The Weekend View

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is hosting its Gauteng Provincial Congress where the party will elect new leadership ahead of the 2024 General Election. DA Federal Leader, John Steenhuisen, is expected to address delegates on the Moonshot Pact which he believes will usher in a new provincial government in Gauteng after next year's election. Incumbent Solly Msimanga is seeking a second term and he will be up against Nkhumeni Ramulifho for the position of Gauteng leader while Rachel  Mathebe and Frederik Nel will battle it out for the Provincial Chairmanship. Sebenzile Nkambule spoke to Werner Horn the Presiding Officer for DA Gauteng Provincial CongreSS... 

Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni on Thursday insisted that his country will do with or without the support of the World Bank. He was responding to an announcement on Tuesday by the US-based global lender that it was suspending new loans to Uganda over what is considered among the world's harshest laws targeting LGBTQI communities enacted in May. Museveni said Uganda does not need pressure from anybody to know how to solve its societal problems. Opposition leader Bobi Wine also weighed in on the issue condemning the World Bank for prioritizing gay rights while ignoring other human rights violations in Uganda that include torture, detention without charge and election rigging. Sebenzile Nkambule spoke to Uganda's capital Kampala by LGBTQI activist, Richard Lusimbo .....

There is a collective sigh of relief after taxis started operating again in Cape Town yesterday following a weeklong stay away by SANTACO which turned violent leaving 5 people dead and thousands of commuters stranded. As the situation slowly returns to normal, it will be a lot longer for the tourism industry which suffered reputational damage after some countries issued travel alerts for the Mother City. A British tourist was also among the dead after he apparently took a wrong turn from Cape Town International Airport and ended up in the protest in Nyanga where he was attacked and killed. The South African Tourism Services Association - SATSA - is worried about the long-term impact of the strike on their sector. Sebenzile Nkambule spoke to SATSA Chairperson Oupa Pilane... 

At yesterday's closing of the two-day National Dialogue on Coalition Governments at the University of the Western Cape, Deputy President Paul Mashatile called on the country to draw lessons from others and its own experiences on coalition governments. Mashatile gave examples of successful government coalitions when the  African National Congress (ANC) worked with the National Party at the national level and the IFP in KwaZulu-Natal at the dawn of democracy. Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has accused the ANC of trying to hijack the dialogue, DA chief whip, Siviwe Gwarube says it became apparent during discussions that the government was already working on its own coalition legislation. An accusation the deputy president has since denied. Bongiwe Zwane spoke to United Democratic Movement (UDM) leader, Bantu Holomisa and DA's National Spokesperson, Solly Malatsi... 

Banyana  Banyana has lost two-nil to the 2019 World Cup finalists, the Netherlands, in the crunch round of the 16-group fixture at the Sydney football stadium in Australia. Banyana is the first South African team, male or female, to get to the knockout stages of a world cup. Meanwhile, the curtain closes on the 2023 Netball World Cup in Cape Town today with the final match between England and Australia. The match starts at 6 pm. Before that at 4 pm the bronze medal match will see the sunshine girls, Jamaica battle it out. New Zealand. Later this morning at 11 am South Africa will play their last game of the Netball World Cup as the Proteas face fellow Africans, Uganda, in the 5th/6th place playoff. Bongiwe Zwane spoke to sports analyst Sandisiwe Guzana and SABC Sports analyst, Matthews Mpete...

The Western Cape E-hailing Association (WCEA), which represents different e-hailing services, yesterday announced that they were joining the Cape Town taxi strike. In a statement, the association said all their vehicles will be parked and not engage in any normal business with immediate effect. On Thursday, chaos, sporadic stone-throwing, and violence erupted on major highways in Cape Town as taxi drivers embarked on a week-long stay away amid growing tension with the City of Cape Town authorities over impoundments. Major roads were blocked, and stranded commuters were forced to walk home. Tensions between the City of Cape Town and taxi operators have been simmering over a new by-law that gives power to the municipality to impound vehicles rather than fining drivers. Sebenzile Nkambule spoke to the City of Cape Town mayoral committee member for safety and security JP Smith... 

Political parties taking part in the national dialogues on the coalition government have proposed a number of changes in the law to prevent the collapse of coalition governments. Some of the suggestions include a limit to the number of motions of no confidence to avoid it being abused for political reasons. Meanwhile, there are also reports that the Department of cooperative governance and traditional affairs has already prepared a bill with suggestions on how to regulate and stabilise coalition governments. Sebenzile Nkambule spoke to ActionSA National Chairperson, Michael Beaumont is participating in the national dialogue and director of Research at the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (Mistra) and Visiting Professor at the Wits School of Governance, Susan Booysen

The military officers who seized power in the West African state of Niger 10 days ago have until today to restore Mohamed Bazoum as president or face military action from the Economic Community of West African States -  ECOWAS. In an intensification of the standoff coup leader General Abdourahamane Tchiani has declared that he will not bow down to pressure and urged his countrymen to get ready to defend their nation. Last Sunday ECOWAS threatened the use of force against the junta if it did not release and reinstate the president within a week, an ultimatum immediately rejected by neighbouring Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea, all of which are run by mutinous soldiers who toppled their governments. On Thursday thousands of people took to the streets of Niger's capital, Niamey, in support of the military coup. Sebenzile Nkambule spoke to  Christopher Isike, Professor of African politics and international relations at the University of Pretoria...

There is a new banking scam you need to be aware of! The Ombudsman for Banking Services in South Africa is warning consumers about a new fraud technique that exploits a growingly popular contactless payment method to empty people's bank accounts. Fraudsters are using stolen card information - such as the card number, expiry date and CVV number -  to make purchases via digital payment wallets. These apps employ near-field communications (NFC) technology to make tap payments on smartphones and smartwatches using a linked bank card.These include Apple Pay, Fitbit Pay, Garmin Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay. Sebenzile Nkambule spoke to Reana Steyn, the Banking Ombud of South Africa...

There are no surprises among the teams who will contest today's semifinals at the Netball World Cup 2023 in Cape Town with the top four on the latest world rankings all advancing in the competition. England will take on defending champions New Zealand and Australia will face Jamaica. Yesterday the Proteas beat Tonga 72-46 booking South Africa's place in the 5th-place playoff on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Banyana Banyana will aim to keep on dreaming at the Fifa Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand when they take on the Netherlands in the last 16 in Sydney early tomorrow morning. Kick-off is at 4 am South African time. Sebenzile Nkambule spoke to sports analyst Sandisiwe Guzana ...