The Weekend View

When Floyd Shivambu announced on Thursday that he was leaving his post as deputy leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters to join the uMkhonto Wesizwe Party, many analysts described the move as the biggest shake-up in the Red Berets' camp since their launch 11 years ago.  Accepting his resignation, EFF leader Julius Malema said Shivambu's departure was 'painful' and 'shoking'. The MKP on their part were quick to welcome the decision saying it could not have come at a better time. Since then speculation has been rife about the real reasons for Shivambu's defection. Many are asking whether the former 2nd in Command was tired of being in the shadow and whether a different Floyd will emerge from his new political base. To discuss this Bongiwe Zwane spoke to  Prof. Bheki Mngomezulu, Director of the Centre for the Advancement of Non-Racialism and Democracy at Nelson Mandela University and Dr Fikile Vilakazi, Political Analyst from the University of the Western Cape 

Diabetes is an escalating public health crisis in South Africa. This is according to the outcomes of the 2023 Diabetes Summit Report which has found that Diabetes-related mortality is on the rise in South Africa, and the management of the condition remains suboptimal, even within the private healthcare sector. Experts say despite the high burden on healthcare resources, numerous cases go undiagnosed.  The 2023 Diabetes Summit Report and Recommendations were recently presented to the National Department of Health. Bongiwe Zwane spoke to Dr. Patrick Ngassa Piotie, Chairperson of the South African Diabetes Alliance and Co-Founder of the University of Pretoria Diabetes Research Centre 

Scientists, THIS WEEK, discovered a reservoir of liquid water on Mars. The findings come from a new analysis of data from Nasa's Mars Insight Lander, which touched down on the planet back in 2018. While there is water frozen at the Martian poles and evidence of vapour in the atmosphere, this is the first time liquid water has been found on the planet. The scientists point out that the location of this Martian groundwater is however not good news for plans to colonise Mars as this repository is so deep and unreachable that it might as well be in another galaxy

The Springboks are just a few hours before they battle against Australia in their second Rugby Championship match. Coach Rassie Erasmus has defended his decision to make 10 changes to the starting line up. The Boks are looking to build on their comprehensive 33-7 victory in Brisbane last weekend in their rematch against the Wallabies at the Optus Stadium in Perth THIS MORNING. The game kicks off at 11h45. The Boks will be a vastly changed outfit when they take to the field with only Cheslin Kolbe, Jesse Kriel, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Pieter-Steph du Toit retaining starting roles. 

Zimbabwe is TODAY hosting the 44th SADeC heads of states and government summit in the capital, Harare. Some civic society organisations meeting in Harare ahead of the summit have called for the revival of the SADeC tribunal or formation of a new entity which would be mandated to hold member countries accountable for their actions. 

ANC chairperson in Johannesburg and Finance MMC Dada Morero has been elected as the Executive Mayor of Johannesburg during a special council meeting last night. Morero who was up against the DA's caucus leader, Belinda Kayser-Echeozonjoku received an overwhelming 189 votes while Kayser-Echeozonjoke received 60 votes. Five parties, the ANC, EFF, PA, IFP and ATM nominated Morero. Morero takes over Kabelo Gwamanda who resigned on Tuesday

Anti-Financial Crime Experts say Generative AI technology has spawned increasingly sophisticated methods of deception, with deep fake technology emerging as a significant threat in South Africa. Criminals are creating more advanced versions of impersonation fraud using AI-generated video and voice.  They say they are so convincing that businesses have been duped into transferring millions to scammers

The ministry of cooperative governance & traditional affairs (Cogta) has called for public comment on the municipal structures' amendment bill which seeks to give guidelines on how municipalities are governed. The Bill was introduced to deal with the instability and dysfunction that has been associated with local coalitions, and specifically in several metros. The bill proposes changing municipalities with a mayoral executive system, in which no party obtained a majority of seats, to a collective executive system within a prescribed period and to provide for the election or removal from office of municipal office-bearers to be by a show of hands, among others. Meanwhile, Non-governmental organisation My Vote Counts agrees that there is a need for some legislation to provide a structure in which coalition governments can operate more effectively but says the process must not be used as an opportunity by dominant political parties to cement their power at the expense of voters... for more on this Bongiwe Zwane spoke to Nkosikhulule Nyembezi , Policy Analyst and Chairperson of the Election Monitoring Network 

South Africa has one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy globally, with nearly one in four girls falling pregnant before turning 20 years old. This is according to data provided by the World Health Organization.  Meanwhile, figures released by the department of health show that more than 2 700 girls, aged between 10 and 14, are now mothers after giving birth at public healthcare facilities across the country during the 2023/24 financial year.1 226 girls in the 10 to 14 age group and 19 246 in the 15 to 19 age group terminated their pregnancies.  Calls have been made for urgent action to address alarming rise in teenage pregnancies in South Africa. For more on this Bongiwe Zwane spoke to by Deputy Minister of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities, Mmapaseka Letsike, Alexandra Abrahams, DA Deputy Spokesperson on Social Development and Child & Youth Care Practitioner and founder of Ikusasa ngelami Zonke Sazi Hlongwane

Botswana's recent ban on South African fruit and vegetable imports, including citrus, has drawn criticism from the Agricultural Business Chamber of SA (Agbiz). Agbiz warns that the restrictions not only disrupt trade, affecting less than 0.5% of SA's citrus exports but also strain political and economic ties between the two nations. Botswana has announced a temporary ban on orange imports, effective from June 17 until August 31. According to the government of Botswana, this move is part of a larger strategy aimed at strengthening local agriculture and achieving food self-sufficiency. Additionally, Botswana has extended restrictions on various fresh produce imports, with some measures in place until 2025. for more on this Bongiwe Zwane spoke to Ceo of Agbiz Theo Boshoff