In this special episode of The Story, we speak with News24 political editor Qaanitah Hunter and lifestyle editor Herman Eloff.
- Many South Africans are facing a bleak Christmas as the cost of living continues to take its toll.
- 2022 has been marked by even more scandals, including Phala Phala.
- The Zondo report was released, giving South Africans hope that those involved are held to account.
2022 has been another challenging year for South Africans: cargo loss, violent crime, political infighting, the Zondo report and corruption scandals are just some of the stories that dominated the headlines.
In this special episode of The Story, we speak to News24 Political Editor Qaanitah Hunter about some of the biggest stories of the year.
We also spoke to lifestyle editor Herman Eloff about some of the lighter stories that captivated South Africans.
Hunter said the Zondo report, published this year, has given us “a full picture of what state capture was like in South Africa, how corruption became endemic with the help of the former president.”
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She said the report, which is thousands of pages long and divided into five parts, provides “granular details about how different organs of state were captured.”
Hunter said Zondo’s recommendations were “extremely important in terms of what needs to happen.”
She said there were adverse recommendations against nearly 200 senior ANC officials.
“We’ve been covering all the regional and provincial conferences. It matters who gets elected, and that’s been a massive focus of the year as well.”
Cyril Ramaphosa survived the election for a second term as ANC chairman, winning with 2,476 votes to Zweli Mkhize’s 1,897.
Looking on the light side
Many South Africans feel the need to escape the harsh realities of life in the country, and lifestyle news is an essential part of News24’s offering.
“Lifestyle gives you the space to find the good news, and we need it now more than ever,” Eloff said.
Eloff said: “South Africans need light at the end of the tunnel.”
He said News24 specifically focused on “feel-good stories” this year, which are “uplifting and inspiring” to help balance what can sometimes be a bleak news source.
