The Weekend View

There is a shortage of qualified South African cellphone repairers or mobile device repair technicians in the country, and soon; scores of young South Africans in Gauteng will soon be trained to become skilled distributors and repairers of devices such as cellphones, laptops, tablets and wearables. The project is led by the SA Mobile Devices Distributors and Repairers Association (Samddra), with f...

Electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says Eskom will spend about R30bn in the current financial year as it tries to mitigate the severity of load-shedding. During a media briefing on Friday, Ramokgopa said the demand is expected to increase by between 32,000MW to 37,000MW in winter. Meanwhile, the North Gauteng High Court made a ruling that all hospitals, clinics, schools, and police station...

The three metros in Gauteng, have had a revolving door for mayors. Since the local government elections in November 2021- the city of Johannesburg has had four mayors (Democratic Alliance's Mpho Phalatse, ANC's Dada Morero, Al-Jamah's Thapelo Amad and now Al- Jamah's Kabelo Gwamanda has taken over the position of executive mayor) - Ekurhuleni has two mayors (Tanya Campbell and currently AIC's Sivu...

Today, King Charles the Third will be formally crowned. The 74-year-old will be crowned in front of 2,200 invited guests from across the political, royal, and celebrity worlds. It is eight months since he ascended to the throne, following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in September last year. The ceremony will be held at Westminster Abbey in London, the setting for every coronation s...

Today, King Charles the Third will be formally crowned. The 74-year-old will be crowned in front of 2,200 invited guests from across the political, royal, and celebrity worlds. It is eight months since he ascended to the throne, following the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, in September last year. The ceremony will be held at Westminster Abbey in London, the setting for every coronation s...

Al-Jama-ah councillor Kabelo Gwamanda has been voted in as the new executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg. Gwamanda garnered the majority of the votes, he got 139, followed by the DA's Mpho Phalatse with 68 and ActionSA's Funzi Ngobeni with 59.  The city has been without a mayor for over a week following the resignation of former mayor Thapelo Amad, also of Al-Jama-ah. He resigned a day befor...

Al-Jama-ah councillor Kabelo Gwamanda has been voted in as the new executive Mayor of the City of Johannesburg. Gwamanda garnered the majority of the votes, he got 139, followed by the DA's Mpho Phalatse with 68 and ActionSA's Funzi Ngobeni with 59.  The city has been without a mayor for over a week following the resignation of former mayor Thapelo Amad, also of Al-Jama-ah. He resigned a day befor...

Sign Language is soon set to become an official language in South Africa. This after the National Assembly, THIS WEEK, passed the Constitutional Eighteenth Amendment Bill, which will make the necessary changes to the Constitution to make room for a 12th official language. The bill still needs to be sent to the National Council of Provinces for concurrence and then sent to President Cyril Ramaphosa...

Tomorrow is Workers Day, a day when worker issues are brought into sharp focus. South Africa's 225 registered trade unions represent approximately three million workers, but changing employment contracts, including outsourcing, informatisation of jobs, and remote working, have led to diminishing membership numbers. In addition to declining membership leading to reduced income for trade unions, the...

It's a story of capture, massive deception, and devastating human consequences that are still felt today. And despite a litany of evidence of dishonesty, little has been done to bring the perpetrators to book. It's the story of Aurora Empowerment Systems - a black-owned, politically connected business - that in October 2009, made a bid to rescue the liquidated Pamodzi Gold mines. Former President...

The company at the centre of the storm of KZN's National School Nutrition Programme and its failure to provide food to schools says since the 14th of April 2023, it has continued to deliver food to schools at the agreed collection points of all twelve districts of the province. Despite reports that the contract has been invalidated by the ANC in the province, service provider, Pacina Pty Ltd is cl...

The government has insisted that the private visit to South Africa by United Arab Emirates (UAE) President, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and his 500-member entourage, is above board and that no immigration or other laws were flouted.  Addressing a media briefing in Pretoria, Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni said that government can account for all the people that are part of...

Western Cape Premier, Alan Winde, announced that he had instructed the province's Law Enforcement Advancement Plan - LEAP - officers to arrest Russia's President, Vladimir Putin if he should set foot in the province in August. Putin is expected to attend the BRICS Annual Heads of State Summit in Gauteng. This is despite the International Criminal Court (ICC) issuing an arrest warrant for Putin for...

With the stresses of the economic downturn and financial strain often linked with the inability to meet repayment obligations to creditors, the need for trust within the banking sector has never been more important. More than ever before, there is a general feeling that consumers need banks that they can rely on, banks that are approachable and that are amenable to assist them in times of economic...

The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) has advised President Cyril Ramaphosa to suspend two judges including the one presiding over the trial of five men accused of murdering soccer star, Senzo Meyiwa. The Commission says it has received reports from the Judicial Conduct Committee relating to complaints against judges Tshifhiwe Maumela and Nomonde Mngqisa-Thusi about their failure to deliver numero...

As we gear up for Freedom Day, we pay special attention to women who actively participated in the liberation struggle. The recently published book, 'Guerrillas and Combative Mothers' gives a first-hand account of women's participation in the armed struggle against apartheid from 1961 to 1994 and their lives in a democratic South Africa. The author, Professor Siphokazi Magadla, skillfully traces li...

Sudan's capital Khartoum  resembled a ghost town yesterday, in stark contrast to the joyful mood usually seen during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr. After a week of fighting between two factions of the country's military leadership at least 400 people have been killed. Witnesses say bombing, shelling and gunfire continue as a three-day truce called by the United Nations and others has failed to...

The Nelson Mandela Foundation has welcomed the  judgement by The Supreme Court of Appeal in Bloemfontein that the gratuitous public display of the old South African flag constitutes hate speech, unfair discrimination on the basis of race as well as harassment. This after Afriforum brought the matter before the court last year. The civic organization argued before the SCA that displaying the old So...

Eyebrows have been raised following the revelation that prior to his visit, the president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE),  Sheik Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, donated R20-million to the Eastern Cape government to enable it to upgrade the airport where he and his entourage landed. The Sheik and 500 of his guests reportedly landed at the Bulembu Airport for a visit meant to convince citizens of t...

Menstrual Leave is a concept that some employers are now starting to consider.  Spain recently approved legislation entitling relevant workers, who have medical approval, to menstrual leave - becoming the first European country to join the list of a few other countries that legally recognize menstrual leave in some form. The other countries that recognize menstrual leave are Japan, Indonesia, Taiw...

This week, ministers and top officials from the Judicial Inspectorate of Correctional Services (JICS), the South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) faced questions from MPs in the Parliamentary Committee on Justice and Correctional Services on their investigations into Thabo Bester's escape. As officials scrambled to answer, what emerged was a string of...

The ACDP has dismissed as false and disappointing claims by DA leader John Steeinhuisen that it has rejected to be part of the opposition Moonshot Pact. This follows the DA's calls to form a coalition agreement that would see opposition parties united against the governing party and the EFF ahead of the 2024 national elections. Five other parties have agreed to talks with the DA at a national conv...

As South Africans continue to battle with Stage 6 loadshedding throughout this weekend, Eskom workers affiliated to the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) are demanding a 15% salary increase across the board. The trade union confirmed that it has officially submitted its wage demands to the beleaguered power utility with negotiations set to start next week. Amongst a raft of other demands made by...

The future of customer risk profiling shouldn't prioritise exclusion. This is according to Mishaan Ratan, Chief Marketing Officer at Rentoza. Ratan says throughout history, credit checks have been used by the lending sector to understand financial behaviour. However, this method  is said to completely exclude many consumers. Because of the credit check method, many people continue to be denied cre...

Convicted killer and rapist Thabo Bester's lawyers yesterday told the Bloemfontein Magistrates Court that since Bester landed in the country on Thursday he has not eaten anything because he fears being poisoned. The fugitive, who was recaptured in Tanzania and brought back to South Africa, was charged in connection with his escape from G4S-run Mangaung Maximum Security Prison on 3 May 2022. Bester...