Good Morning Cape Town with Lester Kiewit

Lester Kiewit speaks to Carl Lindermann, former board member of the   Astronomical Society of Southern Africa, Cape section, to talk about asteroid 2024 YR4, which is being tracked by space scientists and currently has a 3.1 percent chance of striking Earth in 2032, with the potential to wipe out a city.

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Lester Kiewit speaks to Ukraine Ambassador to South Africa, Liubov Abravitova, about an invitation that has been extended to Ukraine President, Volodymyr Zelensky, to visit South Africa as soon as possible. This comes as relations between Ukraine and the US are at a low point with US President Donald Trump branding Zelensky a dictator.

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Police say Israel bus bombs an act of terrorism; US wants rare earth minerals in payment for Ukraine aid; harvesting fog in Chile to tackle drought and desertification. Adam Gilchrist shares details on these stories with Lester Kiewit.

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Biocode Technologies is a medical technology company that was spun out from Stellenbosch University, and they have patented a Long COVID diagnostic blood test, a world first! Lester Kiewit speaks to Resia Pretorius, Distinguished Professor and head of the Department of Physiological Sciences at Stellenbosch University.

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Lester Kiewit speaks to Prof John Balfour, UWC rector and vice-chancellor, about the start to the tertiary level academic year, and whether being a VC, is South Africa’s toughest job.

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Lester Kiewit speaks to seasoned South African climber and Brand SA Ambassador, Angela Yeung, who is planning to summit Mount Everest via the north side sometime between April and June 2025. A seasoned climber, Yeung will once again use the event to raise awareness for survivors of gender-based violence through the EmpowerHer Campaign by the Impilo Collection Foundation. Her aim is to collect 8849 bras, one for each metre of Everest’s height—to support survivors and highlight the crisis, where a woman is murdered every four hours in South Africa.

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In this earlier edition of John Maytham’s weekly chat with Rebecca Davis, Rebecca looks at the budget fracas in comparison to international trends, the possible compensation for passengers who were on board the Delta flight which flipped over upon landing, and the science of swearing!

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Cape Town’s inner city was once facing a similar fate to inner cities around the country and around the world: urban decay. But thanks to a partnership between government and business leading to the formation of the Cape Town Partnership and Cape Town Central City Improvement District, this decline was reversed in time and led to a rejuvenation of the CBD. John Maytham speaks to Tim Harris, an economic development advisor and CCID board member (as well as former DA Member of Parliament and Wesgro CEO) on why he believes that Cape Town’s CBD turnaround could serve as a blueprint for other cities in decline.

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The presentation of the 2025 Budget by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana was postponed due to a lack of consensus among coalition government members, and the sticking point seems to be over a plan to hike the VAT rate from 15% to 17%. John Maytham speaks to Dr Azar Jammine, Director and chief economist at Econometrix, to discuss whether a hike in VAT is altogether a bad idea or whether it has merit.

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Brazil’s ex-President Jair Bolsonaro is charged over alleged coup plot; bounty hunting in the Philippines for mosquitoes; politicians in Wales are being told to tell the truth. Adam Gilchrist shares details on these stories with John Maytham.

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