Guest: Mmusi Maimane, BOSA Leader 

Build One South Africa leader Mmusi Maimane is the new chairperson of the  Parliament's Standing Committee on Appropriations. What’s the mandate of this committee and what is it that he hopes it achieves? 

We talk to him about this and other things;

Mmusi Maimane

Leader: Bosa / Chair - Parliament's Standing Committee on Appropriations

• Starting a political party - that whole journey
• Bosa’s performance in the past elections
• The mandate of this committee
• What would make it a success?
• How Bosa plans to grow
• The future of politics in SA / the future of coalitions

Guest: Nixon Katembo, Channel Africa

• The elections and the turnout
• Kagame’s win
• 4th term and expectations
• Kagame’s leadership style and dealing with detractors

Succession plan                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      More than 9 million Rwandans were called to vote for a new president on Monday, and according to official results, more than 99% of them supported the incumbent Paul Kagame for a fourth term.

Soon after polls closed on Monday evening, the election commission said that Kagame had won 99.15% of the votes. 

It also put turnout at a staggeringly high 98%. By comparison, even in those few countries where citizens are legally obliged to vote or face a fine, such as Australia, turnout only ever tends to be between 90 and 95%. 

Same opposition candidates, similarly poor performance

The apparent interest in the vote was all the more surprising, given that it was effectively a re-run of a non-contest in 2017, when Kagame won 98.79% of the vote. 

Only two opposition candidates, the same ones as in 2017, had been allowed to compete. Eight people had applied.

Frank Habineza, the leader of the Democratic Green Party, looked set to claim 0.53% of votes, compared to 0.48% in 2017.

Philippe Mpayimana, an independent, was on track for 0.32%, according to early projections.

Artists & finances  

Musa from Soweto, one of our regular callers spoke to us last night about the issue of artists and their financial struggles. Research was recently conducted on this on why some artist die in poverty.

Joining me is

Joseph Gaylard 

Head - Pro Helvetia Johannesburg (they commissioned the research).

Why musicians die in poverty – South African study reveals battle to make ends meet

https://theconversation.com/why-musicians-die-in-poverty-south-african-study-reveals-battle-to-make-ends-meet-231388 

I head Pro Helvetia Johannesburg, the sub-Saharan office of the Swiss Arts Council, responsible for facilitating connection and collaboration between the Swiss arts scene and the regional arts ecosystem.

We commissioned the IKS research report that Gwen’s article hinges around on the basis of data that came out of an income relief fund that we set up with finance from a private foundation in Switzerland during COVID, which supported more than 700 jazz musicians across South Africa over a 6 to 12 month period with monthly income payments of between R5000 and R15000 per month, based on a simple assessment of needs.

dtic

What are some of the immediate tasks by the new minister of Trade, Industry and Competition as he takes over this department? The Department is responsible for a number of economic politics including those seeking to redress the racing imbalances.

Guest: Parks Tau, Minister: Trade, Industry and Competition

• His plans
• Attracting FDI / investment in general
• Industrial policy
• Black industrialists

The Rand has been reported to be struggling and some report that it’s due to the cabinet delays. Or, anxiety over what the cabinet might look like…especially if the Democratic Alliance doesn’t join the GNU.

Guest: Dr Phali Lehohla, Economist and former Statistician General

Rand plunges after DA threatens to walk away from GNU

The rand tumbled to an almost two-week low on Thursday after the DA threatened to walk away from the Government of National Unity (GNU) over a disagreement with the ANC over the proposed composition of Cabinet.

SA's currency, which was already under pressure in morning trade due to a stronger dollar, weakened to R18.4139/$ before recouping some losses to trade at R18.3915 at 11:10. As recent as last Friday the rand had traded as strong as R17.90/$, near the strongest level in almost a year on optimism the GNU would usher in much needed economic reforms. 

"The rand will remain in cautious terrain while the cabinet negotiations play out," Bianca Botes, a director at Citadel Global said in a client note. "With no decision in the bag yet, we can expect the rand to take its cues from the global market."

Celebrated artist and activist Qondiswa James is performing at the National Arts Festival from tomorrow. The play is titled “All my ex-lovers are dead”. And from the 7th of August her play, Amaxelegu, will be at the Market Theatre.

Guest: Qondiswa James, Artist / activist

• Her background / being an cultural worker
• Staging public art interventions
• Her play at the National Arts festival + market theatre
• The role of an artist in SA today

QONDISWA JAMES

Qondiswa James is a freelance cultural worker living between Cape Town and Johannesburg. She is an award-winning writer and theatre-maker, performance artist, film and theatre performer, installation artist, arts facilitator and activist. She has received her Masters in Live Art, Interdisciplinary and Public Art and Public Spheres at the Institute of Creative Arts. Her work engages the socio-political imagination towards mobilising transgression.

She has staged public art interventions at Infecting the City, Live Arts Festival, FNB Art Joburg, Centre for the Less Good Idea, Les Rencontres a L'échelle (France), Arcade (Makhanda), and Live Art Network Africa. Her onscreen appearances include High Fantasy (DIFF 2018 Best South African Film Award, Artistic Bravery Award), and Letters from the Continent (Holland Film Festival). 

In 2023 she staged Retch, a new original solo work, as part of the inaugural Kippies Fringe season at Market Theatre. She was also a resident artist at AiiA Lab (Switzerland), where she created a new work in process, What He Has Done.

President Ramaphosa is probably busy consulting as we speak as her prepares to announce his cabinet maybe in the next few days. In his speech today, he vowed to work with all the parties as the leader of the GNU.

A confusion has emerged after Helen Zille’s SABC interview last night… it seems there are power struggles already.

To talk more

Richard Poplak

Editor at Large- Daily Maverick