First Take SA

ACTION SA  says they are ready for local government elections 

Western Cape Premier, Alan Winde has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to withdraw members of the South African Defence Force by ending the national state of disaster.

The state of disaster was initially declared back in March 2020 and extended in August of this year by a month as a response to the corona virus pandemic. Winde however says a differentiated approach needs to be adopted when implementing lockdown restrictions stating it should not be a one-size-fits-all approach. Winde adds that an electronic vaccination system needs to be adopted in order to save as many jobs as possible ahead of the COVID-19 forth wave

Figures released by Statistics South Africa show that the country's gross domestic product (GDP) increased by one point two percent in the second quarter of 2021. The data shows that contributions to the increase came from transport, communication and the agriculture industry, as well as personal services and the accommodation industry. The figures also indicate that exports contributed positively to GDP in the second quarter.

Meanwhile South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) General Secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi has called for president Cyril Ramaphosa to resign in the wake of escalating unemployment figures. Vavi says the current GDP growth is not a true reflection of what he calls the dire state of the South African economy, particularly unemployment in the country.

The Forum 4 Service Delivery is today expected to unveil its mayoral candidates in municipalities across the North West province for the upcoming Local Government Elections. This follows the election of ANC veteran, Bushy Maape as the new Premier of the province. The Forum 4 Service Delivery Party is a breakaway party from the ANC which contested the 2016 elections, winning four council seats in the Rustenburg Municipality. The party became a kingmaker in Rustenburg switching allegiances between the ANC and a coalition of opposition parties. We spoke to President of the party, Mbahare Kekana 

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse - OUTA -  has dismissed as outrageous and unacceptable, a proposal by the Department of Transport which seeks to charge motorists a R250 fee when booking for license renewals online. This comes after Minister Fikile Mbalula published the proposed draft Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) Regulations 2021, which seek to amend the 2007 regulations. The organisation says it will be writing to the Minister to request the record of decision that motivated the introduction of these fees and will make a formal submission on the proposal. We spoke to OUTA CEO, Wayne Duvenage...

ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa has urged government to refrain from outsourcing services that it can render itself in order to create more jobs. Ramaphosa was speaking at the conclusion of the three-day ANC Lekgotla which kicked off at the weekend. Ramaphosa emphasised during his address that the creation of jobs, especially for young people and women, remains one of the key priorities of the ANC-led government. In the same address, Ramaphosa however did not mention internal party divisions that have rocked the party, the failure to submit candidates for local government elections on time and the non-payment of salaries to thousands of ANC workers for at least three months. We spoke to Political Analyst from the Nelson Mandela University, Dr Ntsikelelo Breakfast.

There has been mixed reactions to the decision by the Independent Electoral Commission to re-open registrations for party candidates ahead of the upcoming Local Government Elections. The IEC says the voter registration weekend is scheduled for the 18th and 19th September 2021. The date of the election will be announced on the 20th of September with the IEC having communicated its preference of November first to government. This comes after the Constitutional Court dismissed an application by the commission to have the elections postponed. We spoke to  Former IEC Deputy Chairperson and current Executive Chairperson of the Institute of Election Management Services in Africa, Terry Tselane....

Political parties have reacted differently to former President Jacob Zuma's release on medical parole due to ill-health. The Department Commissioner says Zuma remains in hospital although freed on medical parole. Zuma was serving a 15 month jail term for contempt of court for ignoring an order to appear before the Judicial Inquiry into State Capture. He was admitted to hospital soon after his incarceration on the 8th of July. We spoke to DA leader, John Steenhuisen

South Africa is among nine African countries that have already reached the global target set in May this year to vaccinate at least 10% of every country's population against COVID-19 by the end of September Data from the World Health Organisatio (WHO) shows that forty-two of Africa's 54 nations, that is nearly 80% of the continent will miss the target if the current pace of vaccine deliveries and vaccinations hold. The revelation was made on Thursday during WHO's weekly briefing on Covid-19. Sarah Kimani reports.

Political parties have reacted with shock to allegations that a Chinese-born South African businesswoman and politician, ANC Member of Parliament Xiaomei Havard, could be sharing classified information about South Africa with the Chinese Communist Party.