The Federation of Unions of South Africa, FEDUSA is calling on government to seriously apply collective wisdom before any moves on enforcing stricter lockdown measures are formalized. This comes after reports that the NCCC was holding an urgent meeting as Covid-19 infections are increasing rapidly which could lead to further restrictions as the country is currently on Level 3. Let’s find out now what their concerns are as we welcome…
Guest: Riefdah Ajam – FEDUSA’s General Secretary

The latest from the DRC is that at least 22 people were killed in a raid on a village in part of the eastern DR Congo plagued by Islamist rebel attacks. The attackers struck late on Monday, killing residents of Mwenda village with machetes and guns. A civil society leader from that village blames the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), a Ugandan group which has emerged as the most lethal militia in Congo's eastern borderlands and is suspected of hacking to death at least 17 people in a nearby village last week. This is just one incident among many that have been taking place in the past few weeks and to find out what is behind the killings and who these people are,

Guest : Nixon Kathembo, who is specialist on the Great Lakes and East Africa and also works on the KiSwahili Desk at Channel Africa

We turn our focus now on institutions of higher learning to find out what their concerns are as the Covid-19 pandemic seems far from over. Schools may be affected as the Covid-19 number are increasing, what are their plans also seeing that matric marking is delaying? To give us a sense of how universities are hoping to deal with this,

Guest: Professor Ahmed Bawa - Chief Executive Officer, Universities South Africa

Health insurance group, Medscheme has conducted a hospital admission analysis across all provinces to compare the first Covid-19 peak in July 2020 to the current second wave. Their findings have revealed that while Eastern and Western Cape seem to be at or past their peak, KwaZulu Natal, Gauteng and Limpopo showed a daily 8% average increase of hospital admissions in Week 52 of 2020. To find out more on what we should read into their findings, we are joined on the line by

Guest: Dr. Lungi Nyathi - Managing Executive for Clinical Risk and Advisory at Medscheme

This past Monday was World Brail Day and we thought to visit the subject today to look at how far we are as a country in making it accessible for learners. Our guest is of the view that learners should learn both braille and print for them to be able to communicate with sighted people. Also in 2021, how accessible is braille in all our 11 official languages? Talk to us more on this subject, we are joined on the line by….

GUEST: Selaelo Makgato - Director Special Programmes in the Office of the Limpopo Premier – He is blind and also a champion in fighting for the rights of people with disabilities and able to talk about what it was like under the apartheid system for them and whether things are better now

Yesterday we spoke to Muzi Hlengwa, President of the National Funeral Practitioners Association of South Africa. He spoke about how people are harassing them demanding to do family rituals during Covid-19 deaths, something that is not allowed under the current restrictions.

Guest: Dr. Velaphi VVO Mkhize-Founder and Director of the Umsamo African Institute

Unemployment figures among young people living with disabilities are said to be close to 70 percent, 40 percent more than the figures of the general population. Activists say this is yet another indication of the exclusion of this community which forms 14% of South Africans. So, what are the barriers, what can role players do to improve this situation?

Guest: Therina Wentzel-Du Toit-National Director at the National Council for Persons with Physical Disabilities

Labour federations Cosatu and Saftu say they are concerned about the safety of their members, many of whom will be returning to work next week. This comes as the number of coronavirus infections peaks during the second wave. Government has published guidelines for employers but are these enough? What happens if companies do not take the necessary precautions.

Guest: Attorney and Director at Moni Attorneys Incorporated, Natasha Moni

Funeral parlours across the country are facing increasing pressure as the number of covid-19 related deaths spike. The industry says its employees are working long hours and that they now have to fetch the deceased from wards and not hospital mortuaries as has been standard practice for years, because of lack of space. The funeral service industry has called on the public to take safety precautions. To tell us more about the challenges they are facing is…

Guest: Muzi Hlengwa-President of the National Funeral Practitioners Association of South Africa.

As you’ve heard over the weekend that Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi was not happy with the Independent Examination Board for filing court papers compelling government to fund its private business. The IEB says it can't afford to pay for the assessment services offered by the Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training – UMALUSI. Let’s hear now why the MEC is not happy with them and whether he will be opposing them in court as we welcome…

Guest: Panyaza Lesufi - Gauteng MEC for Education