last week we spoke to Musa Chamane who is waste campaigner at Groundworks and Simon Mbatha, national coordinator of the Waste Pickers Association about a number of issues polluting our environment. The conversation was started by listeners pointing out the illegal dumping that was happening in their areas. So in doing a follow-up discussion on the subject with Chamane and Mbatha, they pointed the finger at both local government and the Department of Environmental Affairs. Let’s listen to a snippet of how the conversation went…..

Guest: Balangani Nengovhela – Specialist Waste Management at SALGA

Guest: Mamogala Mosekene – Acting Deputy Director General : Chemicals and Waste Management at the Department of Environmental Affairs

The Democratic Alliance Federal Chairperson Helen Zille yesterday expressed satisfaction with the progress of the party's virtual policy conference that took place over the weekend. Yesterday (Sunday) the two hundred delegates dealt with the issue of economic inclusion. But as you may remember late last week that Gauteng Provincial Leader, John Moodey resigned saying he no longer felt at home in the party and that it had changed from what it used to be when he first joined 22 years ago. This was however disputed by the party’s interim leader John Steenhuisen.
CLIP-STEENHUISEN (THERE MAY BE A PKG COMING OVERNIGHT ON THE CONFERENCE, WILL CHANGE THE INTRO IN THE MORNING)
LINK: Headlines over the weekend suggested that the party is imploding and that the racial divisions are getting worse. For a perspective on the state of the DA, we are joined on the line by…
Guest: Ongama Mtimka – Political Analyst based at NMMU

On Wednesday while discussing the issue of farm killings, we received some calls about little attention being given to the abuse of farm workers.

Guest: Shirami Shirinda – From the Farm Workers’ Rights

The problem of public servants doing business with the state has been spoken about for many years as it is viewed as one of the problems fueling corruption in government. Well yesterday (Wed) officials from the Department of Public Service and Administration briefed parliament about the harsh punishment that will be muted to those found guilty.

Guest: Claude Naiker – National manager: Members Affairs at the Public Service Association

The Employment and Labour Minister, Thulas Nxesi, has confirmed that the U.I.F Commissioner has been placed on precautionary suspension along with the U.I.F's Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operations Officer and Head of Supply Chain Management.

He made the announcement during a media briefing to unpack the findings of the Auditor-General in relation to the COVI-D19 Relief Fund Audit.

Guest: Thulas Nxesi – Minister of Employment and Labour

The World Health Organisation says that by 2030 mental health will be the single largest global challenge we will face. So this morning on our health feature we thought to talk about bipolar, seasonal disorder and depression. How do we know the signs not only on us as individuals, but also the people we live with?

GUEST: Prof Stoffel Grobler – Psychiatrist from Port Elizabeth

As you may have heard in the news on Monday that the Western Cape High Court has reviewed and set aside the sale of the Tafelberg property in the Cape Town suburb of Sea Point. This opens up the possibility of affordable housing within the CBD and does away with the old apartheid legacies around who should stay where.

Well Minister of Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, Lindiwe Sisulu, has welcomed the ruling saying the judgement has made it possible for government through the Social Housing and Regulatory Authority to build social housing units for the qualifying beneficiaries.

Guest: Yonela Diko - Spokesperson for the Minister of Human Settlements

Section 10 of the Births and Deaths Registration Act says that a child born to an unmarried couple automatically receives the mother's surname. Well this is now being challenged before the Constitutional Court by the Centre for Child Law hoping that fathers will be given the right to register the birth whether they are married to the mother or not.

Guest: Anjuli Maistry – Attorney at the Centre for Child Law

Political parties that took part on the National Assembly's debate on the scourge of farm attacks and murders of farmers and farmworkers are calling for an end to these killings. However some political parties argued that the matter is being politicised

Guest: Dr Chris de Kock – Independent crime and violence analyst

Today being Tuesday, it’s time for our regular UIF feature where Tsiamo Molema addresses all your questions. Please remember to keep your questions very brief and listen on the radio for answers. Also keep your voice notes short and to the point…..

GUEST: Tshiamo Molema – Manager for Monitoring and Evaluation in the Commissioner’s Office