Guest: Sithole Mbanga - CEO of the SA Cities Network

Focus: Throughout the month of October, the United Nations Habitat has commemorated Urban Month in a bid to raise awareness on building sustainable city development. Around the world, events are being held to address the challenges facing cities and the SA Cities Network’s Urban Festival is one of the recognized events on the global calendar. It is under the theme: 31 Days for Promoting a better urban future. To help us link the challenges being faced in the global community to the SA context, we are joined by…

Guest (OB): Lindiwe Kwele: CEO of Gauteng Partnership Fund

Focus: Gauteng Partnership Fund is the lead partner of the 2022 Urban Festival. The SACN and GPF share a common objective of facilitating and enabling urban development and transformation in South African cities, focusing on advancing inclusive and sustainable human settlements. The GPF’s mandate was expanded from implementing social and affordable housing to raising the capital needed for Mega Projects and overseeing their implementation, as well as the upgrading of informal settlements programme (UISP) and the Rapid Land Release Programme (RLRP). The GPF has designed innovative solutions that afford adequate support to developers, while also ensuring financial integrity is maintained. The GPF is the preferred partner to government, property developers, as well as co-funding partners, thanks to its long track record of promoting economic empowerment by offering preferential rates to BBBEE accredited developers, a variety of attractive products, as well as the job creation, and local economic development spin-offs stimulated by its funded projects. Over the next five years, the agency is keen

to investigate alternative financing mechanisms, engineer capital-raising mechanisms in partnership with the private sector, strengthen its strategic partnerships with other state institutions, as well as continuously improve efficiencies in its loan book management.

Guest (studio): Solly Phetoe – Deputy General Secretary of COSATU

Focus: Finance Minister, Enoch Godogwana will table the Mid-Term Budget Policy Statement this afternoon. We thought to use this opportunity to speak to Cosatu to get an understanding of what they would like to hear from the finance minister as they are part of unions demanding a wage increase from government..

Guest : Thembi Nkadimeng - Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs

Focus: This morning, the South African Cities Network (SACN) celebrates its 20th anniversary as the custodian of South Africa’s urban story and research. To commemorate this occasion, it will host The Urban Festival under the theme: Transforming Cities Through Research & Practice. The three-day festival will be centred on five core themes ranging from Urban Governance, Municipal Finance and Climate Resilience to City Economies and Affordable Housing. The Urban festival will include key addresses, masterclasses, panel discussions and pledges to ensure that these dialogues shape action in cities. One of its keynote speakers addressing the delegates this morning will be the Deputy Minister of Cooperative Governance. We are joined by…

Focus: The private healthcare industry very much like other industries experiencing an evolution to how it conducts business due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Sector finds itself confronted with evolving patient needs and having to embrace and explore the ‘next-generation’ healthcare system that is patient-centric that co-creates value with the patient in collaboration with all actors in the entire healthcare continuum to better serve the needs of patients and their families. GEMS will host a symposium under the theme: Value co-creation for a patient-centric health system. A panel of experts will address the current changing environment of the healthcare sector, the views of healthcare providers, employees and members and how patient-centric services can create the needed collaboration between actors within the system to better service members and their families.

Guest: Dr Stanley Moloabi - Principal Executive Officer at Government Employees Medical Scheme

 As it is the last Tuesday of the month, this hour of the programme is always devoted to answering questions that have been submitted toBryan during the month. He will pick out all those questions of a similar nature and deal with them.

Guest: Bryan Hirsch, Chairperson of Bryan Hirsch, Colley & Associates (Pty) Limited

The Lotus Gardens, Atteridgeville and Saulsville Civic Association is threatening a shutdown against the City of Tshwane wanting to install prepaid electric metres in their townships. They claim that the City is bullying and harassing those residents who don’t want these meters installed. The City on the other hand say that this is part of getting residents to pay for their outstanding bills which has contributed to Eskom shutting them down. So let’s use this opportunity to get both sides of the story in an effort to understand what is at the centre of the hostility 

Guest: Tshepo Mahlangu - Executive Chairperson of the Lotus Gardens, Atteridgeville and Saulsville Civic Association

Guest: Peter Sutton – MMC for Finance in the City of Tshwane

Yesterday, the Minister of Transport along with investigative and road management bodies held a media briefing on the outcome of investigations into Driving Licensing and Testing Centers that have been implicated in corruption. During the briefing, it was announced that eighty-six arrests were made for fraud and theft during joint operations by the RTMC, the Hawks, the South African Revenue Services (SARS) and SIU. The Department of Transport has passed the National Road Traffic Amendment Bill to regulate driving schools and enable the Department of Transport to address their conduct. We want to unpack the role of driving schools in this case as they are often accused of being the corrupt middleman of these operations. To tell their side of the story, 

Guest: Lazarus Mokwena - Spokesperson of the National Driving School Association of South Africa

In the social media era, public forums have been become a platform where individuals and companies are being held accountable for overstepping acceptable social norms. The practice of cancel culture is problematic because of the way in which the people behind these public platforms cancels people, rendering them cut off from society, as a punishment for what they have said or done. This falls into the category of retributive justice. Often, when a person is cancelled, there is little or no chance of them one finding a way back. What are the limitations of cancel culture after justice has prevailed and those cancelled have served their time. Is there redemption after society disengages your work?

Guest: Nolwazi Tusini - Gender Activist

Guest: Tshiamo Malatji -Social Commentator and Community Organizer

 We speak now to Professor Tumai Murombo from Wits. He recently held a lecture questioning the validity of the National Water Act 32 of 1998. This Act has been praised as a ground-breaking law setting a global standard for countries that seek to transform their environmental laws and water governance regimes. But Professor Murombe points out something very interesting about how this Act is actually not doing much for the historically disadvantaged individuals who he says continue to struggle to access water. He points out the lack of transformation around this Act and to educate us on this, he now joins us via Zoom.....

Guest: Professor Tumai Murombo - Professor of Law at Wits University and former Director of the Mandela Institute of Law