The Weekend View

Uber and Bolt drivers operating in the Soweto area, specifically at Maponya Mall say that they fear for their lives, and will have to consider operating from other places. This after 3 vehicles were torched on Thursday night and 2 drivers allegedly shot at. The motive for the shooting still remains unclear however  one of the drivers whose car was torched says they have recently been intimidated by by taxi drivers who have been telling them not to collect passengers from the Shopping Mall vicinity.The e-hailing services operate at a drop-off zone inside the mall, which is only about 100 metres from the taxi rank. e-hailing driver, We spoke to Kabelo Makhesane, whose vehicle was burnt on Thursday. 

Investigations a currently underway following some new born babies placed in boxes instead of incubators/ cribs at Mahikeng Provincial Hospital in the North West Province. The picture of the new borns in brown boxes has been trending  on social media and sparked outrage regarding the state of hospitals in the North West Province, and the country in general. In our Sunday Morning Discussion we  invited the MEC of health in the North West, Madoda Sambatha to give us more clarity and an update on the investigations. We also spoke Mzwakhe Seleke;  NW Provincial Chairperson for Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa)...

 Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni remains defiant and has defended signing one of the world's harshest anti-LGBTQ laws, with punishments that include the death penalty, saying it was needed to prevent LGBTQ community members he said were "disoriented" from "recruiting" others. His comments were the first since he signed the bill into law on Monday, triggering widespread criticism including threats by the U.S. and other countries to cut aid to Uganda and impose sanctions.  Human rights activists have filed a legal challenge against new anti-homosexuality laws with LGBT activists now saying they're not safe in their own country. One such Ugandan activist is Richard Lusimbo, he spoke to us while in Nairobi in Kenya.

There is a proliferation of illegal gambling machines in many townships across the country. This is raising concern that children are being exposed to gambling at an early age. The machines are normally located in spaza shops mostly owned by foreign nationals. Over 470 illegal gambling machines have been confiscated in Gauteng while over 200 have been siezed in Limpopo. We spoke to Karabo Mbele, the acting CEO of the Gauteng Gambling Board 

Professor Taole Mokoena has been appointed as the country's new health ombudsman. He succeeds Prof. Malegapuru Makgoba, whose seven-year non-renewable term came to an end on Wednesday. Prof Mokoena takes over the task of investigating complaints in a severely crippled public health sector that is increasingly hogging the headlines for all the wrong reasons including negligence, ineptitude and corruption. We spoke to South African Medical Association, SAMA, chairperson, Dr Mvuyisi Mzukwa

Many South Africans are currentlly struggling to meet their home loan commitments. This allegedly due to the current economic climate and the frequenty rising interest rates. Last week's interest rate hike is the 10th since November 2021. It's also the highest in 13 years and is putting a huge strain on the housing market. The South African Reserve Bank last Thursday announced a 50 basis points hike to interest rates, taking the current prime lending rate from 11.25% to 11.75%. We spoke to Chief Operating Officer at SA Home Loans, Zakeni ( Zach) Dlamini...

South Africa's dilapidating water infrastructure is in the spotlight again following the latest cholera outbreak. Water and Sanitation Minister,  Senzo Mchunu and City of Tshwane Mayor, Cilliers Brink on FRIDAY said a fresh agreement to work together to fix the Rooiwaal Waste Water Treatment Plant in Tshwane has been reached. 23 people have died due to a Cholera outbreak in Gauteng.The Free State reported that one person had died from cholera this week. Mchunu says a document on how to tackle the issue is in place. The two parties say they will also meet with the treasury in a bid to source funding for the water project. The city has allegedly allocated 450 million rands to the refurbishment of the treatment plant which needs 2,5 billion rands.  Mchunu says this will solve 50% of the Rooiwaal treatment plant issues. 
For our Sunday morning discussion we spoke to Prof. Anthony Turton, a water expert from the Centre for Environmental Management at the University of the Free State AND Buang Jones, former head of the South African Human Rights Commission in Gauteng

There is a need to rename HIV. This is according to F/A/Q , a sexual health and wellness organization. They are challenging the World Health Organization (WHO) to consider renaming HIV. The health organization says this will end HIV stigma by updating people's perceptions of the virus and those living with it will dramatically enhance the effectiveness of existing HIV-prevention efforts. The organization believes that HIV has become an "epidemic of the mind": a public health crisis driven by social, cultural, and political factors - not a lack of medical progress.  We spoke to Bongiwe Ndlovu, who is a Project Manager and an activist with F/A/Q 

The number of laboratory-confirmed cholera cases seen at Jubilee District hospital in Hammanskraal as of yesterday evening now stand at 44.  That's according to the latest update from the Gauteng Health Department. It says currently there are 74 patients that have been admitted to the hospital due to gastro-intestinal infection. 21 people have died from Cholera in Hammanskraal with one fatality reported in the Free state province. This comes as Limpopo's Health Department has disputed social media reports saying there are cholera cases at Mankweng outside Polokwane. AfriForum has also announced that water samples taken from the river on Tuesday tested positive for cholera.  For a national update of the cholera situation we spoke to the spokesperson of the National Department Health, Foster Mohale

A Councillor from the Northern Alliance party, Gary van Niekerk, has been elected as the new executive mayor of the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality. Van Niekerk replaces the Democratic Alliance (DA)'s Retief Odendaal, who was removed YESTERDAY through a motion of no confidence. He becomes the third mayor of the Eastern Cape metro since the 2021 local government elections. The speaker, deputy mayor and chief whip positions were also replaced by ANC Councillors, Eugene Johnson,  Babalwa Liboshe and Wandilisile Jikeka.  The new mayor has put good governance at the centre of his administration. 

We also spoke to Andrew Whitfield, DA leader in the Eastern Cape and 

Lindokuhle Vellem,  Research and Advocacy analyst at the Public Service Accountability Monitor