First Take SA

South African consumers will have to dig deeper into their pockets this week as fuel prices are set to hit a record high. The Central Energy Fund has released the latest fuel price increases effective from Wednesday, this week. The rise in crude oil prices has been created by the military action by Russia in Ukraine, among other factors. Both 93 and 95 petrol will increase by R1.46 a litre. Meanwhile, the South African National Taxi Council (SANTACO), says the petrol price increases have put the industry in a corner and that they will review their decision to suspend taxi fare increases. To elaborate further on their sentiments, here is Bafana Magagula, Chief Strategic Manager at SANTACO

Police and Prisons Civil Right Union (POPCRU) has called for a thorough vetting of the incoming national police commissioner. This follows the sacking of Khehla Sitole which was announced by the presidency on Friday last week. Sitole has been at loggerheads with police minister Bheki Cele. The presidency's announcement however noted that the termination of Sitole's contract was by mutual consent. POPCRU says it's concerning that national police commissioners do not finish their employment contracts. POPCRU spokesperson, Richard Mamabolo...

At least 19 people have died at the weekend following a head-on collision on the R34 road between Bloemhof and Schweizer Reneke in the North West. The deceased was allegedly traveling from Ipelegeng township of Schweizer-Reneke to Bloemhof. Two females and a child survived the accident. For the latest, here is the North West Department of Transport spokesperson Boitshoko Moremi

The City of Johannesburg is investigating how a mammoth R94m was spent on a 13km road in Braamfischerville, Soweto - which is still in 'complete disarray.' This is reportedly the third time that contractors have failed to complete the construction of this road in Braamfischerville. For more on this here is the City's MMC for development planning, Belinda Echeozonjoku....

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...

Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana has received praises for his maiden Budget Speech which was delivered yesterday in Parliament. The Finance Minister refrained from increasing basic income tax while also passing a token to the private sector by decreasing corporate income tax by a percentage point. The fuel levy and the Road Accident Fund levy were also kept unchanged in order to provide some relief to already strained South Africans. Sin taxes were however not spared despite the massive losses reported by the alcohol industry over the two-year COVID-19 period. For some analysis of this, here is Chief Economist at Alexander Forbes, Isaah Mhlanga

The Restaurants Association of South Africa has expressed shock over Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana's announcement of another sin tax hike. Delivering his maiden Budget Speech on Wednesday afternoon, Godongwane announced excise duties on alcohol and tobacco will increase by between four-point-five percent and six-point-five percent. This comes as the hospitality industry struggles under the weight of the economic impact of the Covid-19 bans and restrictions over the past two years. CEO of the Restaurants Association of South Africa, Wendy Alberts gives us her reaction on this

There have been mixed reactions to the release of the declarations of donations made to the country's political parties during the third quarter of the 2021/22 financial year. The African National Congress topped the list with donations amounting to over R22-million, followed by the Democratic Alliance, with donations amounting to more than R12.5-million. The latest political party funding disclosure report has been released by the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa and revealed that eleven political parties declared donations totaling R46-million. Communications Officer at My Vote Counts, Sheilan Clarke

South African artist Rikhado Makhado, popularly known as Riky Rick, passed away yesterday. His family confirmed his passing in a statement but made no mention of the cause of his death. But sources suspect suicide.  So why do so many men suffer depression in silence? To shed light on the matter, here is Clinical Psychologist, Thabang Tlaka

Ukraine has announced a 30-day state of emergency in all the country's regions - this is apart from the breakaway Donetsk and Luhansk regions where a state of emergency has been in place since 2014. In turn, Russia's embassy in Kyiv has started evacuating diplomats from Ukraine, after lawmakers in Moscow granted President Putin permission to use force abroad. In response to the escalating crisis, Western countries and their allies have imposed sanctions on Russian banks and Members of Parliament. For more on this here is Patrick Bond, a Professor of Sociology, at the University of Johannesburg, UJ