The Weekend View

Ahead of South Africa's national elections on the 29th of May, citizens are imploring political parties to make the energy crisis a top priority in their election agenda.  According to a recent survey conducted by Nguvu Collective, 85.5% of respondents chose load shedding as the topmost issue that needs immediate resolution. The survey also revealed that load shedding is a key deterrent for women's economic empowerment. Other issues respondents highlighted were infrastructure, crime,  unemployment and corruption. The findings will be presented to all major political parties ahead of the elections, to urge them to address these issues in their election agenda.  Sebenzile Nkambule spoke to Molebogeng Tema, Nguvu Collective Change leader

The United States rejected a fairly broad consensus in the Security Council on THURSDAY when it vetoed a draft resolution that would have recommended the State of Palestine's full membership to the United Nations. Twelve countries including Russia, France and China backed the measure which drew two abstentions from the United Kingdom and Switzerland. But it was left to Washington's veto to sink any hopes of sending the measure to the General Assembly for further action where the State of Palestine was likely to win the two-thirds majority that would have rubber stamped its accession as the 194th-member state of the global organisation. Sherwin Bryce Pease filed this report and Sebenzile Nkambule spoke to  Professor Chris Landsberg, Director of the Centre for African Diplomacy and Leadeship at the University of Johannesburg and Ricky Mukonza , Associate Professor of Public Affairs at Tshwane University of Technology

The world's largest election got underway in India on YESTERDAY. The election - which will be held in several phases across two months - will see nearly 1 billion eligible voters cast their ballot. It's widely expected incumbent Prime Minister - Narendra Modi - will win but the opposition claims the polls are already not free and fair. Neha Poonia has more from New Delhi. 

Explosions that echoed over the Iranian city of Isfahan YESTERDAY were described as an Israeli attack, but Tehran has been playing down the incident and indicating it has no plans for retaliation - a response that appeared gauged towards averting region-wide war. Iran media reports say 3 drones were shot down. The limited scale of the attack and Iran's muted response both appeared to signal a successful effort by diplomats who have been working round the clock to avert all-out war since an Iranian drone and missile attack on Israel last Saturday. The Friday incident came a day after the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps  said it would respond in kind if Israel attacked Iranian nuclear sites, adding that it may also shift its stance on nuclear bombs. Many are asking whether this was really Israel's expected retaliation. Some analysts say this is only the first stage and a trap to test the waters.
Sebenzile Nkambule spoke to   David Vestenskov, Director of the Centre for Stabilisation at the Royal Danish Defence College in Copenhagen 

Ahead of World Creativity and Innovation Day TOMORROW, Aware.org,  an organisation dedicated to promoting and supporting the responsible use of alcohol, has unveiled an innovative digital tool called The Drunk Goggles simulator. It is designed to help South Africans understand the dangers of drinking and driving and encourage them to prioritise safety by only driving sober. The simulator uses cutting-edge technology and allows participants to step into reality and see the road through the eyes of a drunk driver. Sebenzile Nkambule spoke to Mokebe Thulo, Head of Brand at Aware.org 

It seems to have become the order of the day for South African political parties to want to become embroiled in workplace issues. This initially gained prominence with the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), which involved itself in the affairs of two companies, the Calgan Lounge in 2018 and Gordon Road Spar in 2021- and to which the Labour Court took a strong stance. According to law firm, Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr , the Gordon Road Spar judgment,  needs to be heeded by employers who are faced with a similar dilemma and who intend to engage the assistance of the court. CDH says when an employer wants to interdict the reach of political parties in the workplace, they will always face the important question of which court to approach. Sebenzile Nkambule spoke to  Asma Cachalia, Director in Employment Law practice at Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr (CDH)

Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife has resorted to drastic action to stop the widespread poaching of rhinos in the region. They have started an immediate programme to dehorn hundreds of rhinos in the province's largest rhino reserve. This follows the killing of 325 rhinos in the province last year, with more than 300 of the animals poached in the Hluhluwe-uMfolozi Park alone. The KZN slaughter accounted for nearly 65% of the 499 rhinos killed nationwide in 2023. Sebenzile Nkambule spoke to Musa Mntambo, spokesperson for Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife..

The Umkhonto WeSizwe Party - MKP- has expressed disappointment after the Electoral Commission of South Africa announced that it had approached the Constitutional Court to appeal the Electoral Court ruling, which found former president Jacob Zuma can run for elections despite a 15-month prison sentence. The party has accused the IEC of going out of its way to exclude Zuma from the ballot saying the electoral body is entering political space and becoming a player and an arbiter. The party has also called for the immediate resignation of the IEC Commissioner, Janet Love, for what it says is her ' bias'.
Sebenzile Nkambule spoke to Ebrahim Fakir, Consultant and  Election Analyst at the Electoral Institute For Sustainable Democracy In Africa - EISA

Several opposition parties were THIS WEEK left hot under the collar after fellow opposition and DA leader John Steenhuisen labelled some of them as 'popcorn parties' and  ' mercenaries " for campaigning in Western Cape. Parties such as Rise Mzansi, GOOD and ActionSA were not impressed by the comments and had a few unkind words for the DA leader. Steenhuisen's attack on smaller opposition parties comes as some pollsters are suggesting that the DA's majority in the Western Cape is shrinking.  A few days before that Steeinhuisen had also intimated that it may be a possibility that the DA may form a coalition government with the ANC after the May 29 election. The statement left fellow Multi Party Charter members like Freedom Front + fuming accusing the DA of turning it's back on the opposition coalition.
In our Sunday Morning Discussion we are looking at these accusations and counter accusations flying within the opposition ranks and to help us understand the dynamics Bongiwe Zwane spoke to politics Professor, Andre Duvenage from North West University and Angelo Fick, Research Director at Auwal Socio-Economic Research Institute.

 There is nothing inherently socially beneficial about taxes. Taxes are the legal codification of a long-standing social norm: that citizens should contribute to the common well-being of the society that they live in. This is according to Dr Sansia Blackmore, a Senior Lecturer at the African Tax Institute at the University of Pretoria's Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences. She says  taxes in South Africa are generally not user charges; taxpayers receive fewer goods and services than would be commensurate with the taxes they pay. Bongiwe Zwane spoke to Dr Sansia Blackmore