The Weekend View

YESTERDAY , The High Court in Pretoria ordered that the mine shaft in Stilfontein, North West, where suspected illegal miners have been retrieved must be unblocked for emergency personnel and that no person should block it. This comes after the Society for the Protection of our Constitution approached the court on an urgent basis. The court  ordered  that any miners underground should be permitted to exit and that emergency personnel may enter the mine shaft. The Operation Vala Umgodi task team continues and police and other safety officials will remain on-site until all illegal miners resurface and are apprehended. To get the latest Bongiwe Zwane spoke to SABC reporter Thabiso Moss, National police spokesperson Brigadier Athlenda Mathe and  Alan Martin, independent investigative researcher and technical adviser specialising in illicit artisanal mining 

The murder trial of the three remaining co-accused in the 1987 murder of anti-apartheid activist Caiphus Nyoka, is expected to start TOMORROW (18 November 2024) at the Gauteng  High Court, sitting in the Benoni Magistrates' Court. Johan Marais, one of the four accused former apartheid police officers was convicted of Nyoka's murder in the Pretoria High Court on Tuesday, and will be sentenced in January next year. The other three co-aacussed - Leon Louis Van Den Berg, Abram Hercules Engelbrecht, and Pieter Stander - will have their day in court beginning tomorrow. Caiphus Nyoka, a leader of the Congress of South African Students - COSAS - was shot and killed at his family home in Daveyton, Gauteng on 24th August 1987 by an apartheid police unit established to 'deal with terrorism'. To talk to us about the trial we are joined on the line by Mosangoaneng Leteane, Senior Projects Officer at the Foundation For Human Rights.....

Power Utility Eskom is urging prepaid electricity customers to recode their meters by 24 November 2024. This prepaid update is  required by the Standard Transfer Specification Association (STSA).Eskom says after this deadline, meters will no longer accept electricity tokens. Udo Carelse spoke to Eskom spokesperson  Daphne Mokwena 

The National Sea Rescue Institute - NSRI - is appealing to people using the coastline THIS WEEKEND to be cautious as the full moon Spring tide peaks.  The Institute says the daily 2 high tides will be higher than normal and the daily 2 low tides will be lower than normal from this weekend and into the new week. Spring tides may cause stronger than normal sea currents posing a potential hazard to bathers around the coastline  especially during the outgoing tide. NSRI spokesperson Craig Lambinon has warned bathers, boaters, paddlers, sailors, shoreline anglers and coastal hikers to be cautious...

For some reaction to the President's address Udo Carelse spoke to Matakanye Matakanye, General Secretary of the National Association of School Governing Bodies, Dr Mugwena Maluleke, SADTU General Secretary, ATM National Spokesperson Zama Ntshona and  Angelo Fick, Research Director at Auwal Socio-Economic Research Institute 

Government has finally heeded the call to act on non-compliant spaza shops across the country. After 22 deaths and several weeks of sporadic protests in various communities, President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced some interventions to curb the deaths of children and ensure compliance in townships. Among the measures is a joint fund of 500 million rand by the Departments of Trade, Industry and Competition and Small Business Development. He addressed the nation on FRIDAY.  SABC reporter Zoleka Qodashe has more details

Operations have resumed at the Lebombo Port of Entry between South Africa and Mozambique. This, after Mozambique authorities advised the South African Border Management Authority that cargo carrying trucks will be processed manually. Earlier this week, protesters stormed the offices of the Ressano Garcia border on the Mozambican side. Truck drivers and hawkers have expressed excitement at the re-opening of the border. Bongiwe Zwanes spoke to local journalist, Clemente Carlos from the capital, Maputo...

A recent United Nations study found that 95% of children in South Africa have access to the internet regularly – and their online behaviour exposes them to online violence, exploitation and abuse. Some 70% of children surveyed by UNICEF said they use the internet without parental consent. This is a worldwide phenomenon and it is against this backdrop that Australia, THIS WEEK, announced plans to ban children under the age of 16 from social media as part of a push to protect young people's mental health. The proposed laws are to be tabled in Australia's parliament next week.  Campaigners say bans are needed to protect children from harmful content, misinformation, bullying and other social pressures. While most experts agree that social media platforms can harm the mental health of adolescents, many are split over the efficacy of trying to outlaw them all together. Some argue that bans only delay young people's exposure to apps such as TikTok, Instagram and Facebook, instead of teaching them how to navigate complex online spaces. Bongiwe Zwane spoke to Dee Mokoena, Chief Executive Officer at Cyber Sec Clinique and Freelance writer with TechCentral, Sandra Laurence 

Power utility Eskom THIS WEEK announced unprecedented plans to interrupt power supply to the City of Johannesburg at certain pre-determined times of the day from next month, citing City Power's failure to pay R4.9-billion in arrears. If Eskom goes ahead with it's plans, that will leave hundreds of thousands of households in South Africa's largest city in the dark even when many of them are fully paid up customers with City Power or have pre-paid meters. When metros or municipalities fail to pay Eskom on time or at all, it forces Eskom to borrow additional money at premiums to fund operational costs, particularly as the country's municipal debt arrears to Eskom stands at R90-billion. The power utility is expected to announce a decision on the intended electricity interruptions in the middle of December. The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse - OUTA - plans to submit written representations on the matter. Bongiwe Zwane spoke to  OUTA  Executive Director, Advocate Stephanie Fick 

Mozambique remains tense with the country's largest hospital saying at least three people were killed and 66 others injured during clashes between police and protesters on THURSDAY over a disputed election. The fatalities add to at least 18 people killed in earlier protests since the October. 9 poll, which the opposition claims was rigged. Some groups have given a higher toll, with Mozambique's Centre for Democracy and Human Rights reporting 34 deaths overall. Thursday's protests were the biggest Mozambique has ever seen against Frelimo, the party that has ruled Mozambique since 1975 and was declared winner of last month's election by a landslide.  For the latest on the situation Bongiwe Zwane spoke to local journalist Clemente Carlos in the capital, Maputo...