First Take SA

This week we focus on Diabetes. World Diabetes day, will be observed on Saturday the 14th of November. While an increased number of people are diagnosed with diabetes, or know someone close to them who is living with diabetes, many people are not sure what it is, what to do or how to act when they meet someone who is diabetic. To explain the diabetes and how a person living with diabetes feels, we found this poem online, unfortunately we do not know who the author is but this sums up the life of a diabetic person.

Back to the United States politics... Neither United States President nor the senior members of the Republican Party have officially conceded the Presidential race as Democrats Joe Biden and Kamala Harris made history on Saturday by winning both the popular vote and the Electoral College. The 77-year old Biden becomes the oldest person to win the Presidency while Harris becomes the first woman, black in this instance or otherwise, to claim the Vice Presidency… on a day that saw joy flood the streets in cities across the country.

A meeting of the National Coronavirus Command Council is planned for next week as the Covid-19 infection rate continues to surge. Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu says Cabinet has endorsed the NCCC meeting which will then be followed by a Cabinet meeting. Mthembu said this will then culminate into President Cyril Ramaphosa's address to the nation on the way forward in battling the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Minister on Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan has told Parliament that a restructured SAA will not be dependent on the national fiscus as it will take the Telkom model. Gordhan was taking part on the National Assembly's debate about the financial burden of sustaining non-profitable State Owned Entities.

There are fears of a resurgence of attacks on foreign nationals after shops were looted, some forced to close while others were stoned allegedly by a group led by members of uMkhontowesizwe Military Veterans Association in Berea, Durban. The group of MKMVA members has been waging a campaign of driving foreign nationals back to their countries of origin accusing them of taking jobs and economic opportunities at the expense of locals.

Government says the country's multi-billion rand infrastructure investment plan will be under-pinned by an anti-corruption strategy. President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday opened the Infrastructure South Africa Project Preparation Roundtable and Market Place under-way in Midrand north of Johannesburg. He said the Infrastructure Project Preparation will help government to complete its infrastructure projects on time and within budget.

As Election Day dawns in the United States, both Presidential campaigns have embraced a frenzied last push in key battleground states that will tip this election in either camp's favour. In a frenzied dash to the finish line, President Donald Trump hosted five rallies in four swing states including Michigan and Wisconsin while his opponent Joe Biden held two rallies in the must-win state of Pennsylvania. Record early voter turnout shows more than 91 million people have already cast their ballots, accounting for about 67% of all votes counted in 2016; amidst rising tensions across the country and a pending result that will be difficult for one side to embrace, let alone accept.

The Gauteng Provincial Government says it won't appeal a court ruling against its decision to place the City of Tshwane Metro Council under administration. The Supreme Court of Appeal ruling last week affirmed the High Court ruling that the decision to dissolve the city council was unlawful. Briefing the media in Johannesburg YESTERDAY , Gauteng Co-operative Governance MEC, Lebogang Maile, said they've since withdrawn the team of administrators in compliance with the SCA ruling.

John Steenhuisen is the Democratic Alliance's new leader. He emerged victorious at the party's virtual elective congress attended by over 2000 of the party's members this weekend. Steenhuisen was competing for the party's top position against KwaZulu-Natal legislature member, Mbali Ntuli

With just one day to Election Day in the United States, critical swing states in the Midwest will be the focus for both campaigns as they try to drive their supporters to the polls. With just 24 hours to go in terms of campaign events, President Donald Trump spent Saturday criss-crossing the must-win State of Pennsylvania with Democratic Nominee Joe Biden close by in the State of Michigan. Their surrogates are also fanned out in critical must-win states where polling continues to show close races that will determine who wins the Electoral College and thereby the White House.