Funeral parlours in the Eastern Cape are said to be struggling to cope with the influx of corpses as Covid-19 is hitting the province hard. Some parlour owners are reportedly appealing to premier Oscar Mabuyane to help alleviate the backlog. But they are faced with even more problems like traditional rituals families perform for their dead. Let’s use this opportunity now get an understanding of how bad the situation is and how they are dealing with the situation as we welcome…
Guest: Vumile Tsuluka- Public Relations Officer for the SA Funeral Parlours Association in the Eastern Cape

The issue of racism especially in the workplace and organisations in general is one that many battle with. Some it seems so innocent to the person committing the trespass, but very hurting to the recipient. Examples are too many to write down, but things like assuming that a black customer automatically works in that shop, or the assumption that a black manager must have a white person above them. Well our guest has seen it all and helps organisations to beat this type of thing out and embrace diversity. How does she do it?

Guest: Theresa Oakley-Smith – Managing Director of Diversi-T

Earlier in the week we hosted a discussion about the state of early childhood development where we featured the different role players including a government representative. One common problem they were pointing to about the problems they were facing was the lack of efficient communications from government….

CLIP-EDC-COMMUNICATION

LINK: As you’ve heard some of the views from that sound clip, we then ask where is government going wrong on the issue of communication especially under the current Covid-19 pandemic?

Guest: Matshediso Setai - md mmutla communication services and developmental communications specialist

Yesterday Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize admitted that medical scooters in the Eastern Cape which cost the taxpayer R10 million – did not meet the basic criteria for patient transport as an ambulance. Dr Mkhize was answering a written Parliamentary question from DA MP Siviwe Gwarube. Interesting, earlier in the week the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) says it's in a process of finalising a National COVID-19 proclamation to investigate all transactions made with regards to the 500- billion rand relief fund.

Guest: Kaizer Kganyago – Spokesperson for the Special Investigation Unit

The SA Bone Marrow Registry is calling for on local donors to come forward. The registry has seen a drop in donor support since the start of the pandemic. Those with blood disorders and in need of stem cell transplants are in great danger. To educate us more on this why it’s important for donors to come forward, we are joined on the line by…
Guest: Jane Ward - Harvest Coordinator at South African Bone Marrow Registry

The emergence of Covid-19 and lockdown regulations have exposed the great need for skills upgrade in the workplace. The 4th Industrial Revolution is here and many are going to find themselves left out. All sectors of the economy have to adjust and upskill quickly. Executives and decision makers need to be convinced that the 4IR is here and digital transformation needs to happen now. But where do we start as a country?

Guest: Dr Janet Munakamwe – Seniour Labour Researcher and author

There’s no doubt that almost all industries have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. We’ve been bringing you so many developments around the subject for almost half the year since the outbreak. But now we as the media are now becoming victims of pandemic ourselves. Media24 announcing the closure of some of their publications shook the already battling industry. Media Monitoring Africa's William Bird yesterday described the announcement as a sad day for media diversity in the country.

Guest: William Bird – Executive Director at Media Monitoring Africa

The world is currently going through a crisis, and what adds to peoples’ sense of panic and uncertainty is the fact that no one knows when the economy will fully recover. Some experts have even predicted that the country will be in some sort of locked down state until 2021. The environment continues to become challenging while people’s income has been partially or fully impacted. And at the same time some basic necessities are becoming expensive e.g. the petrol price increases. According to report from research firm Kantar entitled “Navigating Growth in a COVID-19 World”, 83% of South Africans are hugely concerned about the global economic situation, compared to the 79.5% global average, and 82% of household incomes have already, or are expected to be, impacted. What is the advice from Nedbank?

Guest: Sisandile Cikido

Ever since President Cyril Ramaphosa announced relief funds for the business sector, all we’ve hear was complaints from the SMME sector about the difficulties they faced in accessing the funds. We thought to invite experts in the field who are pointing out not only the need for the funds but where the problems lie and what happened to some of the business in this process and to give us an idea,

Guest: Samantha Pokroy - CEO of private equity firm, Sanari Capital

Yesterday many of you were horrified after a 12-year-old grade 7 learner was turned away because she was not wearing a mask. She was then raped on her way home to fetch the mask. Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga yesterday reacted with anger at the incident. But then let’s use this opportunity to find out where the responsibility of schools start and end under the current Covid-19 laws. Who is supposed to provide the masks and what is the role of the parent in all of this?

Guest: Elijah Mhlanga – Spokesperson for the Department of Basic Education