First Take SA

The South African Human Rights Commission inquiry into the Vaal river system has concluded that the river system is polluted beyond acceptable standards due to untreated sewage flowing into the Vaal river. The commission released findings of its investigation into the sewage problem in the vaal river this morning. In 2018, the South African National Defence Force experts were brought in to assist in the rehabilitation of the river.

Opposition political parties that debated the State of the Nation Address accused President Cyril Ramaphosa of not doing enough to fight corruption, as well as the way government has handled Covid-19 vaccine acquisition. Meanwhile the ANC committed itself in leaving no stone unturned in holding accountable those accused of corruption.

As members of the uMkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans' Association continue to camp outside former president Jacob Zuma's Nkandla homestead, his family says it's unlikely that the former President will change his views around Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo. On Monday, the Zondo Commission said its secretary would approach the Constitutional Court to apply for a contempt order issued against Zuma. Zondo further stated, that the preferred option would be for a prison term. This comes after Zuma defied the Constitutional Court order that he testify. In response to this through a statement, Zuma says he will not stand before a process that he believes is biased against him.

Relations between President Cyril Ramaphosa and his predecessor Jacob Zuma are inevitably rocky. These relations were soured by the removal of Zuma as president. Pressure on him to appear before the State Capture Commission has also worsened the already frosty relations. Remarks by Ramaphosa on the nine wasted years under Zuma compounded the animosity. But Zuma didn't help the situation, alleging that money was used to secure the ANC presidency for Ramaphosa.

South Africa is expected to begin its COVID-19 vaccination programme TODAY (wednesday). 80-thousand single doses of the Johnson and Johnson vaccines targeted at frontline healthcare workers were due to be delivered YESTERDAY. 17 hospitals have been identified as vaccination sites and these include Soweto's Chris Hani Baragwanath, Durban's Prince Mshiyeni Memorial and Groote Schuur in Cape Town. Meanwhile the department of health has announced that South Africa plans to share the 1-million doses of the Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine that it received from India, with countries on the continent. The rollout of the shots was suspended due to study findings that it has limited efficacy against the coronavirus variant that has been discovered in South Africa.

Consumers face a hefty electricity tariff hike in April as the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) has agreed to Eskom's application to increase its tariff by over 15% for the 2021/22 financial year. The agreement between Nersa and Eskom came after the power utility won a case in the Pretoria High Court in October 2020, which allowed it to push for a higher tariff increase than what Nersa was willing to allow.

Former President Jacob Zuma is potentially facing jail time after he failed to appear before the State Capture Commission YESTERDAY (monday 15 February) . Zuma's lawyers confirmed in a letter to the inquiry that the former president would not attend this week. The Constitutional Court earlier ordered Zuma to appear after he walked out of the commission in November and didn't appear before it last month. However, it seems that a number of political parties are unsympathetic about Zuma's fate.

Stakeholders will have to work together to ensure a success in the education sector this academic year. This is according to Basic Education minister Angie Motshekga during a visit to Nellmapius Secondary school in Mamelodi, east of Pretoria. Motshekga was among government officials who visited schools across the country on the first day of the 2021 academic year, to check on the resumption of classes.

The hearings at the inquest into the death of anti-apartheid activist Neil Aggett have concluded. The focus will now shift to the inquest of another activist, Ernest Dipale, who also allegedly committed suicide at the then John Vorster Square Police Station in Johannesburg in the same year, 1982. The security branch police claimed that both Dipale and Aggett hanged themselves in their cells. Testifying virtually on the final day of the Aggett inquest, Police officer, Captain Ben Nel said his colleagues had called him a traitor for taking on the investigation. Nel says that he had been assigned the case in 2016.

Attempts by the ANC's top leadership to persuade former President Jacob Zuma to appear before the State Capture Commission TODAY may prove fruitless. High on the party's NEC meeting agenda this weekend has been the implications of Zuma's decision not to appear before the Commission this week. The decision is in breach of a summons issued by the Commission for Zuma to appear, a Constitutional Court ruling instructing him to do so and the ANC's own resolution that members must co-operate with the Zondo Commission.