Afternoon Drive with John Maytham

Guest: Nthakoana Ngatane

The Zondo Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture says a criminal charge must be laid against former SAA board chairperson Dudu Myeni for her failure to comply with a summons to appear before it today.

But her lawyer, advocate Nqabayethu Buthelezi, says she had requested a postponement as she had a family commitment and was unable to appear.

EWN Nthakoan Ngatane has been following the story.

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Guest: Dr Daemon McClunan

A team of scientist have partially restored a blind man's sight using a high-tech treatment called optogenetics, which involves genetically altering nerve cells so they respond to light.

 

French firm GenSight Biologics has published results showing that the first recipient of its treatment can now recognise different objects in lab tests.

Optogenetics has become a widely used lab tool, because it allows precision control over brain cells by altering them so they fire in response to light. 

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Guest: Alan Winde | Premier at Western Cape Government

The National Coronavirus Command Council, chaired by President Cyril Ramaphosa, is expected to discuss stricter restrictions when it meets today, to curb the rising number of Covid-19 cases.

Some provinces, including the Northern Cape, Gauteng, the North West and the Free State have already entered a third wave of infections.

The Ministerial Advisory Committee or MAC has reportedly recommended a move to an adjusted Level 2 lockdown which would include further controls for large social gatherings, as well as a longer evening curfew.

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Guest: Jan Vermeulen | Editor-at-large at MyBroadband.co.za

Microsoft has announced that it is finally pulling the plug on its 25-year-old web browser, Internet Explorer, as of mid-June next year.

 

Although it once dominated the internet, it has many problems including speed, reliability, performance, and security issues.

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Guest:  Rosemary Anderson | Chairperson at FEDHASA

A Covid-19 fund formed to distribute R1 billion donated by the Rupert family and Remgro to assist small businesses has announced a partnership with the Fedhasa, which represents the hospitality industry in Southern Africa, to preserve jobs in the sector.

The Sukuma Fund will loan R100 million to qualifying restaurants to provide rental relief and boost working capital when required.

To qualify, an eatery must be independent and formally registered and provide evidence of several factors including future viability.

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John Maytham interviews Fedhasa Chairperson Rosemary Anderson. Fedhasa represents the hospitality industry in South Africa.

 

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Guest: Nathan Geffen | Editor at Ground Up

Writing in the Daily Maverick today, GroundUp editor, Nathan Geffen, and his co-author, Marcus Low, say that when taking into account the Sisonke study and several other clinical trials, somewhere in the region of 700,000 people have now been vaccinated in South Africa.

But they say that the country has to scale up quickly and that the government’s Electronic Vaccination Data System represents a significant bottleneck in the administration of vaccinations.

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Guest: Kate Wilson

In the latest episode of what has become known as 'the soap war', the advertising regulator has ruled that Protex still can't be advertised as a soap that can 'naturally protect against germs' because of its flaxseed oil ingredient.

In February, the regulator gave Colgate-Palmolive, the company that makes Protex, 3 months to amend its packaging so that it did not make the claim.

The case was brought against it by competitor Reckitt Benckiser, which manufactures soap products under the Dettol brand.

We speak to Kate Wilson, a chemical engineer who works in product development at Rain Natural Skincare, which makes soaps and natural body products.

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Guest: Gavin Kelly | Chief Executive Officer  at Road Freight Association

The Road Freight Association has thrown its weight behind a proposed tightening of restrictions on who can obtain a professional driving permit need to drive public transport and heavy-duty vehicles.

The proposed new rules would effectively mean that only someone with a valid South African drivers licence could obtain the permit.

In practice, this would mean that foreign truck drivers would no longer be able drive South African registered trucks in the country.

 The RFA, which represents employers in the road and freight logistics sector, say it could reduce the risk of violent attacks against truck drivers.

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Guest: Prof Ian Sanne

The National Coronavirus Command Council, chaired by President Cyril Ramaphosa, is expected to discuss stricter restrictions when it meets today, to curb the rising number of Covid-19 cases.

 Some provinces, including the Northern Cape, Gauteng, the North West and the Free State have already entered a third wave of infections.

The Ministerial Advisory Committee or MAC has reportedly recommended a move to an adjusted Level 2 lockdown which would include further controls for large social gatherings, as well as a longer evening curfew.

We speak to professor Ian Sanne, a member of MAC and a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Witwatersrand.

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