country, advising them to avoid Sandton and large gatherings. Cyril Ramaphosa, the country's president, issued a statement assuring the public that there was no imminent threat of a terror attack, and he mentioned that US intelligence failed to communicate with the country's intelligence. However, reports emerged over the weekend that possible meetings between the two countries intelligence services may have taken place, which ended on a sour note when the US failed to provide intelligence evidence. We take a moment to unpack the possible diplomatic ramifications between the two countries, as we understand the politics between Washington and Pretoria and what all of this means for “brand South Africa” in the global landscape. We are joined on the line by…

Guest: Prof. John Stremlau – Associate Director of International Relations at the Rockefeller Foundation

Guest: Tebogo Khaas – Founder and chair of Public Interest SA

Guest: Joint standing committee on Intelligence TBC

Tomorrow (Tuesday) President Cyril Ramaphosa will be hosting the second Presidential Summit on Gender-based Violence and Femicide. The first summit in 2018 was in response to the 24 demands submitted by the #TheTotalShutdown Intersectional Woman’s Movement. So ahead of this summit, we thought to take a critical look at GBV summits through the eyes of male gender activists. Seeing that men are mostly at the centre of GBV and femicide in this country, as far as they are concerned, do summits of this nature yield any fruits? Are they preaching to the right people? As men, how they believe the scourge of GBV can be better dealt with?

Guest: Themba Masango – Secretary-General of #NotInMyNameSA

Guest: Daddy Kunene – Public Relations Officer of Dads in the Picture

Guest: Government guest TBC (I’ve asked for a man)

The South African Democratic Teacher’s Union is calling on Eskom to suspend load-shedding in an effort to protect the integrity of the 2022 matric exams which are starting today (Monday). The Department of Basic Education did try, but Eskom said that it was simply impossible to do that as schools and exam centres within communities and not possible to isolate. To get SADTU’s views on this issue, 

Guest: Mugwena Maluleke – SADTU’s general secretary

Guest: Mariette Liefferink - Chief Executive Officer of the Federation for Sustainable Environment

Guest: Willem Meintjies - Manager of the Engineering and Geohazards Unit at the Council of Geosciences

Guest: Javu Baloyi – Spokesperson for the Commission for Gender Equality

Last week, the Moroccan government blasted South Africa for their continued support for the independence of Western Sahara. President Cyril Ramaphosa offered his government's "unapologetic" backing for the partially recognised Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in Western Sahara during a state visit. President Ramaphosa joined President Mokgweetsi Masisi of Botswana in an official letter with Mr. Brahim Ghali earlier this month. At the back of this, one of our guests, Ganief Hendricks from the Al-Jamah Party has written an opinion piece highlighting the fact that the term of office of the Referendum Committee that was set up by the UN is expiring at the end of October this year. He says that this could lead to the beginning of the armed struggle, as the issue seems to be ignored. For a perspective on this, and also what is actually going on and who the role-players are, we are joined on the line by...

Guest: Ganief Hendricks – Leader of the Al- Jamah Party

 Last week Friday, Retired deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke was speaking at a fundraising function organised by the South African National Editors Forum where he spoke of the state of the country. He described how government has failed the people on the ground and in the process betrayed the struggle against apartheid. He goes on to say that they have failed to empower the masses. For a perspective on this and also to pick up on what Moseneke had to say and how real it is, 

Guest: Dr Pali Lehohla – Former South African Statestician General

Guest (studio): Dr Mpoti Seboka - Rheumatologist

Guest (studio): Pontso Moiloa - The Lupus Drive

Guest (studio): Nande Matanzima - Lupus survivor

Focus: Lupus is a chronic (long-term) disease that can cause inflammation and pain in any part of your body. It’s an autoimmune disease, which means that your immune system attacks healthy tissue instead.

Guest (OB): Danga Mughogho - Programme Manager: Well-Governed Cities at SA Cities Network

Focus: Cities are spaces where people come together to share experiences, engage social interactions and to shape new systems. They are places of social, economic and political opportunities. In South Africa, two-thirds of the population live in urban areas and cities are central to development. Cities have become the forefront of the country’s economic, social, environmental and cultural life. The SACN Urban Festival will reflect on what needs to happen over the next 20 years to achieve liveable, safe, resource-efficient cities and towns. In this panel, we discuss the progress being made in cities when it comes to governance and financial management to advance a transformative urban agenda. We are joined by…