The Weekend View

The Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster ministers say 19 people have been arrested whom they regard as the instigators of the July 2021 unrest. They are part of 2-thousand 435 cases on court rolls of which 50 have been finalized, with guilty verdicts. The ministers were briefing the media in Pretoria yesterday on progress with regards to the implementation of the recommendations by the Expert Panel set up to review South Africa's response to the unrest. Police Minister Bheki Cele says people believed to be the instigators of the violence have appeared in court and are out on bail. We spoke to David Ansara, COO of the Risk Analysis Centre .....

Angola has declared 5 days of mourning following yesterday's passing of former President Eduardo dos Santos. He died in a clinic in Barcelona, Spain. The 79 year old former statesman died following a long illness. Dos Santos who had led Angola for 40 years had been living in Barcelona since stepping down in 2017 and was reportedly receiving treatment there for health problems. 

Meanwhile...

The race to replace Boris Johnson as leader of Britain's Conservative party has begun. He quit as party leader on Thursday following a dramatic cabinet mutiny. Johnson plans to stay on as Prime Minister until a replacement is found by October but opposition parties and some from within his party want him to leave now - a situation that seems unlikely to happen. Several senior conservative MPs are jockeying for position in the race to succeed Johnson.We spoke to Prof. David Monyae, an international relations and foreign policy expert from the University of Johannesburg....

Over 35-thousand people attended the premier Durban July  horse racing event. This is the first time in two years that the prestigious race has welcomed punters and fashionistas in person, following the Covid 19 lockdown regulations.  eThekwini municipality expected the event to contribute more than R300 million to the local economy. This year's theme 'Show Me The Honey' showcased SA's fashion talent from top designers and emerging ones. Sebenzile Nkambule spoke to  eThekwini's Deputy City Manager responsible for the Economic Development and Planning Cluster, Phillip Sithole... 

In this month of July, South African consumers are facing a new round of price hikes including, food, electricity, water, property rates, taxi fares and fuel. An interest rate hike is also anticipated when the Reserve Bank's Monetary Policy Committee, MPC, meets later in the month. With inflation currently at over 6 %. Sebenzile Nkambule spoke to SABC's Economics Editor, Tshepo Mongoai and professor of economics and director of the development policy research unit at the University of Cape Town, Haroon Bhorat... 

South Africans are this July facing a series of price hikes, including electricity and fuel price increases. Major metropolis - including Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban  introduced their municipal electricity tariffs from yesterday after energy regulator Nersa approved a 7.47% increase earlier this year. The City of Joburg's news tariff hikes which kicked in yesterday are 9.75% for water and sanitation, 9.61% for electricity, 5% for refuse and 4.85% for property rates. Sebenzile Nkambule spoke to City of Johannesburg's MMC for Finance, Cllr Julie Suddaby

General Secretary of the National Union of Mineworkers,  William Mabapa says the unions have reached consensus with Eskom on some matters with regards to the wage negotiations, however there are some issues that remain unresolved and require further consideration. The NUM and National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) met *yesterday with Eskom's leadership in Sandton north of Johannesburg to discuss wages and a resolution to the illegal strike that has resulted in increased levels of loadshedding. Sebenzile Nkambule spoke to Prof. Mark Swilling, Co-director at the Centre for Complex Systems in Transition at Stellenbosch University and NUM spokesperson Livhuwani Mamburu

When a car owner takes out insurance, they are asked about nominated drivers if they themselves are the regular drivers. These are people that drive the car from time to time. Some insurance companies do payout in the event of an accident even if the driver was not on the list of nominated drivers. However, experts warn consumers to read the fine-print closely because some insurance companies will not payout in the event that the car gets into an accident while being driven by someone who is not on the nominated list. Sebenzile Nkambule spoke to  Zakes Sondiyazi , Insurance Risks Manager at the SA Insurance Association. 

The who's who of South African horse racing, fashion, food and music are converged in eThekwini for the Durban July taking place this weekend.  On the first Saturday of every July nearly 40 thousand people head towards Greyville to experience "July Fever". It is a fashion and entertainment extravaganza where everybody wants to be seen. Sebenzile Nkambule spoke to Fundi Sithebe,  CEO of 4racing

June is pride month globally and the LGBTQI+ community continues to focus on the to advocate for their rights in all spaces.The purpose of the LGBTIAQ+ Pride month commemoration is to highlight and recognise the impact and continuous advocacy and advancement of rights and protection of the community, as well as eradicating uncalled for violence against any human being based on their personal sexuality choices. We spoke to Sisanda Mavimbela, Human Rights Activist from the Kingdom of Eswatini.  

Today is International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. Here at home the South African Depression and Anxiety Group - SADAG -  is commemorating the day as Substance Abuse Awareness Day. Age and peer pressure combined with the low cost and easy accessibility of drugs and alcohol in South Africa are increasing the risk factors leading to abuse among young adults. The average age for drug dependency in South Africa is just 12 years and 50% of South African teenagers are already drinking alcohol. We spoke to SADAG spokesperson, Senzekile Shongwe.