The Weekend View

Community law clinics are vital to improving access to justice in South Africa. Legal experts say , community law clinics offering free legal services to those who can't afford legal representation or support are a lifeline for these individuals. They say higher education institutions through their law faculties play an important part in ensuring improved access to justice throughout the country. 

The spotlight this week is on Rheumatic Fever (RF). From the 5th to the 9th of August , South will commemorate RF , the aim is to raise awareness about the harm RF can cause to young children and individuals. Rheumatic Fever Week is a week-long campaign to bring attention to RF as a serious autoimmune disease which affects various body parts of a child's body, including the joints, heart, skin, nervous system and the brain. RF affects up to 40 million people living in low-income countries and globally, claiming more than 300 000 lives each year. 

The Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities says there is still a long way to go in ensuring the advancement of women in South Africa. While progress on womens' rights has been achieved, many challenges such as poverty, violence against women and unemployment persist. The department launched the Womens' Month campaign commemorated under the theme "Celebrating 30 Years of Freedom Towards Womens' Development in Pretoria

The Gauteng Liquor Traders Association (GLTA), representing thousands of taverns and hospitality outlets in the province, has welcomed the arrest of four suspects for the murder of 8 people in a tavern in Kanana, outside Orkney in North West province, following an attack which took place last week.  The Association has registered its outrage and deep sadness of the escalating and ongoing tavern shootings and senseless killings of patrons across the country and is now calling on Government and law enforcement agencies to work with communities and tavern owners to develop an urgent action plan to halt the escalation in crime targeting taverns and townships.  

President Cyril Ramaphosa this week signed the Public Procurement Bill into law. The Act will seek to ensure that the state has procurement opportunities for black people, women, youth and persons with disabilities. The act will apply to all government departments and state entities. It establishes a unified public procurement system across government and introduces new preferential procurement measures to express the Constitutional requirement for social transformation

Investigations into the discovered military training camp in Masoyi near White River, Mpumalanga will not be limited to the site but throughout the province.  A high level inspection to the facility included the minister of Police, Senzo Mchunu, his two deputies - Cassel Mathale and Polly Boshielo, the National Police Commissioner, Fannie Masemola and the National Head of the Hawks National, advocate Godfrey Lebeya. Mchunu says the property owners violated certain regulations as per their application for a security training facility. The minister say their initial findings points to a military training camp.  On Friday, police officals raided the facility and arrested 95 Libyan nationals. 

Winter pollution can smell musty, dank, dusty, smoky, or sulphuric – like a rotten egg. Leaving an unpleasant smell in our immediate surroundings. South Africans on the east coast, where it's humid year-round, and those in the Western Cape with its endless winter rain, know the musty smell well. But they may not know that the damp and mould causing the smell can also cause sinus congestion, respiratory issues, and allergies. This morning we look at the potential effects on our health. 

Ndibize Foundation is hosting the first of it's kind Men's Conference today at the OR Tambo Hall in Zwelitsha in the Eastern Cape. The conference will be held under theme "Anger within me.  According to the group the conference comes at a time when the country is under siege from people that are killed either by their partners, relatives or community members

The opening ceremony of 2024 World Olympic Games taking place in France was for the first time held outdoors yesterday. The games are expected to be the largest in terms of the audience and geographical coverage. 

The Emergence of Modern Human Behaviour: The Pleistocene Occupation Sites of South Africa" (EMHB) has been inscribed as World Heritage site.  Sport, Arts and Culture Minister, Gayton McKenzie announced the news YESTERDAY. McKenzie says this is a great moment for South Africa and the continent to have another site added to the prestigious World Heritage Listing.  The inscriptions were made at the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee in New Delhi in India.