The Weekend View

The United Democratic Movement's request for a secret ballot to be used in a motion of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma has been referred back to the speaker of the National Assembly for a fresh decision. The party approached the Constitutional Court seeking clarity on whether or not speaker, Baleka Mbete, has powers to allow a secret ballot as well as an order, that she be instructed to allow the practice when a motion of no confidence against president Zuma is tabled. Former ANC MP, Ben Turok gives his view on the ruling and other issues...

As much as a consumer is quick to sign on the dotted line there are also things that a consumer needs to know before they put there signature on paper. In this week's consumer conversation we speak to Nosipho Zikishe, the supervisor of complaints at the National Credit regulator about credit agreements...

The Hector Pieterson memorial in Orlando, Soweto, was a hive of activity as people commemorated the 1976 Student Uprising. It's been 41 years since the uprising. There was also an incident where the president was booed at the youth day celebrations in the North West Province. We speak to Pride Baloyi, from Venda, who holds an environmental science degree, and has not been able to secure employment and Labour economist, Loane Sharpe on the plight of the youth currently...

There's no end in sight for devastating fires that have left a path of destruction on the Garden Route. Strong winds have resulted in more flare-ups near Knysna, where more than 400 properties have already been destroyed and thousands left destitute. The raging veld fire in Nelson Mandela Bay has claimed a life. An elderly woman was overcome by the flames on her farm in the Thornhill district. Her husband suffered severe burn wounds. Spokesperson in the Nelson Mandela Bay region, Mthubanzi Mniki tells us about the situation there now...

All the confidential aspects of Western Cape Premier Helen Zille's disciplinary hearing will have been sorted out by Wednesday. And the DC will only take place in July after a pre-trial conference on the 30th of June. Political analyst, Ralph Mathekga to take a look at what's transpired...

Soweto business owners have pleaded with the Competition Commission to rescue them from the grocery retail sector that's causing destruction in the township. They've accused government of letting them down by allowing big retailers to operate in the townships, taking away their business and jobs. Sipho Ngwema, the commission's head of communication discusses this with us...

Pressure group OUTA has expressed serious concerns, over this week's Supreme Court of Appeal ruling that set aside the Port Elizabeth business consortium's case against NERSA and Eskom. The case involved a challenge against NERSA and Eskom to ensure they operate within the governance and rules required of them in the Electricity Regulations, which the applicants believe has not been the case during recent electricity tariff hike applications. OUTA's Ted Blom says it's disappointed by Nersa siding with Eskom instead of shielding consumers from excessive tariff hikes which have seen electricity prices soar by over 500 percent since 2007...

South Africa slipped into a technical recession after figures from Stats SA showed that the economy contracted by 0-point-7 percent. after shrinking by 0-point-3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2016. Professor Raymond Parsons, from the North West University, talks to us about the recession and how the economy got here.

The Eskom board has confirmed rescinding its re-appointment of Brian Molefe as the power utility's CEO. The board's decision follows a recommendation of the Inter-ministerial Committee appointed by president Zuma, to deal with the Eskom matter. Molefe left the utility after being implicated in the former public protector Thuli Madonsela's state capture report. He was then sworn in as an ANC Member of Parliament. Meanwhile, Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown, who was part of the committee, refused to grant Molefe a 30-million-rand pension payout after which Molefe agreed to return to Eskom, saying he had taken unpaid leave. Energy analyst, Andrew Kenny speaks to us about the issues around the power utility...

Western Cape Premier, Helen Zille, says she wants to be given the chance to explain her case following the DA's announcement to suspend her. Yesterday, DA leader, Mmusi Maimane, announced that Zille would be suspended from all party-related activities pending the outcome of a disciplinary hearing into her Tweets on colonialism. But, DA Federal Executive Chairperson James Selfe says she has until Tuesday to make representations on why she should not be suspended. Zille says proper processes were not followed…