First Take SA

The ANC has urged its members to exhaust their internal party structures instead of resorting to protests. Hundreds of ANC members YESTERDAY marched on the party's headquarters Luthuli House in Johannesburg to protest against their councillor candidate selection process. They say the process is fraught with corruption and are accusing their Provincial List Committees of dismally failing to help them.  Ntebo Mokobo reports…. 

Meanwhile, political analysts have warned that the ANC's lack of preparedness ahead of the local government elections may cost the party at the polls. Author and Political analyst, Dr Ralph Mathekga joins us on the line for further details...

A professor in the Department of Safety and Security Management at the Tshwane University of Technology says the issue of members of the police who turn the gun on their families is often cultivated by the culture of secrecy within the police service. Professor Kholofelo Mothibi says much needs to be done to address some of the factors that contribute to officers reacting violently towards those close to them. This comes as the town of Thohoyandou in Limpopo reel after a 42-year-old police sergeant allegedly shot dead his wife before turning the gun on himself. Months before that, a 45-year-old Bela-Bela Municipality traffic officer allegedly shot and killed his girlfriend before also turning the gun on himself.  The ongoing case of a female former police officer who is charged with the murder and attempted murder of close family members has also brought this issue into sharp focus. 

Fiduciary Technology Services Company, Cliqtech, estimates there is an estimated 43-billion Rands of unclaimed inheritance benefits in financial institutions in South Africa.  The company says there are many reasons for this - such as the lack of a valid Will, an outdated Will or a poorly drafted Will.  Most of the money is in unclaimed policies and investments. Now, SmartWill has partnered with Clientèle for National Wills Week to give one-thousand South Africans free, customized Wills. Amina Accram reports...

The country is expected to be dominated by politics in the next coming weeks. This as the local government elections, set for November 1, are fast approaching. Many political parties are launching their elections manifesto this weekend, while others are yet to convince the electorate why they should be voted into power. The big guns, including the ANC, are yet to announce the date for the launch of their election manifestos. Abongile Dumako reports....

South Africans have taken to various social media platforms to voice their disapproval of the  announcement by President Cyril Ramaphosa that government is looking at introducing a vaccine passport system. Speaking during an address to the Nation on Sunday night, Ramaphosa said the proposed passport would be used as evidence of vaccination for travel and other purposes. This was a contradiction to his earlier pronouncement that nobody will be forbidden from travelling or taking part in any public activity, if they have not been vaccinated. For a look at how such a system would affected the already battered tourism industry, we spoke to Chief Executive Officer at the Tourism Business Council of South Africa, Tshifhiwa Tshivhengwa ...

The Congress of Traditional Leaders of South Africa (CONTRALESA) has urged government to reconsider the reopening of initiation schools under the adjusted level 2 of the national lockdown. This follows the easing of regulations announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday. In December last year, Contralesa halted the issuing of permits to initiation schools as a second wave of the COVID-19 infections hit the country prompting government to introduce stricter regulation in order to curb the surge in infections. Contralesa president Chief Kgosi Mokoena says it is not fair that some sectors of life have been reopened but the custom of initiation schools remains prohibited.

Political Economist Israel Mkhize reacts to Ramaphosa's latest "family meeting"

Residents of Ward 54 in Inanda in the eThekwini Municipality in KwaZulu-Natal, say they are afraid to vote in the upcoming municipal elections following the killing of three people who were attending a community meeting to nominate Councillors.  On saturday three people were killed in a drive-by shooting. Five others were also injured. The attack happened at a meeting where community members were selecting an ANC candidate to represent their ward in the forthcoming elections.

Political analyst and deputy dean of research at the University of the Western Cape, Professor Bheki Mngomezulu believes the release of former president Jacob Zuma on medical parole is a blessing for the ANC. Mngomezulu says the move will reap benefits for the governing party in the upcoming local government elections set for November the 1st.  He adds that the release of Zuma should not be interpreted in a passionate manner but rather objectively. 

For months the hospitality sector had warned of the dire state of their industry and the threats of closures and job losses if the lockdown regulations were not relaxed. We spoke to Wendy Alberts, the CEO of the Restaurant Association of South Africa