NIGHT FALL

Guest on line: Nkosy Mkhize (also known as Nkosy Light) - a spiritual teacher or spiritual counsellor.

Closet conversations: “I have been given a gift to interpret dreams, interpret numbers and provide spiritual guidance as being led by the spirit”.

Tonight we are talking Numbers with Nkosy Light and you can also have you dreams interpreted.

Guest 1 on the line: Roy Havemann -Research Associate, Stellenbosch University

The announcement by the South African finance minister, Enoch Godongwana, of debt relief for the country’s troubled power utility, Eskom, is a step forward. It will fix one problem: Eskom has too much debt. But the plan won’t end power cuts which have worsened in recent years.

The international experience is that one way to end electricity shortages is to allow competitively-priced privately-funded generation at scale. This requires a reorganisation of South Africa’s electricity market along the lines announced by the Department of Public Enterprises nearly four years ago. The crux of the plan was to split Eskom into three separate units – generation, transmission and distribution, with transmission remaining state-owned.

With the announced conditions, which include the requirement that Eskom prioritise capital expenditure in transmission and distribution during the debt-relief period, the finance minister has missed an opportunity to finally achieve this.

Guest 1 on the line: Rowan Terry, Legal Counsel at TPN Credit Bureau

There have been numerous complaints in recent years from landlords and neighbours, that tenants are smoking cannabis in their rental property. When neighbours start to complain, landlords are often caught in the middle. Is there really anything they can do to resolve the situation?

1. Can a landlord cancel your lease agreement if you as a tenant are smoking cannabis in your rental property?
2. When it comes to smoking on outside balconies or in common garden areas, what are the rules around smoking cannabis there?
3. What are the legalities around breach of agreement with tenants in this regard?
4. Can your organisation assist landlords with putting together lease agreements that are fair?

What is a home cleansing ritual?

A home cleansing ritual is a practice by which believers either banish or forbid negative energies, evil spirits or harmful entities from entering a home. These practices take many shapes and forms, which are dictated by the religious or cultural customs of the individual in question.

Who performs these rituals?Home cleansing rituals are often performed by a variety of different cultures and religious groups, and only occur at the request of the homeowner. The ritual is conducted by a spiritually knowledgeable and prepared individual – usually a traditional healer, priest or shaman.

Different denominations perform different rituals in accordance with their own belief guidelines and often involve the use of holy or spiritual tools.. Traditional African cultures have rituals unique to them for when someone moves into a new home, and healers may make use of herbs, bones or other natural properties. Christians may make use of holy water and/or incense. Buddhists, Muslims  and Hindi groups also have unique and individual practices that are performed.

Guest on the line: “Professor Mbayimbayi Hlathi, a well-known traditional healer and custodian of culture and African medicine.

One of the things the youth not only in South Africa but in the rest of the world yearns for is ownership. A feeling that young entrepreneur Rashid Thobega had in mind when establishing his footwear brand, Landlords.

Landlord’s footwear is a symbol of a new breed and the dawn of young Africans who yearn to possess ownership and participate in decision making, growth strategies and map out the future and build legacies.

“I love formal shoes that are well made. The direction was to make the best leather shoe and Theo Baloyi from Bathu made me realize that by designing formal shoes majority of people will be excluded hence I decided to go with a sneaker,” said the owner of Landlord’s footwear, Rashid Thobega.

Guest on the line: Stewart "Rashid" Thobega-founder of LandLords Footwear

Guest on the line: Nkosinathi Mahlangu, Portfolio Head of Youth Employment at Momentum Metropolitan

Social conversations -SA's decline in unemployment - and why we shouldn't get too excited, yet

A few days ago, the government announced a (very small) decrease in SA's official unemployment rate, from 32.9% in the third quarter of 2022 to 32.7% in the fourth quarter of 2022.

While any drop in joblessness is good news, Nkosinathi Mahlangu, Portfolio Head of Youth Employment at Momentum Metropolitan, believes that we shouldn't get too excited yet, as there are factors at play that may point to this decrease being temporary, and not a downward trend.

He is available to discuss:

1. The current unemployment rate decrease - where were the biggest job gains, and what were the possible factors at play?
2. The reason for the decrease between 2022: Q3 and 2022: Q4, and the impact of seasonality on the hospitality, retail and services industry for youth employment specifically
3. Why we need to look at the upcoming 2023: Q1 & Q2 stats to see if this decline is more than just a seasonal trend
4. The importance of a skills audit, as referenced by the Finance Minister in February's Budget Speech
5. The role of private sector in addressing unemployment

There are more unplanned pregnancies in countries where men hold greater power in society, likely because women don’t have a say in how many children they have.

A male birth control pill passed tests of safety and tolerability when healthy men used it daily for a month, and it produced hormone responses consistent with effective contraception, according to researchers at two institutions testing the drug. In a 2019 study from KwaZulu-Natal about men’s attitudes towards family planning, health workers said that including them in the conversation could help to empower women. “It [family planning] ends up being a feminine thing, yet it’s not supposed to be; it’s a family thing,”

Family planning - we are speaking about male contraceptives 

Suggested Questions:

• Male sexual health is not often talked about in comparison to female sexual health - why is this?

• Usually women take the lead when it comes to contraception - but now men can too - what are the options for men in this case?
• What would your advice be to men when it comes to their sexual health and wellbeing?
• What are the biggest “threats” to their sexual health?

Guest on the line: Dr Nomacete Tshume from Kena Health

Eswatini is a landlocked country bordering South Africa and Mozambique in Southern Africa. Poverty levels have stagnated at high levels in the last five years, with 36.1% of the population of 1.2 million estimated to have been living under the international $2.15 poverty line in 2016 and 2017.

Eswatini’s close economic ties to South Africa mean about 85% of its imports and about 60% of its exports depend on its much larger neighbor. It is a member of the Common Monetary Area (CMA), with Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa. Under the CMA, the Eswatini lilangeni (the domestic currency) is pegged to the South African rand, which is also legal tender in the country.

The economy had a strong rebound in 2021, with real GDP growth estimated at 7.9%, up from a 1.6% contraction in 2020. The easing of lockdown measures in 2021 supported export-oriented sectors, as well as the robust recovery in external demand in key destination markets. Though political unrest in June/July 2021 resulted in the destruction of physical assets, theft of inventory, and constrained operational hours, its impact on production was partly mitigated by a Reconstruction Fund, set up by the government to cushion businesses from lasting effects of the damage.

Guest in studio: Gugulethu G. Xaba -Chairman Adamo Holdings (Pty) Ltd / Amandla Omnotho

Topic- What are the issues that destroy good relationships or marriages?

Guest on the line: Dr. Mashudu David Mbedzi, marriage counsellor and author of the book titled “Married but Intimately Divorced”.

Forgiveness in Families- None of us "does" family perfectly. We sometimes say and do things that offend loved ones. All of us are guilty of "sins" of commission or omission toward those we care about. Forgiveness is an essential part of strong, healthy relationships.

Judeo-Christian beliefs teach that nobody is exempt from forgiveness; we should forgive all wrongs that have been done to us, regardless of their severity. The Family: A Proclamation to the World (¶ 7) singles out forgiveness as an essential feature of successful marriages and families. Once thought to be exclusively a religious doctrine, the notion of forgiveness has rapidly movedp beyond religious borders into mainstream society.

One definition of forgiveness is the ability to release the mind and the heart from all past hurts and failures, all sense of guilt and loss. Forgiveness enables us to overcome anger and feelings of resentment or a desire to punish or get even with someone who has crossed us. Forgiving involves changing your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors in relationship to the offender. Bad feelings and judgment toward the offender are reduced, not because they don't "deserve" that treatment, but because we willingly view the offender with compassion, benevolence, and love.

Guest 1 on the line: Dumisani Dladla - a qualified trauma and addiction counsellor