First Take SA

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) says a preliminary investigation suggests that the Soweto tavern shooting stems from violent turf wars over abandoned mines, rubbish dumps, and cable theft. Yesterday five people appeared in court in connection with the July mass shooting in which sixteen patrons were killed at Mdlalose Tavern in Nomzamo Park. At the center of the bloody feud are scores of abandoned mines in and around Gauteng, Free State, and North West. To discuss the issue of mine gangs, Elvis Presslin spoke to Benchmark Foundation lead researcher and activist, David Van Wyk

Cosatu's 14th National Congress got off to a rocky start after ANC National Chairperson Gwede Mantashe was booed off stage by delegates. They accused Mantashe and the ANC-led government of failing the workers by not respecting the resolution of the 2018 wage agreement.  For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to former labour unionist, author, and political analyst Dr. Ebrahim Harvey

Time to take 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

Beaches at Plettenberg Bay in the Southern Cape remain closed for swimming, following a fatal shark attack yesterday*. A 39-year old woman from Cape Town was killed in the attack at Central Beach. Another fatal attack occurred in June this year. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to Bitou Municipal spokesperson, Andile Namntu 

Environmental groups, local communities, and small-scale fishers will today picket at Saldanha and Pepper Bay in the Western Cape, against oil and gas exploration. The small-scale fishers are protesting the imminent arrival of oil and gas firm Azinam's oil rig, which is set to start offshore exploration activities in the next few days. Affected communities say they were not adequately consulted. For more Elvis Presslin spoke to Neville Van Rooy, Community Outreach Coordinator for The Green Connection

South Africa now ranks 19th in the world for the penetration of organised crime. That's according to a recent report by the Global Organised Crime Index, which has revealed that a major corruption market in South Africa is associated with the movement of foreign nationals, predominantly related to paperwork and the process of crossing borders with a bribe, instead of a valid passport. The report shows South Africa as a destination country for human trafficking. It also states that South Africa has a significant flow of arms used by criminals to commit murder. For more on the report, Elvis Presslin spoke to Ian Cameron, the Director for Community Safety at Action Society SA

President Cyril Ramaphosa will tomorrow lead the nation in celebrating South Africa's indigenous music and its immense contribution to sports, arts, culture, and heritage. National Heritage Day celebrations will be held at the Union Buildings in Tshwane under the theme "Celebrating the Legacy of Solomon Linda and South Africa's Indigenous Music". This year's theme pays tribute to the 60th anniversary of the passing of singer and songwriter Solomon Popoli Linda. He is best known as the composer of the song "Mbube" which later became the popular music success "The Lion Sleeps Tonight". Elvis Presslin spoke to legendary South African musician Babsy Mlangeni

Tshwane residents and businesses guilty of tampering with the water and electricity meters have until the end of this month to apply for the Amnesty Programme, or face consequences. Residents who fail to fess up could get hefty fines which can go up to two hundred thousand rands. This was done in an effort to give people a chance to come clean and admit to the tampering before the city finds them. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to Tshwane finance MMC Peter Sutton

National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula is expected to make an announcement today on whether law Professor Richard Calland will remain on President Cyril Ramaphosa's Impeachment panel. The three-member independent panel will determine whether President Ramaphosa should face impeachment over the alleged cover-up of a robbery at his Phala Phala farm in Limpopo. The DA and EFF wrote to Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula expressing concerns about Professor Calland's independence. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to DA's Deputy Chief Whip Ms. Siviwe Gwarube

Time to take 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