Afternoon Drive with John Maytham

Guest: Dr Keith Cloete | Head of Health at Western Cape Department Of Health

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine rollout through the Sisonke programme for half a million healthcare workers resumed today. It was temporarily suspended due to a possible link between the jab and blood clots

But the Health Ministry said on Monday that because of the very low probability of developing a clot, regulators across the world have recommended the continued use of Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

The South African regulator, SAHPRA, added a requirement that all participants need to be informed of the potential risk.

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Guest: Christian Clot

A group of 15 French volunteers emerged from a cave on the weekend after a 40-day study exploring the limits of human adaptability to isolation and the loss of a frame of reference for time and space.

The subjects, aged between 27 and 50, gave up watches, phones and natural light, and modern comforts in exchange for a cave system with had a constant temperature of just 10 degrees Celsius and humidity levels of 100%.

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Guest: Lynn Carneson McGregor

A new permanent exhibition is opening at the Iziko Slave Lodge today called "Red in the Rainbow" as part of the museum's collection dedicated to the history of the struggle.

 It features graphic, video and sound material, as well as a replica prison cell from the 1970s, and was inspired by  author and exhibition co-curator, Lynn Carneson’s book of the same title.

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Guest: Bryan Turner | Data analyst at World Wide Worx

Apple released its what has been described by some as its most critical software update yesterday which is bringing a lot of new features to the phone.

This apparently includes the ability to unlock your iPhone with an Apple Watch, support for AirTags, and the much-awaited App Tracking Transparency feature.

 To find out more, we speak to  Bryan Turner of World Wide Worx

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Guest: Peter Fabricius

Following an attack by insurgents in Mozambique on the coastal town of Palma last month, the French energy group Total said yesterday it was declaring force majeure on its nearby liquefied natural gas project and withdrawing all personnel.

Palma is about 25km by road from the construction camp for the gas development which is worth an estimated $60 billion (about R856bn) which is meant to transform Mozambique’s economy. Earlier this month, Mozambique's President Filipe Nyusi said the government would work to restore peace in the region.

For an update on the situation, we speak to foreign affairs journalist, Peter Fabricius.

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Guest: Bravo Thompson

Activists with the #PayTheGrants movement are marching to parliament and the Union Buildings today as part of a nationwide protest.

They are demanding that government not only commit to continue paying the R350 Covid-19 Social Relief of Stress grant, but also to increase the amount.

It says that if the grant is cancelled at the end of the month, it will have a huge impact on food security for millions of South Africans.

We speak to #PayTheGrants spokesperson, Bravo Thompson.

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Guest: Anton van der Bijl

The North Gauteng High Court has interdicted government from processing applications or paying out any money to businesses from its Tourism Equity Fund, pending a review.

 This R1.2 billion fund was announced earlier this year and aims to enhance transformation in the tourism industry.

The court decision follows a challenge by trade union, Solidarity, and lobby group, AfriForum, who argued that the fund did not comply with the country’s Constitution and other relevant laws.

We speak to the head of Solidarity's legal service, Anton van der Bijl.

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Guest: Professor Arri Coomarasamy

A 3-paper report published in the prestigious medical journal, The Lancet, yesterday says the current approach to miscarriage care needs to be improved.

It suggest this can be done by providing more accurate diagnosis and appropriate investigations, improving treatments to prevent miscarriage, effective management methods that better suit women’s needs and preferences, and treatment from specially-trained healthcare professionals.

The authors also says there is an urgent need to offer psychological support for both affected women and their partners.

According to new estimates, miscarriages occur in 15% of all pregnancies, with one in 10 women experiencing a miscarriage in their lifetime.

We speak to Professor Arri Coomarasamy, the co-lead author of the report, from the University of Birmingham and Director of Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research.

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Guest: Karyn Maughan News24's specialist legal writer

Yesterday, Norma Gigaba, the estranged wife of former Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba, testified before the State Capture Inquiry for 6 long hours.

Norma, who has reverted to her maiden name Mngoma, made several sensational claims during her testimony, describing him as a 'servant of the Guptas'.

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Guest: Lings Naidoo | Co-founder at BeyondCOVID initiative

New data from Statistics SA, published yesterday, shows that 216 companies went into liquidation in March, in comparison to 178  the month before – a 21% jump. 

And this figure is almost 50% higher than March last year. 

Business analysts say the economic situation created by the Covid-19 pandemic has affected small companies the most. We speak to Lings Naidoo, co-founder of BeyondCOVID, which aims to help the small business sector to recover.

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