The Daily Discourse

Prime Minister Theresa May has won a vote of confidence in her leadership of the Conservative Party by 200 to 117. After securing 63% of the total vote, she is now immune from a leadership challenge for a year. Speaking in Downing Street last night, she vowed to deliver the Brexit "people voted for" but said she had listened to the concerns of MPs who voted against her.

GUEST: Professor Jannie Rossouw, Head of the School of
Economic and Business Sciences at Wits University

Why does South Africa not develop its own brand of vehicles? Why don't we develop our own brand and build them locally, giving the Germans, Indians and Chinese leaders in vehicle design and manufacturing some competition. Last year there was a taxi industry strike where members of the South African National Taxi Association (Santaco) expressed their grievances about the exorbitant prices of the popular Toyota Quantum minibuses. They claim that when it was introduced, it was fully imported with a price of R220 000 and that the price increased to R450 000 before interest despite being locally produced. So why is the taxi industry not coming together to establish their own vehicles If Toyota Quantums are too expensive? It's not as if Toyota is the only company that can produce minibuses? Why do we let other countries have monopoly over the production of vehicles?

GUEST: Productivity SA Chief Economist, Dr Leroi Raputsoane

We are now in conversation with former Eskom interim, Group CEO, Matshela Koko, who has dismissed the narrative that he and the Guptas are to blame for the challenges at the power utility. Earlier this year Koko faced a disciplinary hearing for allegedly not declaring a conflict of interest while his stepdaughter Koketso Choma, a director at Impulse International; allegedly benefited from about R1bn worth of contracts awarded by Eskom over 11 months.

GUEST: Former Eskom interim, Group CEO Matshela Koko

DA leader, Mmusi Maimane has conceded that his party didn't perform well this year and had a lot of challenges including the removal of Athol Trollip booted as Nelson Mandela Bay Metro Mayor. Maimane was addressing party members in Johannesburg, where he was giving his assessment of the party for the year 2018. He says he, however, doesn't regret his action against former Cape Town Mayor, Patricia De Lille. De Lille left the party following a prolonged battle and formed a new political party last month. Maimane says action needed to be taken as there is no one above the party

GUEST: DA leader, Mmusi Maimane

Too many families today are taking advantage of Magadi or iLobolo and use it for their own pride, money-hunger and greedy interests, this according to Baba Buntu, Executive director at Ebukhosini Solutions. He says by imposing HUGE and impossible monetary demands, such families are squeezing life and love out of young men who are supposed to now start building a foundation for family.

GUEST: Baba Buntu, Community Scholar, Youth mentor and Executive director at Ebukhosini Solutions

Limpopo Premier, Stan Mathabatha, says the process of appointing new mayors in the province will be done in the interest of rebuilding and regenerating the ANC. This after the Limpopo PEC resolved to fire seven of its mayors who participated in councils investing in the controversial VBS Mutual Bank. Mathabatha says criminal cases will be opened against the officials implicated in transferring millions of rands in public funds to the now liquidated bank. ANC provincial deputy chairperson and Vhembe mayor, Florence Radzilani, and Treasurer Danny Msiza are among those implicated. Radzilani had resigned before she could be fired.

GUEST: ANC provincial spokesperson in Limpopo, Donald Selamolela

The most notable trends affecting labour this year include the consolidation of the division of the trade union movement with the development of new federation, SAFTU, yet another attempt by established trade unions to persuade government and big companies to create jobs and the passing and signing of new labour laws that include a national minimum wage and greater controls over workers' and unions' right to strike. In today's show, the final one for 2018, we assess the experiences of the past year for labour and what 2019 holds in store for workers and their trade unions.

Guest: Matthew Parks - COSATU Parliamentary Coordinator

Guest: Andre Adams - Western Cape Provincial secretary of the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu),

South Africa says it remains committed to normalizing diplomatic relations with Rwanda. This after a Rwandan newspaper allegedly called Minister Lindiwe Sisulu a prostitute. Ms Sisulu recently met former army chief, General Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa, an exiled critic of the Rwandan leader, Paul Kagame, triggering a diplomatic row between the countries. Kayumba fell out with his former close ally Kagame in 2010 and subsequently fled to South Africa.

Guest: Professor Siphamandla Zondi, of the Department of Political Sciences at the University of Pretoria

Department of International Relations and Cooperation spokesperson, Ndivhuwo Mabaya

Time now for our regular Tuesday feature; the African Perspective, where we profile different countries on the African continent. Today the spotlight is on Mali. Once home to several pre-colonial empires, the landlocked, arid West African country of Mali is one of the largest on the continent. For centuries, its northern city of Timbuktu was a key regional trading post and centre of Islamic culture.

GUEST: Ibrahim Baya Gamby, who is in Cape Town but originally from Mali

This morning The Talking Point is coming to you live from the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban, where President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver the keynote address at the South African Local Government Association's (SALGA) National Members Assembly. SALGA's National Members Assembly is an annual general meeting of local government association made up of all 257 municipalities in the country and creates a platform to share and learn from good practices and innovation thus showcase achievements.

GUEST: Brock Carleton - CEO of the federation of the Canadian Municipalities