The Weekend View

A fantastic new partnership has developed in the fight not only against Covid-19 but also cancer and HIV.. the partnership spearheaded by SA born Billionaire Dr Patrick Soon- Shioong will involve the SA medical Research Council, the CSIR, University of KZN and will be based at Stellenbosch University… The man leading it all is Professor Thulio De Oliviera, the man, who along with his team identified the Beta Variant of Covid.

Though the South African Council of Churches (SACC) has welcomed government's move to adjusted alert level 2, it is reported that its pushing for a rethink of the 250 indoor capacity approach. The council thinks the 250 blanket approach should be replaced by a fifty percent capacity restriction.

The final voter registration weekend kicked off to a slow start nationally, but the pace picked up during the day. The IEC says in the first few hours of Saturday over 104 000 South Africans visited their voting stations to register, re-register or update their details.  It says over 230-thousand people have used the online registration facility since its launch in July.

The Constitutional Court has dismissed former president, Jacob Zuma's rescission application with costs. It says he has failed to meet rescission requirements. Zuma had applied to the apex court to have his incarceration overturned. Despite the minority judgement finding that his rights were violated after he was jailed without a trial -- the majority judgement described his attempt to have his 15-month jail term rescinded as an ill-fated application for rescission

Only 14 percent of South Africans have legitimate wills, according the Professional Provident Society. This is particulaly concerning given the fact that we are living through a pandemic. Close to 43 billion rands in unclaimed insurance benefits is sitting with financial institutions because beneficiaries cannot be found. Experts say some of the reasons include lack of a valid will and outdated or poorly drafted wills. According to the Transaction Support Centre, which assists lower-income clients with property-related issues says too many South Africans have not drafted formal, legal wills, unaware that this could leave their dependents and families in dire straits should they die. National Wills Week takes place between 13 - 17 September - a time dedicated to increasing awareness of the importance of having a valid will

The Independent Electoral Commission says it expects between 500-thousand and two-million more registrations throughout its over 23-thousand stations in the country this weekend.  The commission says new Voter Management Devices (VMDs) will also be used for the first time on a mass scale during registration. It also confirmed that by Thursday this week a 156 651 voters had successfully used the online system to register.

The IEC is encouraging those who have access to internet to use our online voter registration application. You can register, change address as well as update your details online. South Africa is this weekend registering to vote after a back and forth in court on whether the Local Government Elections should go ahead. The IEC says its sub-dividing some of these big stations to what we call a voting centre which will have sub voting stations, three or four to assist making sure that voters spend minimal time at the voting station.

Deputy Finance Minister David Masondo has reportedly suggested that foreign investors scrap Eskom's R164 Billion debt so the money can be used by the company to reach climate targets. Masondo says Eskom needs to borrow R400 billion in order to transition from coal to renewable energy supply. He says in exchange for the forgiveness South Africa would pledge an equivalent amount as an equity injection into Eskom with condition it closes down coal-fired plants

The first South African children taking part in the SINOVAC  COVID-19 trial have been vaccinated  at the Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University in Pretoria. Two-thousand South African children between the ages of six-months and 17 have been enrolled in the trial which involves 14-thousand children in five countries. Participants will receive two doses of the SINOVAC vaccine

Political parties have weighed in on the Biko family's quest for an inquest into Black Consciousness Leader, Steve Biko lambasting the Government for having failed to get justice for the slain student leader. Biko died in police detention on the 12th of September in 1977. The country is set to mark the 44th anniversary of Biko's death in the Annual Memorial Lecture that is set to take place virtually today.