The Weekend View

 Political science lecturer & analyst from the University of KwaZulu Natal, Zakhele Ndlovu weighs in on the ANC policy conference

More and more South Africans are struggling to keep a roof over their heads as they are battling to keep up with rental payments. This as most households are feeling the financial pinch with the cost of living rising from increasing food inflation and hikes in the cost of fuel, electricity, water, municipal rates and interest rates. This comes at the back of salaries that have plummeted or remaine...

There was a total overhaul of the top five leadership of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal. Premier Sihle Zikalala lost the race for the chairperson's position to Sboniso Duma. Duma's slate swept all the top five positions during a provincial elective conference held in Durban. At least 1607 delegates voted during the conference. Sebenzile Nkambule spoke to SABC reporter Nonkululeko Hlophe... 

It's official - Banyana Banyana are the 2022 Women's Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) champions. This after beating Morocco two-one at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium last night. This is Banyana Banyana's sixth attempt to win the tournament. They failed to win five previous Women's AFCON finals in 1995, 2000, 2008, 2012, and 2018. But in 2022, the team has got the glory for the first time in the...

This week's regional efforts to resolve the crisis in Eswatini hit another major stumbling block when a second summit intended to discuss a national political dialogue in the troubled kingdom was canceled at the last moment. The summit of the Southern African Development Community - SADC's security organ, which was supposed to have been held on Thursday, would have been chaired by President Cyril...

Banyana Banyana are going for glory tonight when they meet hosts Morocco in the final of the Women's Africa Cup of Nations at Stade Prince Moulay Abdellah in Rabat. The game promises to be a thriller as both teams looking to clinch the Africa Cup of Nations title for the first time. The game starts at 10 pm SA time. Sebenzile Nkambule spoke to Daily Sun Sports editor, Mathews Mpete

Zimbabwe this week announced plans to introduce gold coins later this month as it tries to curb rising inflation amid a slump in its currency. The country's central bank also outlined moves to make the US dollar legal tender for the next five years. The central bank's main interest rate was more than doubled this month to 200%, after the annual rate of inflation rose above 190%. To get a sense of...

Since the lifting of Covid 19 restrictions, most companies have been slowly asking employees who have been working remotely to return to the office. However the current heavy bout of loadshedding is making working from home extremely difficult leading to greater demands from company executives for employees to return to the office immediately. The high and ever increasing cost of fuel is on the ot...

The Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster ministers say 19 people have been arrested whom they regard as the instigators of the July 2021 unrest. They are part of 2-thousand 435 cases on court rolls of which 50 have been finalized, with guilty verdicts. The ministers were briefing the media in Pretoria yesterday on progress with regards to the implementation of the recommendations by the...

Angola has declared 5 days of mourning following yesterday's passing of former President Eduardo dos Santos. He died in a clinic in Barcelona, Spain. The 79 year old former statesman died following a long illness. Dos Santos who had led Angola for 40 years had been living in Barcelona since stepping down in 2017 and was reportedly receiving treatment there for health problems.  Meanwhile... The ra...

Over 35-thousand people attended the premier Durban July  horse racing event. This is the first time in two years that the prestigious race has welcomed punters and fashionistas in person, following the Covid 19 lockdown regulations.  eThekwini municipality expected the event to contribute more than R300 million to the local economy. This year's theme 'Show Me The Honey' showcased SA's fashion tal...

In this month of July, South African consumers are facing a new round of price hikes including, food, electricity, water, property rates, taxi fares and fuel. An interest rate hike is also anticipated when the Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee, MPC, meets later in the month. With inflation currently at over 6 %. Sebenzile Nkambule spoke to SABC's Economics Editor, Tshepo Mongoai and profess...

South Africans are this July facing a series of price hikes, including electricity and fuel price increases. Major metropolis - including Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban  introduced their municipal electricity tariffs from yesterday after energy regulator Nersa approved a 7.47% increase earlier this year. The City of Joburg's news tariff hikes which kicked in yesterday are 9.75% for water and s...

General Secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers,  William Mabapa says the unions have reached consensus with Eskom on some matters with regards to the wage negotiations, however there are some issues that remain unresolved and require further consideration. The NUM and National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) met *yesterday with Eskom's leadership in Sandton north of Johannesb...

When a car owner takes out insurance, they are asked about nominated drivers if they themselves are the regular drivers. These are people that drive the car from time to time. Some insurance companies do payout in the event of an accident even if the driver was not on the list of nominated drivers. However, experts warn consumers to read the fine-print closely because some insurance companies will...

The who's who of South African horse racing, fashion, food and music are converged in eThekwini for the Durban July taking place this weekend.  On the first Saturday of every July nearly 40 thousand people head towards Greyville to experience "July Fever". It is a fashion and entertainment extravaganza where everybody wants to be seen. Sebenzile Nkambule spoke to Fundi Sithebe,  CEO of 4racing

June is pride month globally and the LGBTQI+ community continues to focus on the to advocate for their rights in all spaces. The purpose of the LGBTIAQ+ Pride month commemoration is to highlight and recognise the impact and continuous advocacy and advancement of rights and protection of the community, as well as eradicating uncalled for violence against any human being based on their personal sexu...

Today is International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. Here at home the South African Depression and Anxiety Group - SADAG -  is commemorating the day as Substance Abuse Awareness Day. Age and peer pressure combined with the low cost and easy accessibility of drugs and alcohol in South Africa are increasing the risk factors leading to abuse among young adults. The average age for d...

A plane that was earlier this week scheduled to carry asylum seekers from the UK to Rwanda, failed to depart after a last minute challenge from the European Court of Human Rights. The flight would have been the first to take off under a new policy set out by the UK government, that would see those who arrive in the UK illegally, sent thousands of kilometres to East Africa. Despite the block, the U...

As we commemorate Youth Month, many of the challenges that youth of South Africa have expressed are centered around unemployment, lack of  support or funding resources that may young entrepreneurial dreams. Related to that are the mental health issues associated with unemployment. In his Youth Day speech, President Ramaphosa encouraged the young people to use available resources to access job...

Transport Minister, Fikile Mbalula, is this weekend expected to meet with stakeholders in the logistics and trucking industry to help find solutions to the recent blockages of key cargo routes. Motorists experienced a major traffic backlog on parts of the N3 in KwaZulu Natal and N12 in the North West this week, due to truck drivers protesting over the employment of foreign nationals in the sector....

Various political figures have given mixed reaction to the suspension of Public Protector Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane. On Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa suspended Mkhwebane pending the outcome of the inquiry into her fitness to hold office. The Public Protector was dealt a further blow on Friday;10 June when the Western Cape High Court dismissed her application to prevent Parliament from proc...

The United Nations is again warning that Somalia is on the brink of devastating and widespread starvation, exacerbated by a severe drought and rising global food prices. The drought has reportedly forced over 800-thousand people from their homes while an astonishing 50% of the population is affected by the drought situation. Recent rains have been moderate, poorly distributed, and insufficient to...

President Cyril Ramaphosa  sidestepped the controversy involving the robbery on his Phala Phala farm when he delivered his reply to the debate on his office's budget vote in parliament. However, his reply was delayed by more than three hours after EFF MPs demanded  that he should not be allowed to address parliament due to the allegations he is facing over the heist on his farm in 2020....

The National Consumer Commission is urging the over 13 000  South African drivers who are in possession of Mercedes-Benz ML, GL, (model series 164) and R-Class (model series 251) to stop driving these vehicles immediately and contact Mercedes-Benz for further assistance. Mercedes-Benz South Africa says the global recall of these models was initiated due to a possible brake failure caused by a...