First Take SA

With just hours away from the opening of the ANC's national general council, the governing party's alliance partners - the SACP and Cosatu - have a mixed bag of expectations. E-tolls, the National Development Plan and the struggling economy are some of the issues that the two tripartite alliance members want clarity on.

The ANC's National General Council gets underway tomorrow. The party has confirmed that it's all systems go. Some of the key economic issues that will be discussed include the rand's performance, SA companies listed overseas and the problems facing the low performing economy with high unemployment rate

In 1980 Nkululeko Mxokiswa worked for Mercedez Benz and left in 1984. He received his pension fund payout shortly after leaving the company. In 2008 the Motor Industry Fund Administrators announced that all workers in the motor industry who had withdrawn their benefits before 2004 qualified for a surplus. Mxokiswa tried in vain for the past seven years to get a pay out from the Surplus Fund. This is his story.

The Public Protector cannot fulfill the constitutional purpose of her office if other organs of State second-guess her findings and ignore her recommendations. That's the ruling made by a full bench of justices of the Appeal Court in Bloemfontein. The ruling follows the application lodged by the SABC, Communications Minister and broadcaster's chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng. The court dismissed with costs their application against a Public Protector's recommendation that Motsoeneng should be suspended. In the judgement, the court ruled that the Public Protector can implement remedial action.

With just hours away from the opening of the ANC's national general council, the governing party's alliance partners - the SACP and Cosatu - have a mixed bag of expectations. E-tolls, the National Development Plan and the struggling economy are some of the issues that the two tripartite alliance members want clarity on.

The Public Protector cannot fulfill the constitutional purpose of her office if other organs of State second-guess her findings and ignore her recommendations. That's the ruling made by a full bench of justices of the Appeal Court in Bloemfontein. The ruling follows the application lodged by the SABC, Communications Minister and broadcaster's chief operating officer Hlaudi Motsoeneng. The court dismissed with costs their application against a Public Protector's recommendation that Motsoeneng should be suspended. In the judgement, the court ruled that the Public Protector can implement remedial action.

African Court on Human and People's Rights has been commended for dispensing justice across the continent. In just a decade of its existence the court is to have recorded tremendous achievements. This year alone the court based in Arusha, Tanzania has received 17 contentious applications. And joining me in the studio is the President of the Court, Justice Augustino Ramadhani.

SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago on the SABC is adamant that there's nothing illegal about the way in which it has obtained emails relating to Bob Hewitt rape and sexual assault case. SABC News is in possession of documents showing that the three women who accused former tennis champion Bob Hewitt of rape and sexual assault may have colluded prior to his trial. The 75-year-old former tennis coach was sentenced to six years in prison earlier this year after being convicted on two counts of rape and one of sexual assault.

The Ibrahim Index of African Governance, launched today, indicates that over the last four years, governance progress in Africa has stalled, and reveals a shifting landscape. During the period 2011-14, the African average overall governance score in the IIAG increased only slightly by +0.2 points to 50.1 with considerable changes in performance during the last four years at all levels of the Index, both at country and at category level. Mo Ibrahim, Chair of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, says: "While Africans overall are certainly healthier and live in more democratic societies than 15 years ago, the 2015 IIAG shows that recent progress in other key areas on the continent has either stalled or reversed, and that some key countries seem to be faltering. This is a warning sign for all of us. Only shared and sustained improvements across all areas of governance will deliver the future that Africans deserve and demand."

Today marks World Teacher's Day. It is a day on which the vital role played by educators in developing and shaping young minds is acknowledged. However this role is being undermined across the world by tecaher shortages. Teachers also face numerous challenges with many working without the necessary resources or proper training.