First Take SA

Monday, 2 November 2026

Election-week security preparations, an ANC push for higher turnout, and Johannesburg's worsening water crisis dominated this morning's First Take SA, alongside a halted Gauteng scholar transport service.

1. 05:02

   NATJOINTS says 331 high-risk voting stations have been identified, mostly in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, with police deployments scaled to intelligence-based risk categories ahead of Wednesday's local elections.

2. 05:41

   ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa urged members and half a million volunteers to push turnout, asking each volunteer to bring in at least 10 voters, warning that supporters often stay away assuming a win.

3. 05:46

   Water Can says Johannesburg's outages are spreading and wants an emergency coordinating structure including civil society, national government and local government to respond to the crisis.

4. 05:23

   Gauteng scholar transport operators say diesel has risen more than 90% since February and they have had no rate increase since 2022, while unpaid invoices have pushed suppliers to stop fuel deliveries.

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