The Weekend View

The World Changers Candidate - WCC - is calling on churches, parents, and communities to unite and take action against the normalisation of drug culture among young people. This as TOMORROW, Easter Sunday, coincides with the globally recognised "4/20" phenomenon—a day synonymous with cannabis celebration. The clash of these two dates has sparked concern over the potential escalation of youth...

It's a bumper Easter weekend of continental football with three South African teams taking on rivals in the CAF Champions League first leg, semifinal fixtures. Mamelodi Sundowns and 12-time CAF Champions league winners, Al Ahly are set for a blockbuster match-up at Loftus Versfeld THIS AFTERNOON, with a place in the final on the line. Kick-off is at 3 pm. Following that is another cliffhanger when...

The South African National Blood Service - SANBS - is this long weekend embarking on it's #EasterFamilyBloodBond to encourage families to donate blood together during the holiday season. The service says they are ready to receive you whether you're ready to donate blood or simply curious about your blood type. To tell us more Bongiwe Zwane spoke to Musiiwa Denga, SANBS External Communications Mana...

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces THIS WEEK announced the formation of a rival government, two years since the country descended into a brutal war that has left tens of thousands dead and triggered what the United Nations calls the world's worst humanitarian crisis. Since war erupted on 15 April 2023, nearly 13 million people have been displaced and there is no political solution in sight....

The MK Party says South Africa must use the next 90 days to intensify its relations with countries in the BRICS block. It has also said it will not involve itself or be used  in the machinations within the Government of National Unity with respect to the Budget. This, as the ANC met with the YESTERDAY to resolve the impasse in the executive governance structure. The country's main opposition...

The ANC continues to meet with political parties in and outside the Government of National Unity.  In an effort to resolve the impasse around a VAT increase and explore proposals for alternative revenue streams. The ruling party met the DA YESTERDAY and is expected to meet with the Freedom Front plus to also discuss the way forward for the GNU. Meanwhile, ActionSA concluded its meeting on WED...

With only about half of matric learners passing mathematics over the years, coupled with a concern about not enough learners taking mathematics as a subject, many education experts agree that the teaching of mathematics is in crisis in South Africa. This state of affairs has also been linked to the lack of Math's teachers and inadequate training for teachers. These are some of the issues that the...

The Matlosana Local Municipality, which incorporates the town of Klerksdorp in the North West, has issued a warning for people residing close to the banks of the flooded Vaal river to prepare to evacuate should the need arise. Mayor Fikile Mahlope has confirmed that notices of possible evacuation were sent to residents facing the greatest threat of flooding in the town's Orkneyvaal suburb. Disaste...

The ANC is set to meet with a DA delegation TODAY, in the continiuing effort to break the deadlock over the 0.5 percentage point VAT increase that some parties, including the DA, which is the second biggest party in the government of national unity (GNU), are opposed to. The ANC says it is pushing for a formal, rules-based agreement to legally bind parties to support future parliamentary motions w...

Improving technology , strengthening crime intelligence , upskilling detective and forensic services are some of the key takeaways from the three day National policing summit THIS WEEK. The country's first policing summit  was aimed at adapting policing strategies to a changing criminal landscape and enhancing crime-fighting methods and also provided an opportunity for police to engage and st...

US-China tensions further escalated YESTERDAY after China upped its retaliatory tariffs on US imports to 125%, ramping up the trade war between the world's two biggest economic powers. Chinese leader Xi Jinping struck a defiant tone in his first public comments on the trade war, saying his nation was "not afraid" and called on the EU to join the opposition to US tariffs.  The latest tariff hi...

A growing number  of people are developing life-changing allergies to some gel nail products. Some have reported nails loosening or falling off, skin rashes, swelling and in some rare cases , breathing difficulties. Safety concerns on the use of nail products have emerged . To look into this Bongiwe Zwane spoke to Charmaine Kay , Technical Product Advisor and Product Specialist at Maskscara

Legal action has been set in motion to evict former Members of Parliament who are refusing to move out of their subsidised accommodation, despite them no longer being in Parliament. 3 former MKP MP's and one former ANC MP are reportedly resisting eviction from the parliamentary villages. The villages house MPs, party political and parliamentary staff, and department officials performing standby du...

The DA's future in the government of national unity - GNU - appears to be hanging in the balance after it voted against finance minister Enoch Godongwana's budget on Wednesday. While analysts agree that the DA and ANC have been on the brink many times before, they say this time is the worst and most perilous for stability. Pressure also appears to be mounting from the ANC NEC for President Cyril R...

An increase in VAT has a disproportionate and regressive impact on low income consumers, many of whom rely on microfinance to manage irregular or limited income. According to MicroFinance South Africa, the  consequences of an increased in VAT are far-reaching and puts consumers in a greater vulnerable financial situation.  Bongiwe Zwane spoke to Leonie van Pletzen, CEO of MicroFinance So...

Justice minister Mmamoloko Kubayi has called on National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) boss Adv Shamila Batohi to deliver a detailed report following the scathing judgment that acquitted Nigerian televangelist pastor Timothy Omotoso and his two co-accused earlier THIS WEEK. This after the outrage following the acquittal of Omotoso and his co-accused, Lusanda Sulani and Zukiswa Sitho, who were facing...

A bill to sanction senior South African government and ANC officials who support  what they call their "adversaries" was introduced in the US Congress THIS WEEK. The US-South Africa Bilateral Relations Review Act of 2025 mandates a comprehensive review to identify South African government officials and leaders of the ANC who may be subject to sanctions for their alleged support of American ad...

The latest report from Statista, a global data and business intelligence platform,  has revealed South Africa's continues to struggle with human trafficking. The report suggests that improvements have been observed as the country has been upgraded from its position on the tier two level watch list to level tier two in 2024. The country has been reported as a hub for human trafficking as it is...

The two day National Water and Sanitation Indaba held in Midrand, north of Johannesburg, ended on Friday with government committing to work closely with municipalities across the country to speed up water infrastructure development. The indaba was convened at a time when South Africa is battling a water crisis due to ageing infrastructure, vandalism and corruption. In order to turn around the wate...

From Tuesday, 1st April 2025, South Africans will see the implementation of the increased earnings threshold that will affect all employees earning more than R261,700 per year, which is around R21 800 per month. The earnings threshold impacts the application of provisions of the Basic Conditions of Employment Act, the Labour Relations Act and the Employment Equity Act. In terms of the new regulati...

Zimbabwe is bracing for what has been dubbed an 'uprising' as liberation war veterans are rallying ordinary Zimbabweans to join TOMORROW's protests in their push to oust President Emmerson Mnangagwa. The former freedom fighters, who are backing Mnagagwa's deputy, Constantino Chiwenga to take over, feel that the president has reneged on his promises and presided over a struggling economy characteri...

President Cyril Ramaphosa has officially signed the General Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill, ushering in major reforms to South Africa's intelligence services. The new law dissolves the State Security Agency, replacing it with two entities: the Foreign Intelligence Service (FIS) and the Domestic Intelligence Agency (DIA). It also re-establishes the National Academy of Intelligence and tightens ov...

Relations between Pretoria and Washington have been under stress since Donald Trump entered the White House 2 months ago and indications are they could turn for the worse. On 7 February 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order specifically aimed at South Africa's domestic and international policies. The decision by the US government to declare South Africa's former ambassador Ebrahim Rasool...

Nedbank is the latest bank highlighting a growing trend of fraudsters pretending to be police officers to scam unsuspecting South Africans. The bank released a fraud alert to customers   that fraudsters use vishing calls to scam customers out of their money. Vishing is short for "voice phishing- a type of cybercrime where fraudsters use phone calls or voice messages to trick victims into reve...

Afrikaner lobby group AfriForum has criticised South African judges for ruling that the "Kill the Boer" chant is not hate speech, accusing them of being ideologically biased. This after the apex court THIS WEEK refused AfriForum's bid for leave to appeal the "Kill the boer" judgment, which found that the chant did not constitute Hate Speech and dismissed the application saying it bears no reasonab...