...