The Daily Discourse

In 2018, the South African Constitutional Court ruled that it is not a criminal offence for an adult citizen to use, possess or grow cannabis in private for personal consumption. This has sparked a significant amount of confusion with regard to drug testing as well as the use of cannabis in the workplace. Rhys Evans, Managing Director at ALCO-Safe, the leading supplier of electronic Breath Alcohol Detectors and accessories in South Africa, says that the recommendations of the constitutional court ruling are that only two acts should be amended, The Drug trafficking act and The Medicines control act. Therefore, a zero-tolerance approach should be maintained, although testing policies and practices may need to be updated to reflect the most current legislation.

GUEST: Rhys Evans, Managing Director at ALCO-Safe, the leading supplier of electronic Breath Alcohol Detectors and accessories in South Africa.

South Africa has appointed a new ambassador to Rwanda, a move interpreted by commentators as strengthening ties between Pretoria and Kigali. In December 2018, the South African ambassador to Kigali, George Nkosinati Twala, was summoned to Pretoria, and later permanently recalled in February 2019, following a bitter exchange between diplomats from both countries. Is this a sign of better things to come seeing how Rwanda is advancing economically on the continent? How should we interpret this move?

GUEST: (studio): Nixon Kathembo, specialist on the Great Lakes and East Africa and also works on the KiSwahili Desk at Channel Africa

Solly Moeng is brand reputation management adviser and CEO of strategic corporate communications consultancy DonValley Reputation Managers. He has pinned an article entitled: Give business owners a reason to stay in South Africa. In the article he raises a number of issues, from business people having lost faith in the Ramaphoria to the impact of the closing of businesses. Political influence in business is also a major issue he raises in the article. He now joins us on the line to share his views…

GUESTS: Solly Moeng - Brand Reputation management adviser and CEO of strategic corporate communications consultancy DonValley Reputation Managers.

We are now in conversation with the Higher Health, a national entity that works on behalf of the Department of Higher Education and Training and under the governance of Universities South Africa to speak about their programmes in promoting the health and wellbeing of nearly two million students in the post-school education system. HIGHER HEALTH seeks to reduce the incidence of health conditions - such as HIV, STIs, TB, unplanned pregnancy, GBV and serious mental illness that may occur during tertiary studies and often result in students abandoning their studies…

GUEST: Dr Ramneek Ahluwalia, CEO of the HIGHER HEALTH

We're now in conversation with Kamogelo Sefanyatso, a Masters candidate in the Department of Psychology at Wits, who is calling for the collaboration and integration of traditional and western health care systems in South Africa to deal with mental health issues. She says the emergence of healer-therapist signifies the de-colonization of psychotherapy in the country by punctuating this scientific practice with the spiritual aspect of healing. So what then is dual intervention in mental health care? To elaborate further, Kamogelo Sefanyatso now joins me on the line...

GUEST: Kamogelo Sefanyatso is a Masters candidate in the Department of Psychology at the University of the Witwatersrand and her research is on dual mental health practitioners.

A university degree is a valuable commodity to have when entering the job market, particularly if the economy is sluggish and fewer companies are hiring new employees. This is according to Leana de Beer, Chief Operations Officer for the crowdfunding platform in South Africa, Feenix, who says it's unfortunate that a growing number of people in South Africa are getting caught for faking their credentials. Figures released by the South African Ministry of Higher Education showed a spike in reported cases from 47 incidents in the 2010/2011 financial year to 982 in 2017/2018. More from Leana de Beer..

GUEST: Leana de Beer, Chief Operations Officer at Feenix

Yesterday we spoke to the South African Social Security Agency's (SASSA) about some of the significant milestones the entity has achieved despite its administrative challenges. This morning we will be in conversation with another critical government entity the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), which has assisted many South Africans to further their studies.

GUEST: NSFAS administrator, Dr Randall Carolissen

Time now for Health Talk. This morning we are going to discuss Peptic ulcer; a sore that develops on the lining of the oesophagus, stomach or small intestine and Acid reflux; also known as heartburn, acid indigestion, or pyrosis.

GUEST: Dr Thabo Mothabeng, General, Trauma and Intensive Care Surgeon employed in public service in Pretoria and Lecturer in Surgery at the University of Pretoria and Instructor with Trauma society of Southern Africa for Advanced Trauma life support (ATLS and DSTC)

There are a marriot of issues currently facing the South Africa's state-owned enterprises; from Irregular expenditure; overspending and underspending, corruption and frequent need for bailouts in certain government departments and SOEs. This morning we are going to look at two critical government entities that have been assisting South Africans for years. We are going to look at some of the milestones achieved by the South African Social Security Agency's (SASSA) and this coming Friday morning we will examine the achievements by the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), which is a government entity under the Department of Higher Education, Science and Technology. We are well aware the two entities have their respective administration challenges but they have assisted many citizens and we need to give credit where it is due.

GUEST: Busisiwe “Totsie” Memela, CEO of the South Africa Social Security Agency (Sassa)

We are now in conversation with political analyst Aubrey Matshiqi who for 30 years, ran away from his destiny or calling to become a sangoma until it caught up with him in 2013. Most of you know Aubrey as a political analyst. He has also been involved in the ANC, Umkhonto WeSizwe, the student movement and the South African Communist Party. But today he is what people call a traditional healer, a sangoma. Aubrey Matshiqi began his training to be a sangoma in 2013. Matshiqi says his essence is the spirit and this has added a new dimension to his reading of our human state of being, geopolitics and South African politics. This morning we will speak to Mr Matshiqi about how his calling has altered his life or way of living…

GUEST: Aubrey Matshiqi, a Political analyst and sangoma