The Weekend View

South Africa top teacher for this year hails from Limpopo Province. Alfred Mokgalaka, from Hoërskool Frans du Toit in Phalaborwa, Limpopo taught himself how to code during lockdown and then taught his class how to programme robots. Mokgalaka, was awarded first place as the country's best teacher at the annual National Teaching Awards for 2022. The awards are an annual event recognising the role that teachers play in society. The best teacher prize for 2022 was jointly awarded to Mokgalaka and Adil Shaik Mungalee.

It has been said that 'the degree of civilization in a society can be judged by entering its prisons." Former president Nelson Mandela agreed with this notion as he himself said, "No one truly knows a nation until one has been inside its jails. It is against this backdrop that various leaders across Africa now say that it is time to re-think criminal law and incarceration on the continent. There are more than 1 million prisoners incarcerated across Africa with most of them living under inhumane, cruel and degrading conditions. Law and justice experts as well as human rights organizations met in Sandton, north of Johannesburg, this week, to discuss possible solutions faced in the correctional and justice systems on the continent. For this conversation we spoke to Chikondi Chijozi - Criminal Justice Lead at the Southern Africa Litigation Centre (SALC)  AND Ogechu Ogu- Deputy Director of Prisoners Rehabilitation and Welfare Action in Nigeria (PRAWA) 

The warring sides in Ethiopia's two-year conflict this week sat at the negotiating table in Pretoria for their first formal peace talks that are scheduled to end today. The dialogue is led by the African Union, which had failed, earlier this month, to bring together teams from the Ethiopian government and the rebel Tigrayan authorities, in the face of ongoing fierce fighting on the ground. The process is being facilitated by AU Horn of Africa envoy and former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, along with Kenya's former leader Uhuru Kenyatta and South Africa's ex-vice president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. We spoek to  Dr Emmanuel Matambo, research director at UJ's  Centre for Africa - China Studies.

Fraudsters always threaten to turn Festive Season cheer to Festive Season frustration. With the Festive Season fast approaching, South Africa has been slowly aligning itself with the rest of the world in heralding the start of the Festive Season shopping spree with its Black Friday shopping event.  It is however important to remember that fraudsters are also very active at this time of the year and particular attention needs to be given to online payments as these can become low hanging fruits for fraudsters.  W spoke to Mannie van Schalkwyk, CEO of the Southern African Fraud Prevention Service 
 

Bapedi and Zulu monarchies on the spotlight 

The National Assembly this week voted by 232 votes to 98 to pass the Electoral Amendment Bill that will allow individuals to stand for elected office as independents. However it has been criticized by some, saying it is a missed opportunity for thorough reform to enhance political accountability. Some independent candidates are not happy with the Bill in its current form and some civil organisations have vowed to contest the controversial Bill arguing that it will not pass constitutional muster and must be challenged. 
We spoke to  Mmusi Maimane, leader of the Build One South Africa party (BOSA) and Terry Tselane,  Executive Chairperson of the Institute of Election Management Services in Africa 

With matric exams set to begin on Tuesday, some matriculants are still without Identity Documents needed to sit for exams. This is causing a lot of frustration and anxiety for both parents and learners. This comes amid reports that some Home Affairs offices are NOT giving matriculants the necessary assistance they need to get their ID's. On Friday some parents and learners spent long hours in a queue at a Home Affairs office in Cape Town and were forced to leave empty handed after officials could not help them.

In the coming weeks students are going to be tested of their focus, strength and endurance as they aim for top marks. Yet at the same time, they have to contend with the fatigue that has most likely set in after all their hard work during the past year.  We spoke to Bronwyn Batchelor,  an education expert and Head of Faculty at The Independent Institute of Education

The battle to succeed outgoing British Prime Minister Liz Truss is gathering steam as hopefuls jostle for support. 5 candidates are being touted as possible replacements with former chancellor Rishi Sunak, House of Commons leader Penny Mordaunt and former prime minister Boris Johnson, leading the pack. The candidates have until Monday afternoon to gather the support of 100 MPs to run.  Truss resigned on Thursday, meaning there will now be another leadership election to decide who becomes the next Conservative leader and prime minister. We spoke to  John Stremlau, Professor of International Relations at Wits University

The South African Water Chamber has blamed the current water crisis in Gauteng to ageing water infrastructure and the lack of foresight, planning and investment in water reticulation.  We spoke to Water Chamber CEO, Le Roy Benoit

The fight against gender-based violence and femicide took centre stage this week when the National Shelter Movement of South Africa held an Indaba on the role the provision of shelter to victims plays as a critical intervention. This is in preparation for the national Presidential gender-based violence and femicide Summit next month. The Indaba follows increased murders of women and children across the country in recent weeks. Among several women and children found murdered recently were 2 women whose naked bodies were found dumped at a neglected shopping site in Umlazi, 4 year-old Bokgabo Poo from Wattville in Ekurhuleni and 20-year-old Zahraa Muller from Cape Town, who was six months pregnant. To look at the outcomes of the Indaba, we spoke to Fisani Mahlangu, a member of the National Shelter Movement