First Take SA

All places of worship will be allowed to operate from the 1st of June subject to tough restrictions in accordance with alert Level Three of the national lock-down. President Cyril Ramaphosa made this announcement during his address to the nation in Johannesburg last night. The decision followed his earlier meeting with leaders of the religious sector.

Municipal workers in the Mogale City municipality on Gauteng's Westrand are expected to return to their posts today following a breakthrough in talks over the lockdown payment dispute. These essential services workers who are employed in the supply and maintenance of water and electricity infrastructure and traffic officers embarked on a go-slow from last week. They were demanding to be incentivised for working during the national lockdown. They also wanted the municipal management to provide them with personal protective equipment. The go-slow has led to disruptions in the provision of services to communities.

The National Department of Basic Education says they will accommodate learners whose schools were vandalised during the more than two month lockdown to curb the spread of the Coronavirus. Basic Education spokesperson, Elijah Mhlanga, says 1 577 schools were vandalised.

A consortium of Liquor Trader Associations, made up of township-based taverns and shebeens representing over 50 000 members countrywide, is recommending that taverns be permitted to operate as off-site liquor sales points when level 3 of the lockdown kicks-in. This follows President Cyril Ramaphosa's announcement that a number of economic activities, including the sale of alcohol, will be allowed from the first of June. The Liquor Trader Association argues that allowing taverns to also sell alcohol for home consumption will lessen the risk of overcrowding at township-based retail outlets.

The South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) says it is working round the clock to ensure that those who qualify for the Covid-19 social relief grant get paid. South Africans who have no source of income can apply for the 350 rand grant which forms part of the Covid-19 social relief measures announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa. The amount will be paid to beneficiaries until October 2020. The Department of Social Development had said it would begin making payments on 15th May, however little progress has been made.

The South African Democratic Teachers Union (SADTU) says if schools have not received the relevant personal protective equipment (PPE) by today, their members will not return at work. This after Education minister Angie Motshekga announced that teachers will return to school today to prepare for the return of Grade 7 and 12 pupils on the first of June 2020. Schools across the country have closed for more than eight weeks since the national lockdown was implemented in March this year.

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the whole country will move to Alert Level Three from next Monday. The president says this will allow for the further opening of the economy while government continues to contain the spread of the Coronavirus. He was addressing the nation at the Union Buildings in Pretoria last night.

The African Union had ambitious plans for the year 2020. The African Continental Free Trade Area was finally launched and a secretary-general elected. The end of 2020 was set as the goal to silence the guns -- restoring peace and security across the continent. But -- COVID-19 has complicated the continental body's programme -- adding an unanticipated burden. As the 57th Africa Day is celebrated today.

Eskom is now forecasting that there will be three days of load shedding during the coming winter period, from a previous forecast of thirty days before the lockdown. Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter says Eskom's debt still remains high at 450-billion-rand and the company is still not able to generate enough revenue to meet its debt servicing costs. De Ruyter says loadshedding has had major cost implications for the company and the country's economy, while the lockdown has also presented a number of other limitations for the business. De Ruyter was addressing media during a briefing at Eskom's Megawatt head office in Johannesburg.

Besides fighting the spread of Covid-19, Nelson Mandela Bay Metro is also facing a fight against a looming Day Zero regarding the water supply. The supply dams have an average capacity of 22 percent, and there is no rain forecast for the near future. There is just over a months supply of water left. Weather experts say rainfall alone is not going to change the situation. It is a serious water crisis, which will not be solved by one day, a month or season's rainfall.