Afternoon Drive with John Maytham

Guest: James-Brent Styan

The Western Cape government says several areas across the province have reported storm damage this morning following the weather warnings received yesterday. 

It says the worst has been along the Garden Route, where strong winds damaged several houses and structures, and there have also been reports of power outages and large numbers of trees that have blown over in that region.

Conditions are expected to remain cold and wet for the largest parts of the province until Sunday.

No major incidents were reported overnight in the City of Cape Town beyond some additional flooding.

We speak to James-Brent Styan, spokesperson for Anton Bredell, the Western Cape's minister of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning.

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Guest: Duncan Brown 

The Kwikspar Beacon Isle in Plettenberg Bay has come up with a great idea to help local restaurants taking strain under the Level 4 Covid-19 restrictions.

It has decided to close its burger kiosk and pizza bar for the 14-day period so that residents will be encouraged to buy takeaways from eateries in the area.

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Guest: Judith February

The country's top court has sentenced former president Jacob Zuma to 15 months in prison for contempt of court after defying an order to appear before the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture.

Constitutional Court judge Sisi Khampepe  said Zuma had been served with an order to appear before the Commission, and therefore knew exactly what was required of him and the consequences of his actions.

She said the former president had willfully defied this order, adding that there was “no sound basis” for Zuma to claim that he was being unfairly treated.

The Court ruled that the former president must hand himself over to police at either Nkandla police station or Johannesburg Central within 5 days to commence serving his sentence.

As the Constitutional Court is South Africa's highest court,  Zuma cannot appeal the ruling through the national judicial system

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Guest:Prof Steven Friedman | Professor of Political Studies at University Of Johannesburg (Uj)

With former president Thabo Mbeki having made a series of speeches and published several documents and proposals on governance recently, it has been suggested that he is planning a return to politics. Notably, he has criticised the ANC for its proposed amendments to Section 25 of the Constitution on expropriation  of land without compensation. He says the proposals would lead to a disincentive to invest in South Africa, which he says the country cannot afford.

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Guest: Prof Francois Venter

A study by scientists at a university in the United States has found that the vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna set off a persistent immune reaction in the body that may protect it against the coronavirus for years. The findings by researchers at the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis add to growing evidence that the jabs, which both employ mRNA technology, likely produce lasting immunity. As a result, those who have been immunised with these two vaccines may not need boosters as long as the virus and its variants don't mutate much more that their current forms. The study did not look at the vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson, but a senior author says he expects the immune response for this jab to be less durable than that produced by the mRNA vaccines.

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Guest: Evashnee Naidu

Human rights organisation, the Black Sash, has called for social relief measures such as grant top-ups, Caregiver, and Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress grants to be reinstated as a matter of urgency.

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Guest: Don Pinnock

Environment Minister Barbara Creecy has proposed a draft policy which will see the country ban the intensive captive breeding of lion and rhino, captive lion hunting and trade in captive lion parts.

Writing in the Daily Maverick today, Don Pinnock says it provides the world’s most advanced definition of sustainable use of wildlife and an approach to wild animals that highlights their welfare, wellbeing and sentience.

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Guest: Pierre de Vos, constitutional law expert

The country's top court has sentenced former president Jacob Zuma to 15 months in prison for contempt of court after defying an order to appear before the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture. Constitutional Court judge Sisi Khampepe  said Zuma had been served with an order to appear before the Commission, and therefore knew exactly what was required of him and the consequences of his actions.

She said the former president had willfully defied this order, adding that there was “no sound basis” for Zuma to claim that he was being unfairly treated.

The Court ruled that the former president must hand himself over to police at either Nkandla police station or Johannesburg Central within 5 days to commence serving his sentence. As the Constitutional Court is South Africa's highest court,  Zuma cannot appeal the ruling through the national judicial system.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Guest: Advocate Stephanie Fick

The Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences, known as AARTO, is due to be rolled out from Thursday, but several stakeholders say there is a lack of clarity around the new system and exactly what will be implemented.

It is supposed to create a single national system of road traffic regulation, to hold motorists to account for traffic violations, and includes a demerit system. 

One of the organisations that has been outspoken about the new regulation is OUTA, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse.

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Guest: Wendy Alberts, CEO of Restaurant Association of SA

Restaurants, still reeling over last year's lockdowns, have again seen on-site dining banned since Level 4 lockdown came into effect on Monday with only option being for them being to sell takeaways.

But there has been lots of talk over the past year about how much using the services of companies like Uber Eats and Mr Delivery costs both restaurants and patrons alike.

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