Afternoon Drive with John Maytham

Guest: Dr Joachim Vermooten | Aviation Economist 

State-owned domestic airline Mango says its financial situation has been exacerbated by a delay in funding from government which may see it halt all operations at the end of this week.

The SAA subsidiary says its expecting to receive some of the R10.5 billion set aside for national airline, but that this will require a special appropriation bill, which has not yet been tabled in parliament.

Mango says it is currently unable to pay staff salaries.

We speak to Dr Joachim Vermooten, an independent air transport economist and former airline CFO

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Guest: Collen Mashawana

He's South Africa's own superhero.  Eight-year-old Prince Mashawana from Johannesburg created his alter-ego, SuperMash, when he was just 7, after suffering bullying at school.

And tomorrow, he will become the youngest ever person to give a TedX talk, TED being a US-based non-profit organisation which posts free talks online under the slogan "ideas worth spreading".

Prince, who likes to wear a bright orange cape and fitted blue body suit, has written a comic book, SuperMash, which highlights issues such as child abuse.

The Grade 3 pupil's first book, Diary of a Superhero, will be published at the end of the year, and will be releasing a 12-part webinar series with his 'fellow superheros' in partnership with the Gauteng department of sports, arts, culture and recreation soon.

His talk, which he will be giving tomorrow in Sandton, is titled: Can the youth really change the world?

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Guest: Dr Ian-Malcolm Rijsdijk

The South African documentary, My Octopus Teacher, has won an Academy award for the best documentary.

It tells the story of the bond that forms between an octopus and filmmaker, Craig Foster.

But what impact, if any, will the win have on the South African film industry?

We speak to Dr Ian-Malcolm Rijsdijk, a senior lecturer in film and television studies at UCT

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Guest: Prof Hennie Klopper | Emeritus Professor specialising in the law of third-party compensation at University of Pretoria

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Guest: Craig Ray | Sports Editor  at Daily Maverick

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guest: Juliet McGuire

We speak to Juliet McGuire, motoring journalist at Julietmcguire.com, for our regular car talk

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Guest: Alison Faraday | Coordinator at South Peninsula Outstanding Toad Savers

The Noordhoek Environmental Action Group is taking the City of Cape Town to court in a bid to halt the building of the Houmoed Phase 1 Extension road that it believes will result in the extinction of the Western Cape Leopard Toad and progressively empty the Noordhoek Wetland of its wildlife.

The proposed road will link Noordhoek Main Road with Kommetjie Road and will run along the south-eastern side of the wetlands. 

These areas are essential to our wellbeing, and also protect cities and communities from floods, droughts and coastal storms, which given climate change and rising sea levels is becoming increasingly critical.

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Guest: Dr Glenda Gray, the CEO of the SA Medical Research Council

The department of health has announced that the Covid-19 vaccine rollout as part of the Sisonke Phase 3 b study, which was paused due to blood clot concerns, will resume on Wednesday.

An extremely rare condition characterised by clots in the presence of low platelets had been identified in users of both the AstraZeneca-Oxford and Johnson & Johnson vaccines.

But after a review of the data, the SA Health Products Regulatory Authority last week gave approval for use of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to recommence with an amended protocol.

This includes the augmentation of safety and oversight in the case of Vaccine-Induced Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia or VITT (clots) and SAHPRA has also requested that pregnant and breastfeeding women not be vaccinated under the  study.

We speak to Dr Glenda Gray, CEO of the South African Medical Research Council.

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Guest: Zahid Badroodien | Mayoral Committee Member for Community Services and Health at City of Cape Town

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Guest: Prof Eugene Cloete

Stellenbosch University is to establish a new School for Climate Studies which will launch in June of this year in support of the transition to a climate-resilient society and a low-carbon economy.. 

To find out more, we're joined by Professor Eugene Cloete,  the university's Vice-Rector - Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies.

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