The Weekend View

School violence manifests itself in many forms including discipline problems such as fighting among learners, bullying, utterances of crude and sexist remarks against fellow learners and teachers, racism, stabbings, shootings at schools and even murder. According to a study by the the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation - CSVR - racialised violence is also rearing its ugly head. It...

The murder of crime activist and whistleblower Pamela Mabini, who was shot and killed in the driveway of her home in Gqeberha, has rekindled calls to address the plight of whistle-blowers who dare to report crime as well as the insuffIciency of  measures to protect them. This has also brought the conversation on the Whistleblowers Protection Bill to the forefront once again. In 2021 , the mur...

It has often been argued that tackling corruption could have a positive effect on South Africa's economy and the country's ability to deliver basic and essential services to citizens. If the state could tackle some of the current costs of corruption, this could have substantial positive effects not only for citizens' socioeconomic rights but will also relieve the endless pressure on Treasury to se...

Former South Africa's ambassador to the US, Ebrahim Rasool is expected on home soil TODAY after his expulsion from Washington.  He was declared persona non grata and was expelled just over a week ago for comments he made about Donald Trump. The decision further tanked the diplomatic tensions between SA and the Trump administration. Some political parties and organisations are expected to welc...

South Africans strongly believe in the universality of human rights and democracy, despite perceiving an increasingly dangerous future world. This is according to a study conducted by IPSOS,  one of the largest market research and polling companies globally.  The study, conducted as part of the Halifax Security Forum's annual survey across 30 countries, shows that 8 in 10 online South Af...

The elimination of pit toilets in public schools has been an ongoing battle in South Africa. Schools across rural South Africa are still subjected to these degrading pit latrines. Plain pit toilets were banned from South African schools by the Minimum Uniform Norms and Standards for Public School Infrastructure in 2013 and had to be removed and replaced by 2016. However, more than a decade later,...

SASSA and Postbank are advising grant beneficiaries that they will receive their money even if they have not yet migrated to the new Postbank black cards. The deadline to migrate to the new cards expired YESTERDAY and the SASSA gold cards can no longer be used to access grants. However the replacement of SASSA gold cards with Postbank black cards will continue and beneficiaries with old cards will...

This coming Friday , the 21st of March 2025 ,  marks World Down Syndrome Day.  According to Down Syndrome South Africa (DSSA),  Down syndrome is one of the most common occurring genetic conditions. It is caused by a full or partial extra copy of chromosome 21, known as trisomy 21 which alters the course of development both physically and cognitively. This year DSSA will mark the day...

The Electoral Commission has set out a six-month period for further inputs and consultations on the discussion documents on e-voting, that will eventually be sent to Parliament. The IEC concluded a three-day conference on WEDNESDAY that discussed the feasibility, sustainability, and policy implications of electronic voting. More than 200 local and international delegates from various countries con...

International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola says it's regrettable that the US has expelled South African ambassador in the US Ebrahim Rasool. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio made the announcement of X and called Rasool a race baiting politician who hates America and President Donald Trump. President Cyril Ramaphosa's office has also called for all relevant and impacted stakeho...

The embassy of Ivory Coast in South Africa is preparing to host the first ever International Francophonie Day. The cultural event is set to put under the spotlight Ivorian gastronomy with ATTIEKE a local dish that is served around the world and is on UNESCO's list of cultural heritage of humanity, in the limelight. To tell us more about this historic event, Bongiwe Zwane spoke to Pandora Mabai, Co...

Calls for the introduction of lasting or enduring powers of attorney (LPA or EPA) into South African legislation from several quarters over many years have been falling on deaf ears. According to the Fiduciary Institute of Southern Africa this is an urgent matter. As things stand, the power of attorney extended to any other person lapses when the person who extended the power loses the legal capac...

While Russian president Vladimir Putin says he agrees with the idea of a ceasefire in Ukraine, he has set out a number of tough conditions for peace. Responding to a plan for a 30-day ceasefire, which Ukraine agreed to earlier this week following talks with the US, Putin suggested that Ukraine should neither re-arm nor mobilise and that western military aid to Kyiv be halted during the ceasefire....

The Independent Electoral Commission - IEC - YESTERDAY issued a notice to de-register the South African Communist Party - SACP - and a host of other inactive political parties. The affected political organisations have until the 24th of March to make submissions to the Electoral Commission detailing why they should not be de-registered. The IEC says the parties did not fulfill their obligations by...

The Southern African regional bloc has said it will conclude its troop deployment in the Democratic Republic of the Congo having decided on a phased withdrawal. Leaders from the 16-nation Southern African Development Community - SADC – that has lost more than a dozen soldiers in the eastern DRC since January – held a virtual summit on THURSDAY to discuss the ongoing conflict in an area...

In South Africa alone, one out of four people will be affected by cancer in their lifetime. The increase in the number of people diagnosed with cancer also leads to an increased number of people living with many kinds of consequences. Dineo Mokoka, is a 40-year-old single mother of three who was diagnosed with stage 4 breast and liver cancer in 2022, followed by a brain cancer diagnosis in 2024. D...

The United States THIS WEEK announced the termination of its membership of the Just Energy Transition Partnership - JETP - climate finance agreement with several developing countries, South Africa being one.  On Thursday, the Just Transition Project Management Unit in the Presidency issued a statement confirming the decision which also affects Indonesia and Vietnam. The US pullout means that...

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced the establishment of the Presidential Johannesburg Working Group to revitalise and rejuvenate Johannesburg and return it to its glory days. This came out during his meeting with the executive committee of the Johannesburg City Council at the Council Chamber in Braamfontein YESTERDAY. The meeting involved Members of the Mayoral Committees and their Executive...

Community activist and a whistle blower in the Timothy Omotoso rape and trafficking case, Pamela Mabini, was shot dead in the driveway of her home in KwaZakhele in Gqeberha YESTERDAY morning. She was a regular attendee at the trial of the trial of Omotoso. Mabini played a pivotal role in supporting the witnesses in the Omotoso case. PamEla was also shot at by unknown gunmen in May 2018 after recie...

U.S. President Donald Trump YESTERDAY launched his latest salvo against South Africa, in a social media post directly offering South African farmers and their families safe refuge in the USA and an expedited pathway to citizenship. Trump posted to Truth Social that South Africa was being terrible to long time farmers in the country. He again erroneously stated that their land and farms were being...

In its 2024 report, the South African Fraud Prevention Service revealed that identity theft skyrocketed by 400% in South Africa between April 2023 and April 2024.  SAFPS adds that out of the 8521 formal cases opened at the Ombudsman for Banking Services in 2023, 43.47% were categorised as fraud. This is part of a rising trend in scams where fraudsters use false identities or intercept the sec...

Standard Chartered's Women in Tech accelerator program offers women entrepreneurs a unique platform to unleash their potential, overcome barriers, and accelerate their business ventures. The programme  is part of the bank's commitment to fostering gender equality and driving innovation in the rapidly evolving technological landscape, aimed at empowering and supporting women entrepreneurs in t...

While many countries have made strides on gender equality and women's empowerment, discrimination remains deeply embedded in some societies, imposing chronic constraints on the rights and hopes of women and girls. As the world commemorates International Women's Day TODAY, women and girls continue facing unprecedented growing threats, from higher levels of discrimination to weaker legal protections...

The Health Department is urging the public not to panic as three new Mpox cases have been detected. The cases have been confirmed in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng. One of the patients  recently travelled to the Ugandan capital Kampala. This increases the total cumulative number of positive cases from 25 to 28 cases, including three deaths since the outbreak in May last year. For an update on the health...

The Institute for Security Studies says anti-corruption measures targeting traffic police, not just SAPS, are vital to improve safety in SA's major cities and that traffic cop corruption tarnishes all policing in South Africa. The ISS report further adds that soliciting bribes is deeply embedded in traffic policing in South Africa. Six of the nine national surveys conducted since 2003 that asked a...