The Weekend View

According to a 2022 report by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation over the last 12 years, South Africa has endured the most extreme weather events out of all African countries, with 33 disaster events between 2010 and 2022. Meanwhile, the Summer season is historically hail season in the northern parts of South Africa, with an average of six to eight hail days recorded each year in parts of Gauteng and Lesotho, the eastern Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga. Insurance companies say hailstroms are an extremely destructive natural weather pattern and can cause a damage worth millions of rands. For more on this we are joined on the line by Thabo Mabaso, Head of Corporate Communications at Santam Insurance... 

 A week after parts of the Western Cape were lashed by heavy rains and winds and the resultant floods, thousands of people are still feeling the devastation and disruption of the disaster. Initial assessments of the flood damage are estimated at 1.4 billon rands. At least 11 people are known to have died in the Heritage Day long weekend storm. Whilst reconstruction of bridges and other damaged infrastructure in the province begins efforts to extend humanitarian assistance to affected people continues. Ali Sablay is with aid agency Gift of the Givers in the Western Cape 

 Vote counting is underway in eSwatini, following yesterday's parliamentary elections in which political parties are banned from contesting.  Over 580,000 registered voters cast their ballots to choose 59 members of the lower house of parliament, which plays only an advisory role to the monarch.  Analysts say with most candidates loyal to the king, the election is unlikely to change the political climate. The results, to be announced within a few days, are seen as a foregone conclusion by the opposition, which called for a boycott of the vote. The People's United Democratic Movement - PUDEMO - is the largest opposition party in Eswatini and it's president is Mlungisi Makhanya 

Food is a cherished avenue for cultural expression. From the popular braai or shisanyama to biltong, bobotie, Durban curry, Cape Malay cuisine or tripe - each bite is a journey through South Africa's culinary history and heritage. This Heritage Day we are joined in the studio by an Alexandra based chef who specializes in traditional African foods. Chef Mpho Ramokone is the founder of "Skop Sundays" and operates from a food container donated to him by the Gauteng government.  His vision is to continue to sell the best tasting food he can prepare and pass on the heritage of his choice meals and specialities. 

Exploring the state of our heritage sites and national monuments, and whether in their current condition, they are the best vehicles to express our national heritage we are joined by Dr Mabuyi Gumede, Senior Lecturer  and Programe Coordinator  in the Cultural Heritage Tourism  Programme at UKZN,  AND Dr Ndivhoniswani Lukhwareni, CEO of the National Heritage Council of South Africa. 

The DRC this week asked United Nations forces in the country to withdraw by the end of the year saying the peace keeping mission had failed to maintain peace.  President Félix Tshisekedi told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday that he had instructed his government to bring forward the start of the UN withdrawal from December 2024 to December 2023. Tshisekedi said the mission - known as MONUSCO - had failed to bring peace in the country despite being there for 25 years. The force has 18,000 personnel in the country, making it the second-largest UN mission globally. To discuss this we are joined on the line by Prof Thomas Mandrup from the Security Institute of Governance and Leadership in Africa at Stellenbosch University. He is currently at the Royal Danish Defence College and joins us on the line from Denmark.....

Parliament this week passed a bill which will expunge criminal records for those convicted of breaching Covid-19 lock-down laws. South Africa had some of the world's toughest restrictions, which saw more than 340,000 convicted for not wearing masks, consuming alcohol and breaking curfew, among other violations. If the bill sails through those who admitted guilt and paid fines will now have their records cleared. There have  been numerous complaints about people missing out on employment opportunities because of the criminal records from the Covid-19 lock-down law violations.We spoke to Profesor Kholofelo Rakubu, Acting Head of the Safety and Security Management Department at the Tshwane University of Technology (TUT)

Consumers have a to right check their credit reports and challenge any information which may be incorrect and outdated by disputing this for free. That's the message from the Credit Ombud who says out of  the 27 million active consumers, only 757 thousand credit reports have been issued to consumers. The Credit Ombud is asking consumers who find themselves at a stalemate with their credit provider or the credit bureau to contact their offices so that their query may be investigated fairly, independently, and honestly. We spoke to  Kabelo Teme, credit ombudsman spokesperson..

For 69 years Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi, who was laid to rest in KwaZulu-Natal yesterday, was traditional prime minister to three successive Zulu kings, beginning with King Cyprian Bhekuzulu in 1954. He served under King Goodwill Zwelithini, the longest-serving monarch of the Zulu kingdom, from 1968 to March 2021 and more recently, under the current king Misuzulu kaZwelithini, until his death last week.

For 44 years Buthelezi was also at the helm of the Inkatha Freedom Party - IFP- from it's founding in 1975 until 2019 when his hand picked successor, Velinkosi Hlabisa was elected unopposed as the new leader at the party's 35th National General Conference. Until his passing last Saturday, Prince Buthelezi was at the centre of developments, successes, tensions and challenges faced by the two institutions.

Now that he is no more, will his shadow continue to shape the two organisations into the future? For a look at the road ahead for both the IFP and the AmaZulu Royal House, Sebenzile Nkambule spoke to political analyst,  Zakhele Ndlovu and academic and cultural expert, Dr Gugu Mazibuko, both from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

Despite having teams ready to deploy immediately to disaster stricken Morocco and Libya, aid agency Gift of the Givers has been unable to send  aid to the two North African countries...While earthquake  devastated Morocco has refused it's offer of assistance, a deployment to floods ravaged Libya has hit a dead end due to logistical problems. The disasters have claimed thousands of lives in the two countries. Sebenzile Kambule spoke to founder and chair of the Gift of the Givers Foundation, Dr Imtiaz Sooliman about some of the challenges the organisation has faced in attempts to assist the two countries.