The Weekend View

The recent introduction of the retirement fund's Two-Pot System will soon be an option for some workers and will enable them to dip in to the savings part of their retirement pot. However, is this wise and how will work? What are some of the elements of it that workers need to take caution against? These are some of the questions that need special attention before  March next year when the retirem...

Is the NHI a blessing or a curse for South Africa's healthcare system? That is the big question that we aim to unpack in today's discussion. The National Assembly this week  passed the controversial National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill with 205 MPs in support of it. The bill will now be sent to the NCOP for concurrence then signed into law by the President Cyril Ramaphosa. The Bill seeks to give a...

President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday concluded his African Peace Mission to Ukraine and Russia with a meeting with a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Russia's cultural capital of St Petersburg. Ramaphosa who was leading the African delegation travelled to Kyiv and St Petersburg, to meet with the leaders the warring countries- in a bid to negotiate an end to hostilities. He said that the Mis...

Bad weather continued to lash the Western Cape yesterday as more people sought shelter at community halls across the province. Heavy rains and strong winds have already caused major damage across the province, with thousands affected by the adverse weather. In Rawsonville in the Cape Winelands District, more than one-thousand-five-hundred people who live on the banks of the Smalblaar River, have h...

The plane carrying journalists and security personnel that was supposed to accompany President Cyril Ramaphosa to Ukraine and Russia but was grounded in Warsaw, Poland, is now expected to fly back home this morning. Polish authorities refused over 120 South African presidential security guards and journalists permission to disembark from an aircraft for 26 hours. Reasons that Polish authorities ga...

Deputy President, Paul Mashatile yesterday voiced concern over the stagnant  economy and its dire effects on the youth in the country. He was delivering a virtual keynote address at the official commemoration of the Youth Day celebrations in Bloemfontein. He emphasized the need for a multi-sectoral approach to addressing the ills that bedevil the youth. Youth Day celebrations were held against a b...

Denys Reva, a Security  Researcher with the Institute for Security Studies weighs in on the African Peace Mission in Ukraine and Russia.

 President Cyril Ramaphosa is THIS MORNING expected to travel to St Petersburg where he will meet with his Russian Vladimir Putin. This will the 2nd leg of  the visit by African leaders  to Ukraine and Russia on a peace mission, hoping to bring the war there closer to an end. Yesterday's visit to Kyiv was interrupted by air raid sirens and an explosion in the Ukrainian capital. The Africa Peace Mi...

The board of state-owned defence manufacturer Denel this week skipped a scheduled meeting with parliament's standing committee on public accounts - SCOPA - leading chairperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa threatening to summons the Denel board should it fail to appear at it next meeting. This is the latest in a string of instances that individuals, organisations and the executive have failed to account to par...

President Cyril Ramaphosa this week apologized to the people of Hammanskraal for government's failure to provide safe and clean quality water. He says in order for the crisis to be solved in the North of Tshwane, all three spheres of government need to co-operate and deal with the matter urgently. The President visited the area  on Thursday and spoke to community members at the Temba Stadium, foll...

Condolences continue to pour in for the late former Bafana Bafana coach Clive Barker with many recalling the major contribution he made to South African football. Safa confirmed via a family statement that Barker died after a battle with Lewy Body Dementia (LBD) YESTERDAY. He was 78. Barker led South Africa to their only continental triumph at the Africa Cup of Nations finals in 1996, and also ste...

 Some MPs say they are leaning toward the institution of an independent inquiry into the sale of SAA to the Takatso Consortium. This comes as now dismissed Public Enterprises DG, Kgathatso Tlhakudi, appeared before Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Public Enterprises earlier this week. Tlhakudi briefed MPs on his stance regarding the sale, alleging that there are various irregularities in the de...

Sudan's warring sides have agreed to a nationwide ceasefire for 24 hours starting this morning to allow the unimpeded movement and delivery of humanitarian assistance throughout the country. The agreement marks the latest in several failed attempts to stop weeks of fighting between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group. More than 1.4 million people have been driven from...

 Parliament's Section 194 committee will now no longer insist on hearing oral evidence from suspended Public Protector, Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane. In the face of a stalemate because of problems with Mkhwebane's legal representation, committee chairperson Qubudile Dyantyi has now instructed committee members and evidence leaders to present their questions to her in writing. She will then have the...

The convocation of the University of Fort Hare wants an independent investigation into the allegations of academic fraud at the institution. The call comes as the SIU is still engaged with its investigation into maladministration and fraud at the university including the alleged academic fraud. The convocation met yesterday to discuss issues that include allegations of cheating, procurement corrup...

While some organisations are welcoming Home Affairs Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi's extension of the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit - ZEP - dispensation, others are worried that  it could lead to further unrest in  some communities and in the road freight sector.  The special dispensation was due to end on the 30th of June - but has been extended to the 31st of December.  The ZEP is a special permit is...

Thousands of runners are ready and raring to go in tomorrow's Comrades  ultra-marathon. The 96th edition of the Comrades will be an 87.7 kilometres down run from the KwaZulu-Natal capital, Pietermaritzburg to Durban. Four-thousand 430 of them are first time qualifiers and in total 17 thousand-920 runners are participating this year. Among them is Stanely Mwawa who is running with the SABC Atheleti...

The protection of young children remains one of the high priorities in our country's constitution but also in our various communities. Today, 4th June marks end of  Child Protection Week 2023. For more on what has been achieved in this year's Child Protection Week and the strides made to improve the lives of needy children in the country and some of the challenges that still exist. We spoke to Chi...

Uber and Bolt drivers operating in the Soweto area, specifically at Maponya Mall say that they fear for their lives, and will have to consider operating from other places. This after 3 vehicles were torched on Thursday night and 2 drivers allegedly shot at. The motive for the shooting still remains unclear however  one of the drivers whose car was torched says they have recently been intimidated b...

Investigations a currently underway following some new born babies placed in boxes instead of incubators/ cribs at Mahikeng Provincial Hospital in the North West Province. The picture of the new borns in brown boxes has been trending  on social media and sparked outrage regarding the state of hospitals in the North West Province, and the country in general. In our Sunday Morning Discussion we  inv...

 Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni remains defiant and has defended signing one of the world's harshest anti-LGBTQ laws, with punishments that include the death penalty, saying it was needed to prevent LGBTQ community members he said were "disoriented" from "recruiting" others. His comments were the first since he signed the bill into law on Monday, triggering widespread criticism including threa...

There is a proliferation of illegal gambling machines in many townships across the country. This is raising concern that children are being exposed to gambling at an early age. The machines are normally located in spaza shops mostly owned by foreign nationals. Over 470 illegal gambling machines have been confiscated in Gauteng while over 200 have been siezed in Limpopo. We spoke to Karabo Mbele, t...

Professor Taole Mokoena has been appointed as the country's new health ombudsman. He succeeds Prof. Malegapuru Makgoba, whose seven-year non-renewable term came to an end on Wednesday. Prof Mokoena takes over the task of investigating complaints in a severely crippled public health sector that is increasingly hogging the headlines for all the wrong reasons including negligence, ineptitude and corr...

Many South Africans are currentlly struggling to meet their home loan commitments. This allegedly due to the current economic climate and the frequenty rising interest rates. Last week's interest rate hike is the 10th since November 2021. It's also the highest in 13 years and is putting a huge strain on the housing market. The South African Reserve Bank last Thursday announced a 50 basis points hi...

South Africa's dilapidating water infrastructure is in the spotlight again following the latest cholera outbreak. Water and Sanitation Minister,  Senzo Mchunu and City of Tshwane Mayor, Cilliers Brink on FRIDAY said a fresh agreement to work together to fix the Rooiwaal Waste Water Treatment Plant in Tshwane has been reached. 23 people have died due to a Cholera outbreak in Gauteng. The Free State...