The Weekend View

Concern has been raised over the safety of visitors to one of South Africa's major tourism draw cards - the Table Mountain National Park. The increasing spate of muggings and robberies led to a peaceful protest last week to highlight safety and security issues. The latest reported attacks include foreign tourists and mountain bikers who were robbed at knife point. Concerned groups have accused SANParks of not doing enough to provide security in the national park, especially now as we head into the festive season when more visitors are expected.  We spoke to Table Mountain National Park manager, Megan Taplin.

Corruption Watch yesterday issued an open letter urging South Africa to intensify its anti-corruption efforts. The letter comes days before next week's 10th session of the United Nations Convention against Corruption Conference to be held in the United States. The letter outlines the areas that require urgent intervention and implementation and it comes just after the International Anti-Corruption Day summit held in Pretoria on Thursday....To tell us more on this we spoke to Karam Singh, Executive Director at Corruption Watch ....

There is general support and relief following the appointment of Dan Marokane as Eskom's new CEO. He will take up the position by 31st March 2024.The Minister of Public Enterprises, Pravin Gordhan made the announcement yesterday. Marokane replaces former CEO Andre de Ruyter who resigned from the position a year ago following a loss of support from the government and board. He joins the power utility at a difficult time as the country is going through the worst rolling blackouts on record this year.  We spoke to Independent energy expert Adil Nchabeleng 

It's widely known that nothing ages better than a fine wine, and now a team from Stellenbosch University has combined finance and the science of wine  to develop a fine wine index that proves the positive value of the beverage as an investment asset. Together with honours students; Anton Blignaut and Jean-Pierre Viljoen, Dr Mesias Alfeus, a lecturer of Financial Risk Management in the Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science has co-authored a paper that looks at an investment model for fine wine in South Africa. The Index will be used to evaluate wine as a financial asset and it also recognises rich heritage of SA wine. We spoke to Dr Mesias Alfeus to tell us more about this interesting innovation..

Deputy President Paul Mashatile has raised concerned that there are fewer HIV positive children who are on antiretroviral therapy. Mashatile was speaking during the World Aids Day commemoration event in Mandeni on the KwaZulu-Natal north coast. Meanwhile South Africa is leading globally with children who are infected with HIV. Vusi Makhosini reports. We spoke to Dr Seithati Molefi Deputy Chief of Party at Right to Care AND Sibongile Tsahabalala; Chairperson of the Treatment Action Campaign (TAC)

On the 20th of December, the Democratic Republic of (DRC) will be heading to the polls for presidential elections. More than 43 million registered voters are eligible to take part in the general election. President Felix Tshisekedi has since launched his re-election bid with his Union for Democracy and Social Progress - UDPS. Tshisekedi will face 25 other candidates in the presidential race, including old rival Martin Fayulu, who came second in the 2018 election. Other candidates include Nobel Peace Prize-winning gynecologist Denis Mukwege, Moise Katumbi, a millionaire businessman and former governor of the copper-rich Katanga region, and former prime minister Augustin Matata Ponyo. We spoke to  the President of the governing coalition partners, the UDPS in South Africa, Dr Celestin Muleba….

 Small businesses have felt the brunt of multiple crises plaguing the country. From rolling blackouts, the Covid-19 pandemic, to an economy that's not growing and difficulties in accessing markets, small businesses have struggled. It's often said SMMEs are the backbone of the economy, but do they have adequate support? Wongakazi Majola from Impactful Initiatives is trying to change this through a market that is meant to assist small businesses. 

TODAY is the United Nations International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The day aims to promote an understanding of disability issues and to mobilise support for the dignity, rights and well-being of persons with disabilities. Despite legislation on inclusivity, in South Africa, like many other parts around the world, persons with disabilities still face many inequities, including stigma, discrimination, poverty, and exclusion from education and employment. We spoke to  Dylan Mashele, Public Relations and Communications officer at the National Council of and for Persons with Disabilities - NCPD 

Dozens of Palestinians were reportedly killed yesterday after Israel resumed attacks on Gaza after the expiration of a week long truce. International mediators, including Qatar, Egypt and the United States, had been pushing for another extension of the pause, which expired on Friday. In a separate incident Israeli soldiers also killed one of their citizens execution style after mistaking him for a Palestinian gunman, a situation that has caused uproar. We spoke to Israeli journalist Jonathan Schwartz 

Several Palestinian resistance organisations are this weekend attending the 5th Global Convention of Solidarity with Palestine taking place in Johannesburg. The event commemorates the tenth anniversary of the passing of Nelson Mandela and is titled: "Nelson Mandela and Palestine. To tell us more about this convention we spoke to  Muhamed Desai, Executive Director at Africa4Palestine....