The Weekend View

The Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Prince Zolile Burns-Ncamashe, has issued a strong appeal to parents to take full responsibility for the safety of their children during the initiation season. Ncamashe says parents must be actively present and involved when their sons attend initiation schools, instead of handing them over to individuals who show little regard for their wellbeing. He stresses that parental abdication of responsibility is contributing to preventable tragedies.Ncamashe's comments follow the tragic loss of 17 initiates during the current summer initiation season, which began in November 2025. The rising death toll has sparked widespread concern among government, traditional leaders, families and communities. Ncamashe conducted an urgent oversight visit to several areas in the Eastern Cape this week, calling for accountability and decisive action to prevent further loss of life. Elvis Presslin spoke to the Eastern Cape Cogta spokesperson, Pheello Oliphant.

The Nkabinde Inquiry has turned down National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi's bid to expand its terms of reference. Batohi brought the application to amend the terms during her testimony. President Cyril Ramaphosa suspended Gauteng DPP Advocate Andrew Chauke earlier this year while the inquiry assessed his fitness to hold office,  a probe sparked by allegations from Batohi herself. It's scrutinising claims of dubious decisions in major cases, including racketeering charges against ex-KZN Hawks boss Johan Booysen and the alleged Cato Manor death squad, plus the dropping of serious charges against former Crime Intelligence head Richard Mdluli. During her testimony and subsequent cross-examination by Chauke's legal team, Batohi distanced herself from the formal terms of reference issued by Ramaphosa. For more on this, Elvis Presslin spoke to the Nkabinde Inquiry's spokesperson, Tiyisela Mpuzana. 

As people head to coastal resorts this festive season, more and more incidents of drowning are being reported and several deaths recorded with the latest case involving a teenager who fell from a cliff in the Garden Route National Park. It is against this backdrop that the National Sea Rescue Institute - NSRI - is urging beachgoers to exercise caution during this new moon spring tide, which peaks TODAY, (Saturday 20 December), as it will significantly affect tidal conditions over this weekend. To tell us more, Elvis Presslin spoke to NSRI Communications Manager Andrew Ingram. 

Until the South African Communist Party and African National Congress have reached an agreement on the Communist party's decision to contest the 2026 local government elections alone, SACP members must recuse themselves from ANC elections structures. This was just one of the resolutions of the ANC's 5th National General Council that concluded on Thursday. The SACP's decision concerns the ANC as many of its members have dual membership to both parties with implications on which party to vote and campaign for. To take a deeper look at the state of the tripartite alliance following the ANC's 5th National General Council, Bongiwe Zwane spoke to SACP Spokesperson Mbulelo Mandlana and Political Analyst from the University of the Free State, Prof. Sethulego Matebesi... 

Four bodies have been retrieved from the rubble of the collapsed temple building in Verulam, north of Durban. Search and rescue operations are expected to resume this hour as rescuers continue the search for the fifth body. Bongiwe Zwane spoke to Senzelwe Mzila, spokesperson for the KZN Department of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (COGTA).

While the festive season is a time to reconnect and embrace the warmth of family, in South Africa the holiday season is unfortunately also a time associated with increased risk to women with a resultant increase in Gender Based Violence. It is against this backdrop that the National Shelter Movement of South Africa - NSMSA - is calling for urgent awareness and support as it announces the toll-free, 24-hour National GBV Shelter Helpline – the only national service dedicated solely to the rapid placement of survivors into safe houses and shelters, operating around the clock. To tell us more, Bongiwe Zwane spoke to Lucia Mogale, a helpline agent at the National Shelter Movement of South Africa ...

While much of the focus has been on the Madlanga Commission and the Ad-Hoc Committee, there is another inquiry that has heard jaw-dropping testimony in Parliament. The Standing Committee on Public Accounts probe has revealed shocking allegations of lengthy disciplinary processes and exorbitant amounts spent to protect the entity's former CEO, among other serious inefficiencies in the Road Accident Fund - RAF. The RAF board recently placed its acting CEO, CFO, Chief Governance Officer and the Head of the CEO's office on precautionary suspension. There are now reports that a new acting CEO has been appointed, bringing to four the number of CEO's the entity has had in the past seven months. With questions still unanswered over the RAF's multi billion rand accounting hole, Scopa will now pursue criminal charges to compel former CEO Collins Letsoalo to appear and account for his decisions. To help us understand why the RAF is susceptible to so much instability and corruption, Bongiwe Zwane spoke to former SCOPA chair, Themba Godi

DRC rebel forces THIS WEEK entered the last government-held city in the country's mineral-rich eastern province, in an offensive that has forced thousands to flee across the border into Burundi. The escalation in fighting and takeover of Uvira comes despite the peace deal brokered by US President Donald Trump last week between DRC's President Félix Tshisekedi and Rwanda's Paul Kagame to end the long-running conflict. On Thursday the M23 rebel group said it had "liberated" the city. Control of Uvira could open the way for the rebels to advance beyond South Kivu province. To help us understand the situation, Bongiwe Zwane spoke to Godber Tumushabe, Associate Director at the Great Lakes Institute for Strategic Studies, in Uganda.

With festive spending at its peak, cash-strapped consumers have been advised to consider taking up part-time work to cushion the impact of the high cost of living on their Christmas shopping. Financial advice platforms such as JustMoney say a concerning number of consumers fear that their finances will not meet the demands placed on them. This was revealed in JustMoney's recent large-scale survey, which revealed that 61% of South Africans struggle financially every month, with December and January posing the toughest financial challenges for millions of South Africans. For a look at how consumers can supplement their income this festive season, Bongiwe Zwane spoke to Head of Customer Experience at JustMoney, Sarah Nicholson

Long distance taxi operators have been warned to prioritise passenger safety over this busy festive season. As thousands of holidaymakers begin their festive season travels across the country, in Cape Town, the South African National Taxi Council hosted safety awareness engagements with various stakeholders, including the Western Cape Department of Mobility and the Cape Organisation for the Democratic Taxi Association (Codeta). In Johannesburg, the metro says it is turning to smart technology to improve safety during this period, as law enforcement officials armed will be armed with smart hand-held devices that will issue infringement notices within minutes and also capture motor vehicle accident data instantly. For a look at how the national roads are looking with the festive season starting in earnest, Bongiwe Zwane spoke to Road Traffic Management Corporation Spokesperson, Simon Zwane