Publications
- Many South Africans face 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 there will be accountability for those involved.
2022 has been another challenging year for South Africans – load shedding, violent crime, political infighting, the Zondo report and corruption scandals are just some of the stories that dominated headlines.
On this special episode of The Story, we talk to News24's political editor Qaanitah Hunter about some of the year's biggest stories.
We also speak to lifestyle editor Herman Eloff about some of the lighter stories that captivated South Africans.
Hunter said the Zondo report, released this year, has given us "a complete picture of what state capture was in South Africa, how corruption became endemic with the assistance of the former president".
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She said the report, which runs into thousands of pages, and is in five parts, gives "granular detail about how different organs of the 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 almost 200 senior ANC officials.
"We have been covering all the regional and provincial conferences. It's important who gets elected, and that has also been a massive focus of the year."
Cyril Ramaphosa survived the election for a second term as ANC president, winning with 2 476 votes against 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 that today more than ever before," 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 out what can sometimes be a gloomy newsfeed.
