Newsmakers and Guest Experts offer their insights and perspectives into the national and global discourse on politics, economics, education, social matters and comprehensive dialogues on cultural diversity and other essential issues of public interest like, poverty alleviation, unemployment rate and health related issues.

South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa took over the chairmanship of the African Union yesterday, where he committed to ensuring peace and security on the continent. Speaking during his inaugural speech, Ramaphosa said that that in May this year South Africa will convene an extraordinary summit on silencing the Guns and to assess the progress made to end conflicts. For a perspective on this, we are now joined on the line by Advocate Sipho Mantula, a Researcher with the Institute for Dispute Resolution in Africa at the University of South Africa...

GUEST: Advocate Sipho Mantula, a Researcher with the Institute for Dispute Resolution in Africa at the University of South Africa, UNISA

Some residents of South Africa's mega township of Soweto are re-connecting themselves to the grid. This is after power utility Eskom cut them off in an effort to recoup the R18 billion electricity bill owed by the township. It has emerged some residents have formed vigilante groups to guard illegal electricity connections as Eskom faces a serious backlash from communities for the electricity cuts. Last week Soweto residents embarked on yet another protest over the power cuts.

Guest: Seth Mazibuko, Soweto community leader, Activist and a leader of the 1976 Soweto uprising

Time now for the Friday Wind Down where we profile prominent South Africans, to get to know more about who they are beyond their social standing in society. This morning we host one of the country's best-loved and most respected musicians, Sipho "Hotstix" Mabuse. He is a legend with 50 years of musical accomplishment and history behind him. For more on the man, he now joins me in our SABC Auckland Park studios...

GUEST: Sipho "Hotstix" Mabuse, legendary South African musician

The OR Tambo School of Leadership is set to move a gear up in its political education offerings to ANC members and the public. The school was launched in April last year by President Cyril Ramaphosa in the realization that lack of political education is amongst the greatest need required to fulfil the ANC’s renewal agenda. For more on the school we are now joined on the line by Dr David Masondo, in his capacity as Principal of the OR Tambo School of Leadership. We will look at the plans of the school this year with some reflections on progress made since the launch last year by President Ramaphosa and also the Importance of Political Education …

GUEST: Dr David Masondo, in his capacity as Principal of the OR Tambo School of Leadership

The Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation on Wednesday visited the Sebokeng and Rietspruit Waste Water Treatment, to assess progress made by the National Department of Water and Sanitation in eliminating the problem of the effluent that contaminates the Vaal River system works. The visit is a follow-up on the work of the previous portfolio committee of the fifth Parliament on Water and Sanitation which made various recommendations that include a call for collaboration between all the spheres of government to eliminate the contamination. We spoke to the chairperson of the committee ahead of the visit and she promised to talk to us after that.

GUEST: Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation, Ms Machwene Semenya

guest: Sazini Makamu - Engineer at Mintek

guest: Amanda Bossenger - Part of the Business Development Programme at Cotlands

guest: Nqobile Magwizi - Executive Director of Zim Is Open for Business

Dr Martin Wedig - German Federation Of International Mining and Mineral Resources will talk on the following