The Weekend View

ANC Elective Conference: Economy and Zuma bid for private prosecution

ANC Elective Conference: Gender and Enegry issues on the spotlight

ANC Elective conference: Delays and International relations

The current energy crisis in South Africa has been described as one of the worst and may be here to stay for quite a while. The country was plunged into stage 6 load shedding last Tuesday ahead of the planned outage of Koeberg Nuclear Power Station's Unit 1. The outage at Koeberg - initially planned for last Thursday (8 December) - was pushed back to THIS WEEKEND to give Eskom breathing room to try and stabilise its grid. The outage, which takes almost 1,000MW of energy off the grid,  will be for a duration of approximately six months to allow repair and refurbishment work at Africa's only nuclear power plant.  Some experts have however warned that taking the Koeberg unit offline will result in even higher stages of rolling blackouts as Medupi and Kusile, the country's newer power plants, often have technical faults. In our Sunday Morning Discussion we look at this precarious power supply situation and we spoke to Energy Advisor at The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) Liz McDaid AND Professor Sampson Mamphweli, Energy expert from Stellenbosch University

Rise Mzansi, is a new political movement that has been established after months of conversations between activists led by the Rivonia Circle, a political think tank. It comes after a year in which the Rivonia Circle says it has taken a critical look at South Africa's democracy and, after careful consideration, identified what needs to be done to rescue it.  Songezo Zibi, the chairperson of the Rivonia Circle and convener of Rise Mzansi says part of that solution is for an independent ethical civil society movement that will contest for political power at the ballot box in 2024. We spoke to Songezo Zibi, the chairperson of the Rivonia Circle and convener of Rise Mzansi

The Democratic Alliance and ActionSA this week put their differences aside and are again preparing to join forces ahead of the 2024 provincial and national elections. The leaders of both parties held bilateral talks in Johannesburg on Thursday to discuss how to topple the ANC in the next elections. DA leader John Steenhuisen and ActionSA president Herman Mashaba agreed to let bygones be bygones and have committed to better collaboration following instability in Gauteng metros. The two parties have previously clashed over priorities and direction of their coalitions leading to squabbles that have compromised service delivery in Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni metros. We spoke to ActionSA president Herman Mashaba

There has been mixed reactions following this month's re-opening of some eThekwini beaches in Kwa Zulu Natal that had been closed due to high e-coli levels. eThekwini Mayor Mxolisi Kaunda and his team excitedly recently opened beaches that had faced environmental challenges. Kaunda and his team even went for a swim at the North and uMhlanga beaches to show the public that the water was safe. However further tests after that swim revealed that e-coli levels had spiked again after heavy rains. Meanwhile, some opposition parties in eThekwini municipality are accusing the city of putting people's lives at risk by declaring that some beaches north of the city are safe. Members of the Economic Freedom Fighters in KZN have also been picketing against what they say has been the premature re-opening of some beaches in Durban. Durban North DA Councillor Nicole Bollman believes the opening of the beaches has been premature

The festive season is upon us. Holiday makers are gearing up and children being sent to various provinces to visit relatives and we will all be sharing the roads. Driving is not only about having a vehicle which is in safe condition, but also about having a positive attitude behind the wheel. Motorists need to ensure that our long distance trips are safe and merry and our loved ones arrive safely at their destinations. Our vehicles need to be roadworthy and the drivers need to be vigilant, sharp and aware and most importantly considerate of other motorists. With our country's annual high rate of crashes and fatalities, it's everyone's responsibility to ensure they play their part in making our roads safe. We spoke to Johannesburg metro Police Department's (JMPD) spokesperson Xolani Fihla Xolani Fihla.

Each year in South Africa, when universities begin new academic calendars, the issue of student funding dominates the national debate as more challenges arise. Among the affected group of students facing financial 'exclusion' is the 'Missing Middle', whose families or guardians neither fall within the income threshold that qualifies for government funding nor can they afford to pay tuition fees. To assist these students, the University of Johannesburg (UJ) has launched the Double our Future Impact, a campaign to assist as many as 10 000 students with their 2023 registration fees. We spoke to UJ's Vice-Chancellor Designate, Professor Letlhokwa Mpedi 

Do not pay or negotiate with kidnappers. This is a plea from Western Cape safety officials who fear that paying ransoms interferes with their ability to investigate and return victims safely to their loved ones. South Africa is witnessing a spike in kidnappings with mostly foreign nationals and, or business people or their relatives being targeted for a quick buck. Western Cape officials say statistics show that Milnerton, Mitchells Plain and Gugulethu are leading the pack in cracking down on abductions.  We spoke to MEC for community safety in the Western cape, Reagan Allen,