First Take SA

The National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (NEHAWU) In Mpumalanga will today picket at the Department of Water and Sanitation in Standerton to oppose 178 planned retrenchments at Grootdraai Dam. The union calls the job cuts irrational amid high unemployment, poverty and inequality in the province. We spoke to NEHAWU's Provincial Secretary Welcome Mnisi

Four political party members have been killed in separate incidents during this weekend's IEC voter registration. In Bekkersdal, Randfontein, MK Party members Mozwakhile Zungu and Siyabonga Mabaso were shot while walking home after working at a voting station. The MK Party says it will not speculate on motive. In Cape Town, DA by-election candidate Sinovuyo Dyokwe was gunned down in Du Noon soon after registration ended on Saturday. The DA has offered a R50,000 reward and says she was previously targeted in a February extortion case. In Nelson Mandela Bay, ANC councillor and Mayoral Committee Member for Budget and Treasury, Sicelo Mleve, was murdered over the weekend too. For analysis on political killings ahead of the November municipal elections. We spoke to Political analyst, Dr. Piet Croucamp.

The FW de Klerk Foundation has appealed to US President Donald Trump to reconsider phased cuts to PEPFAR funding for South Africa. In a letter, Executive Director Christo van der Rheede warned the cuts would disrupt healthcare for millions and weaken the Government of National Unity. The Foundation rejected claims of "white genocide", saying violent crime affects all South Africans but hits poor township communities hardest. It urged Washington to decouple humanitarian aid from political disputes, saying current US policy risks empowering extremist factions opposed to South Africa's 1994 democratic settlement. We spoke to Christo van der Rheede, Executive Director of the FW de Klerk Foundation.

Rea Vaya bus drivers say their salary and job security have been severely impacted since the bus operator went into business rescue in December 2023. Business rescue practitioner Mahier Tayob now runs the company after creditors threatened to seize buses over mounting debts. Drivers blame years of maladministration for ongoing salary delays, while the City of Johannesburg is still said to owe the operator around R30 million for services rendered. For more on the situation on the ground, we're joined by a Rea Vaya bus driver Tshepo Moabi not his real name. For his protection, we are using a pseudonym to safeguard his identity.

Civil society movement Activists and Citizens Forum, has condemned Speaker Thoko Didiza's decision to abide by the High Court ruling on President Ramaphosa's interdict application. The group says the move breaks with the Impeachment Committee, where most parties had agreed to oppose the President's bid to halt the process. They allege Didiza acted on ANC instructions after the party pushed against opposing the interdict during committee talks. The Forum warns the ANC is repeating past mistakes, saying voters will have the final say. We spoke to Dennis Bloem, Spokesperson for the Activists and Citizens Forum.