The Daily Discourse

In a recent opinion piece she wrote, Dr Eunice Ubomba-Jaswa - Research Manager at the Water Research Commission says Close monitoring of the amount of ARVs and their concentration in the environment must be carried out to mitigate the risk of secondary health issues from long term exposure. Government support for research into the impact on human health of ARVs in the aquatic environment would also be critical.

GUEST: Dr Eunice Ubomba-Jaswa, Research Manager at the Water Research Commission.

An interim order is expected to be granted today after judgment was reserved in the land expropriation matter at the High Court in Cape Town between lobby group Afriforum and Parliament. Afriforum is seeking relief to halt the final processing of the Constitutional Review Committee Report which recommended that section 25 of the constitution be amended to expropriate land without compensation. Afriforum wants a full judicial review of the committee proceedings.

GUEST: Afriforum lawyer, Willie Spies

The roads next to the High Court in Pietermaritzburg have been closed and security tightened ahead of former president Jacob Zuma's appearance in court this morning. The NPA is likely to request an adjournment to give it time to respond to both Zuma and his co-accused French arms company Thales' application for a permanent stay of prosecution. The charges against Zuma and Thales relate to the more than 780 allegedly questionable payments. Some of Zuma's supporters attended a night vigil.

GUEST: SABC reporter, Nonkululeko Hlophe

The National Assembly has given the thumbs-up to the Child Justice Amendment Bill, which, once passed into law, will raise the age at which a child can be held criminally liable from 10 to 12 years. The child Justice Act came into operation on 1 and it sets out how children in conflict with the law are to be dealt with in the criminal justice system. What implications does this have on justice, particularly as it relates to children?

Guest: Mr Jeffery - the Deputy Minister of Justice

Earlier in the year we saw hundreds of security guards working in the money transportation industry marching in major cities across the country after a spate of brazen heists that have rocked the industry and the country. Tomorrow, the role of private security guards manning health facilities will be under the spotlight when Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi meets with security experts to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of security systems at state hospitals. This following three armed attacks, which occurred at separate healthcare facilities in Limpopo. This morning we unpack the state of security personnel in South Africa. According to the latest 2018/2019 report by the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority (PSIRA), there are currently 2.36 million security officers registered in South Africa – of which over 498,435 are employed by just over 9,000 Registered and active security businesses.

GUEST: Stefan Badenhorst – COO of the Private Security Industry Regulatory Authority

To increase the participation of black stock brokers in the securities business, a newly formed company has promised to champion the transformation of the financial services sector by providing institutional investors with access to a black-owned equities brokerage business through strong credentials, execution capabilities, and added-value access to economic and policy insights in the R9-trillion industry. Mzwakhe Goodwill Nhlanhla say the launch of Khumo Securities came at the right time, ahead, of the 1 January 2019 application of the new Amended Financial Sector Code (FSC) which amongst other things requires procurement and transformation to be placed at the centre stage.
This morning we get an understanding of what more Khumo Securities is offering that is different in the market, and also get a better understanding of the Amended Financial Sector Code (FSC).

GUEST: Mzwakhe Goodwill Nhlanhla, CEO of Khumo Securities

On this morning edition of The Talking Point we will look at the "culture of non-payment". Eskom is owed about 17 billion rands by municipalities for unpaid debts, with Soweto responsible for about 15 billion of that debt. Soweto has been in arrears since two thousand and three. So what is behind this "culture of non-payment"? Eskom says that municipal debt has now reached levels that are threatening the utility's sustainability. Is it fair for citizens who pay for their electricity to curry the burden for non-complaint consumers?

GUESTS: Chris Yelland, who is an energy analyst and managing director at EE Publishers & Mr Seth Mazibuko, Soweto community leader

Public Protector Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane is set to challenge a court ruling ordering her to pay the legal costs in the Absa/Bankorp matter. The North Gauteng High Court set aside Mkhwebane's Bankorp-CIEX report and ordered her to pay the legal costs incurred by the South African Reserve Bank in her personal capacity. In her report, Mkhwabene had found that the bank owed the government more than R1-billion in apartheid-era debt. This is the first given ruling against a public protector.

GUEST: Mr Lawson Naidoo, the Executive Secretary at the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (CASAC)

The Deputy Minister of Social Development, Mrs Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, in partnership with the South African National AIDS Council (SANAC) this morning launched the
The Rock Leadership Programme, which focuses on traditional leaders as partners in the prevention of new HIV infections and other social ills. This is part of the social and behaviour change (SBC) programmes to promote positive behavioral outcomes that are critical in altering the course of the HIV epidemic.

GUEST: The Deputy Minister of Social Development, Mrs Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu

Over the past number of years, the cost of living has increased for the majority of people in South Africa while at the same time their income has been in steady decline. Many struggle to cope with paying for food, housing, travel, school-fees and other living expenses. In our reality of widespread poverty, many people turn to borrowing money. Little wonder then that South Africans are ranked as being the highest money borrowers in the world. They mainly borrow from family and friends, but for many, private informal money-lenders are the easiest and quickest way of obtaining extra cash. However, this causes many workers to be in a permanent debt trap, often ending up with no wages at the end of the week or month. What is being done about and is there a solution?

GUEST: Dr. Dale McKinley, from Right to Know