First Take SA

An arrest warrant has been issued for a former Eskom executive after failing to appear in court. Yesterday the Palm Ridge Specialised Crimes Court issued an arrest warrant against France Hlakudi and his 5 co-accused are facing fraud and corruption charges related to an R745 million fraud matter at the Kusile power station in Mpumalanga. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to Sindisiwe Seboka, Spokesperson for the National Prosecuting Authority's (NPA's) Investigating Directorate

The DA motion of no confidence in the cabinet has been defeated in the National Assembly. 131 members voted in favor while 231 voted against. The DA and the EFF voted for the motion, while the ANC and IFP voted against it. Only Cope abstained. Elvis Presslin spoke to John Steenhuisen, Leader of the Democratic Alliance, DA

Former Social Development Minister Bathabile Dlamini will be sentenced this Friday after being found guilty of perjury. The embattled ANC Women's League president was found guilty by the Johannesburg Magistrate's Court for lying under oath before an inquiry into the social grants crisis at the South African Social Security Agency, Sassa, instituted by the Constitutional Court. So will Bathabile Dlamini go to prison or pay a fine? To answer this and more, Elvis Presslin spoke to Nthabiseng Dubazana, a Criminal lawyer at Dubazana Attorneys

The National Taxi Alliance has threatened to take the government to court if the industry's demand for a reprieve from car financing and fuel levies is not met. The association says recent rising fuel and other costs are crippling the industry, forcing it to pass the costs onto customers. The association says the current record-high prices have had a devastating impact on taxi drivers and commuters who are already battling to put food on the table. For more on this Elvis Presslin spoke to National Taxi Alliance Spokesperson Theo Malele

Civil society advocacy group, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) says it estimates that come 1 April 2022, South Africa will have well over one million motorists with expired driver's license cards. The organization says this is a significant problem that government will not be able to wish away or dump in the laps of its citizens. OUTA CEO, Wayne Duvenage has called on the transport minister, Fikile Mbalula to extend the deadline for expired driving license cards or risk what he calls starting a war with motorists. Elvis Presslin spoke to OUTA CEO, Wayne Duvenage

Can the ANC be criminally prosecuted for tax evasion? According to recent reports, the governing party owes the taxman over 100 million rands and had been given a ten-day ultimatum by SARS to pay the amount. The ruling party claimed to have paid SARS at the end of last month but remain mum on the amount paid. So what are the ramifications If the ANC doesn't settle its tax dispute with SARS? To answer this, Elvis Presslin spoke to Wits Business School Visiting Professor Jannie Rossouw 

Parliament's vote of no confidence in President Cyril Ramaphosa will go ahead today, despite efforts by the African Transformation Movement, ATM to have it postponed. Recently the ATM's urgent court application to have its motion of no confidence in President Ramaphosa held in secret was struck off the roll by the Western Cape High Court. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spokt to ATM spokesperson Sibusiso Mncwabe

Statistician-General of South Africa Risenga Maluleke will, this morning, release the results of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the fourth quarter of 2021, at a media briefing in Pretoria. The country's unemployment rate hit a record high at nearly 35% in the third quarter of 2021. Some analysts say they expect job numbers to remain depressed in the fourth quarter of this year. For more on this, here is Adrian Saville, a Professor at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS)...

Trade union Solidarity is expected to lay charges of corruption, theft, fraud, and mismanagement of State funds against 19 alleged State capturers, including former president Jacob Zuma this morning. The union says it will lay the charges on Dudu Myeni and Brian Molefe, among others at the Brooklyn Police Station at 10am. The union says the charges come on the back of the reports and recommendations by the State capture commission, led by Justice Raymond Zondo, which revealed how State funds were misused for personal gains. For more on this here is Head of legal matters at Solidarity, Anton van der Bijl

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...