The Weekend View

At least 31 suspected illegal miners, believed to be Basotho nationals, have died at a disused mine in Virginia in the Free State. The Mineral Resources Department announced yesterday that the group died last month in a ventilation shaft that was last operational in the 1990s. The department said the bodies are still underground, pending efforts with relevant stakeholders to retrieve them. Department inspectors have determined that dispatching a search team would be too risky, as current methane levels at the mine ventilation shaft remain high. illegal mining has been describes as a "plague" amid reports of rampant corruption, extortion and violence linked to zama-zama activity across the country. The miners have little in the way of safety equipment, and their tunnels are prone to collapsing. To talk to us about this we are joined on the line by Duncan Luvuno, National Union of Mineworkers - NUM's National Chairperson for Health and Safety

Three teenage initiates burned to death on Tuesday when their initiation school hut caught fire in in Mdantsane, in the Eastern Cape. The Initiation season continues to be an anxious and scary time for many South Africans, especially those who have teenage boys participating in the right of passage cultural practice. For the past decade the country has been plagued with bogus schools and unnecessary deaths of initiates with no solution in near sight. The Department of Corporative Governance and Traditional Affairs - Cogta - YESTERDAY also  hosted an awareness campaign on the Customary Initiation Act under the theme 'Preserving Lives, Promoting Customs. For this conversation we are joined by Fikile Xasa, Chairperson  of parliament's Cogta Portfolio Committee...

The recent introduction of the retirement fund's Two-Pot System will soon be an option for some workers and will enable them to dip in to the savings part of their retirement pot. However, is this wise and how will work? What are some of the elements of it that workers need to take caution against? These are some of the questions that need special attention before  March next year when the retirement fund Two Pot System is expected to be implemented. To help us understand how the system will work,  we spoke to Hugh Hacking, Head of Structured Investments and Annuities at Momentum Corporate...

Is the NHI a blessing or a curse for South Africa's healthcare system? That is the big question that we aim to unpack in today's discussion. The National Assembly this week  passed the controversial National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill with 205 MPs in support of it. The bill will now be sent to the NCOP for concurrence then signed into law by the President Cyril Ramaphosa. The Bill seeks to give all South Africans access to quality health care and makes provision for one pool of health care funding for private and public health care providers. Deputy Director General for the National Health Insurance (NHI) at the Health Department, Dr Nicholas Crisp says the primary source of funding for the NHI Bill will be the current tax system. A few organisations have vowed to legally challenge the implementation of the National Health Insurance Bill. For this discussion we are joined by Dr Simon  Strachan,  Paeditrician in private practice and the CEO of the South African Private Practitioners Forum  AND Dr Zamasomi Meyiwa Luvuno from the Centre for Rural Health at the University of Kwa Zulu Natal....

President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday concluded his African Peace Mission to Ukraine and Russia with a meeting with a meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Russia's cultural capital of St Petersburg. Ramaphosa who was leading the African delegation travelled to Kyiv and St Petersburg, to meet with the leaders the warring countries- in a bid to negotiate an end to hostilities. He said that the Mission put forward ten proposals to resolve the war which include the free passage of humanitarian aid, exchange of prisoners of war, opening of channels for the export of grain through the Black Sea and the need to guarantee the security of all countries amongst others. 

Bad weather continued to lash the Western Cape yesterday as more people sought shelter at community halls across the province. Heavy rains and strong winds have already caused major damage across the province, with thousands affected by the adverse weather. In Rawsonville in the Cape Winelands District, more than one-thousand-five-hundred people who live on the banks of the Smalblaar River, have had to be evacuated. Western Cape Provincial Disaster Management authorities have called in the use of a helicopter from the SANDF and put up two of their own helicopters to deliver aid into Citrusdal and Vredendal. Gift of the Givers is also providing relief aid to the affected areas and the organisation is appealing for more donations. Gift of the Givers spokesperson -- Ali Sablay gives us the update 

The plane carrying journalists and security personnel that was supposed to accompany President Cyril Ramaphosa to Ukraine and Russia but was grounded in Warsaw, Poland, is now expected to fly back home this morning. Polish authorities refused over 120 South African presidential security guards and journalists permission to disembark from an aircraft for 26 hours. Reasons that Polish authorities gave for the decision include permits which were not in order and they were not informed about some of the people on board. Our reporter, Ntebo Mokobo who is with team that is grounded in Warsaw, Poland joined us for the discussion 

Deputy President, Paul Mashatile yesterday voiced concern over the stagnant  economy and its dire effects on the youth in the country. He was delivering a virtual keynote address at the official commemoration of the Youth Day celebrations in Bloemfontein. He emphasized the need for a multi-sectoral approach to addressing the ills that bedevil the youth. Youth Day celebrations were held against a backdrop where young people have lambasted Government for failing to equip them with the tools necessary to escape poverty.  To hear their perspective we have on the line Kristal Duncan-Williams,  the Project Lead at Youth Capital- a campaign that advocates for the solutions to the youth unemployment....

Denys Reva, a Security  Researcher with the Institute for Security Studies weighs in on the African Peace Mission in Ukraine and Russia.

 President Cyril Ramaphosa is THIS MORNING expected to travel to St Petersburg where he will meet with his Russian Vladimir Putin. This will the 2nd leg of  the visit by African leaders  to Ukraine and Russia on a peace mission, hoping to bring the war there closer to an end. Yesterday's visit to Kyiv was interrupted by air raid sirens and an explosion in the Ukrainian capital. The Africa Peace Mission and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the media in Kyiv after their meeting. 

Meanwhile, Poland's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a statement saying the plane carrying around 120 South Africans including journalists, police and military security for President Cyril Ramaphosa had what it calls "dangerous goods" on board. The journalists, police officers and soldiers have finally disembarked from their plane at Warsaw's Chopin Airport in Poland after their 26 hour ordeal. Our reporter Ntebo Mokobo is travelling on that plane.