The Daily Discourse

Government says reports that it is planning to lay off about 30 thousand of its employees are misleading and creating a state of panic in the public sectors. However Minister of Public Service and Administration Ayanda Dlodlo, does admit that plans to restructure the public service are afoot- but there is no proposal for mass retrenchments. So what is it, severance package, restructuring or reorganization of government?

GUESTS:

1. Scott Mava, Public Service and Administration spokesperson
2. Sizwe Pamla, Cosatu national spokesperson

Time now for our Friday Music feature, Friday Wind Down. Today we profile a music legend, a chart topping singer-songwriter and guitarist, Condry Ziqubu. Ntate Ziqubu is best known for his hit song "Skorokoro" but his musical journey extends way beyond his 1980's hits. Condry Ziqubu now joins us in studio...

GUEST (In studio): Singer-songwriter and guitarist, Condry Ziqubu

In today's discussion, we look at the role of men as partners in stopping violence against women. Gender-based violence is a profound and widespread problem in South Africa and our rates for Gender Violence and crimes against women rank amongst the worst in the world. On our Men Talk feature we will focus on the role that men and boys of all ages can play in preventing and reducing gender-based violence. Joining me on the line for this discussion is...

GUEST: Mbuyiselo Botha – Gender Activist with the Commission for Gender Equality

We examine the relationship between weather and various types of crime. Professor Greg Breetzke did a study on this and its findings demonstrate that the amount of violent, sexual and property crime in the city of Tshwane is significantly affected by temperature and, to a lesser extent, rainfall.

GUEST: Greg Breetzke - Associate Professor, Department of Geography, Geoinformatics and Meteorology Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at University of Pretoria: 012 420 4318

Earlier this week on Lifetime Live, Criselda Dudumashe was joined by a young unemployed graduate, Zipho Majova with possession of a Public Policy Honours degree from the University of Cape Town. In discussing her recent column published on the Daily Maverick titled: Challenges faced by a black graduate - From degree to internship to unemployment – the life of a black graduate, Zipho says the job seeking process is an ostracizing process. Listen to her conversation with our Criselda.

Last year Statistician-general Dr Pali Lehohla released the findings of the report Entitled “Whither a Demographic Dividend South Africa: The Overton Window of Political Possibilities”. From it, we learnt that there are significant differences in unemployment rates among graduates, with more than 20% of young black Africans out of work against 5% for whites and coloureds and around 8% for Indians

GUEST (DBN Studio): Andile Thloaele, the principal and senior analyst at Inforcomm(INC) Ratings .

According to some activists, decriminalising sex work will play a big role because it will bring back the dignity of the sex worker. As we commemorate women’s month, the spotlight is thrust again on gender-based violence (GBV), experienced by women and girls worldwide, with South Africa recording some of the highest rates of sexual violence, globally. Sex workers are also not exempt from this. Recently Deputy Police Minister Bongani Mkhongi says he supports calls for the decriminalisation of sex work in South Africa, while responding to questions from sex workers at the 22nd International AIDS Conference in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. According to him, police no longer want to arrest sex workers but are forced to by law. How will the decimalisation of sex work improve the lives of sex workers? Should we not be creating better opportunities for women, so they don’t even consider sex work?

GUESTS: Consultant at Nalane for Reproductive Justice, Dr Tlaleng Mofokeng
GUEST: Kholi Buthelezi - who is the Sisonke national coordinator

The economic implications of expropriation without compensation (EWC), which risks jeopardising South Africa’s economic recovery, are matched by the damage politicians are doing in their handling of the debate – creating expectations that can never be met, worsening racial tensions, destabilizing the social fabric, and promoting land invasions across the country. This is a warning by the Institute of Race Relations (IRR).

GUEST: Terence Corrigan, who is the Project Manager at the Institute for Race Relations
GUEST: Professor Steven Friedman, a political analyst and research professor at the University of Johannesburg (UJ)

This morning we learn more about the efforts by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DOJ&CD) in promoting and protecting the rights of vulnerable groups especially women and children. We get to understand the work they do with relations to child Maintenance, Sexual Crimes (Offences), Domestic Violence, and ask: How do they ensure that women have faith in the justice system? Also, with the country still grieving the passing of Khensani Maseko, What interventions, if any, do they have to address Gender based violence in university campuses in SA?

GUEST: Advocate Justice Masutha – Minister of justice and correctional services

South Africa is currently hosting the first-ever Global Aviation Gender Summit that will see nearly 500 top-ranking representatives of governments and the aviation industry from across the world. The summit, which takes place over three days (8 - 10 August 2018), is being hosted by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) in cooperation with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)

GUEST: Ms Poppy Khoza, the head of the (SACAA) South African Civil Aviation Authority

It is well recognized that women are powerful drivers of economic growth in South Africa, and are vital to the country reaching its full economic potential. Yet women account for only 18% percent of business owners in South Africa, this according to the second MasterCard Index of Women Entrepreneurs report, released earlier this year. When women are ready to grow into SMMEs, they are again faced with difficulties in obtaining loans from commercial banks. On our SME feature this morning, we look at Funding For Women Entrepreneurs...
GUEST: Jenny Retief, CEO of Riversands Incubation Hub