The long and painful wait for Ithala Bank depositors is finally coming to an end. After months of financial uncertainty, the National Treasury has released a long-awaited R2.2 billion guarantee, paving the way for thousands of affected customers to regain access to their frozen funds. KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli confirmed on Monday that all Ithala depositors will be paid before Christmas, marking a major turnaround for the embattled institution.

Guest: Francois Rodgers: KwaZulu-Natal Finance MEC 

Judicial watchdog organisations and magistrates across South Africa are warning that rising threats, intimidation, and violence directed at judicial officers are endangering lives and undermining the integrity of the justice system. Recent incidents involving attacks inside courtrooms and threats against magistrates have intensified calls for stronger security and protection. 

Guest: Mbekezeli Benjamin: Research and Advocacy Officer of the Judges Matter 

 

 

 

South Africa continues to face a worsening malnutrition crisis that is claiming the lives of children and threatening the country’s long-term social and economic stability. Despite being one of Africa’s largest economies, the nation is grappling with rising stunting rates, preventable child deaths, and the financial burden associated with chronic and acute malnutrition. Child welfare organisations and development advocates are urging the government to fast-track the proposed maternal support grant as part of an urgent, evidence-based effort to mitigate these impacts. 

Guest: Liezel Engelbrecht: Nutrition Lead of the Hold My Hand Acceleratorb

 

South Africa’s Department of Water and Sanitation has released a highly critical report on the 2022 Jagersfontein tailings dam collapse, revealing major failures in the mine’s design and management. Despite the findings and the deaths caused by the disaster, the department has decided to allow operations at the Jagersfontein mine to continue, citing the need to protect the local economy. 

Guest: David Mahlobo: Deputy Minister, Department of Water and Sanitationb

 

Former Ekurhuleni City Manager Dr Imogen Mashazi returned to the spotlight on Monday as she testified before the Madlanga Commission, where allegations of corruption, abuse of power, and deep-rooted criminal networks within the Ekurhuleni Metro Police Department (EMPD) continue to unravel. Her testimony comes amid mounting claims that she protected suspended acting EMPD head Julius Mkhwanazi—whose own alleged criminal ties and leadership of a rogue police unit have dominated the inquiry. Mashazi also faced a sharp rebuke from Commission Chair Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, who questioned her failure to act on repeated reports of sexual assault within the EMPD as far back as 2016. 

Guest: Canny Maphanga: Sabc Reporter

 

South Africa’s Department of Water and Sanitation has released a highly critical report on the 2022 Jagersfontein tailings dam collapse, revealing major failures in the mine’s design and management. Despite the findings and the deaths caused by the disaster, the department has decided to allow operations at the Jagersfontein mine to continue, citing the need to protect the local economy. 

Guest: David Mahlobo: Deputy Minister, Department of Water and Sanitation

 

 

Business Update with Ntaoleng Letshela

 

US lawmakers from both parties are demanding answers from the Trump administration following a report alleging that a US military operation in the Caribbean included a follow-up strike intended to kill survivors of an initial attack on a suspected Venezuelan drug-smuggling boat. The report has intensified scrutiny of the administration’s expanding military operations near Venezuela, raised serious legal concerns under US and international law, and sparked new political tensions both domestically and across the region.

Guest: Timothy Walker: Maritime Project Leader & Senior Researcher, Institute for Security Studies

 

02 December 2025

1. Sudan – West Kordofan 

Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) yesterday seized full control of Babanusa, a transport junction in the country's oil-producing South.

In a statement, the RSF said its "liberation" of Babanusa in West Kordofan state — the latest frontline in the war in Sudan — came as it repelled "a surprise attack" by the Sudanese army in what it called "a clear violation of the humanitarian truce."

 

1. Cameroon - Yaounde

Civil society condemns the death of opposition leader Anicet Ekane in custody.His passing has sparked grief and indignation in Yaoundé and beyond.

Cameroon is reeling after the death of Anicet Ekane, a prominent opposition figure and longtime critic of President Paul Biya, who died in state custody. 

 

1. Guinea–Bissau- Republic of Congo

Guinea-Bissau’s former president, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, has travelled to the Republic of Congo,  days after he was deposed in a military coup.

Califa Soares Cassama, Embalo’s chief of staff, confirmed to the international media  that the former president was in the Congolese capital, Brazzaville.

Umaro Sissoco Embalo arrives in the Republic of Congo after first seeking refuge in Senegal following this week’s coup.

 

1. In our historical archives, it was on this day, 2 December 1977, when, due to insufficient evidence, South African police were cleared of charges about the death of Steve Biko

Steve Biko, who died at the hands of apartheid security police on September 12, 1977, is widely seen as the greatest martyr of the anti-apartheid movement.  He gave up studying medicine to devote himself to the "struggle” and founded the Black Consciousness Movement in 1969.

 

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) has released its final investigative report into allegations of racial discrimination in Hartbeespoort. The complaint, lodged by the Hartbeespoort Community Development Initiative, accused the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS) of systematically excluding black applicants from leasing state-owned land along the dam shoreline, while prioritising mostly white occupants.

Key findings include:

• Indirect racial and gender discrimination in DWS’s lease allocation processes.
• Administrative failures by Madibeng Local Municipality, which worsened tensions and blocked transformation.
• Unsubstantiated claims of systemic racism against SAPS, though frustrations remain about enforcement.

The Commission has directed DWS to finalise its revised lease policy, review terminated Permissions to Occupy, and conduct a full audit of land use. Madibeng must clear its backlog of planning and licensing applications, gazette outstanding by-laws, and develop a transformation plan.

The report underscores that entrenched exclusion and mistrust can only be addressed through transparency, equitable access, and stronger institutional accountability.

GUEST:  Shirley Mlombo - North West Provincial Manager – SAHRC