Built in Mzansi: How Professor Jerome Loveland has celebrated a major milestone as they performed its 1,000th liver transplant, becoming one of Africa's leading centres for life-saving organ transplantation. Beyond the milestone, the programme is pioneering new techniques that are giving more patients a second chance at life, while highlighting the urgent need for more organ donors in South Africa.

Guest: Professor Jerome Loveland - Academic Head of Transplantation at the University of Witwatersrand 

 

The Independent Electoral Commission says that over 29 million voters are now registered on the voters’ roll. The  Commission was updating the media  on the outcomes of the last and final voter registration drive that took place over the  weekend. They go on to say that  approximately 1.7 million citizens interacted with the commission by either visiting the registration stations or using the online voter registration portal.

Guest: Moagisi Letlhaku - GM for Civic and Democracy Education,  Research and Knowledge Management at the IEC  

Thousands of parents and caregivers across South Africa say they are still waiting for child maintenance payments that were due in July, despite the money reportedly already having been deducted from maintenance payers' salaries. Child Maintenance Difficulties South Africa is now calling on the Department of Justice to urgently explain the delays and clarify whether another cybersecurity incident or system failure may be behind the disruption

Guest: Felicity Guest, Founder of Child Maintenance Difficulties South Africa  

 

 

Africa in Focus with Advocate Sipho Mantula, Researcher: Thabo Mbeki African School of Public & International Affairs: Unisa

1. Egypt - Cairo

Magnitude 5.5 quake jolts Egypt, triggering emergency response

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck near the Egyptian city of Suez early yesterday, shaking buildings across Cairo and prompting authorities to activate emergency response plans. No casualties or significant damage were immediately reported, but officials placed emergency services on high alert as a precaution.

A magnitude 5.5 earthquake struck eastern Egypt at around 3:00 a.m. local time (0000 GMT) on Monday, according to the National Research Institute of Astronomy and Geophysics.

1. South Afrika -Ethekweni

The Southern African Development Community (SADC) will convene its 46th Ordinary Summit of Heads of State and Government on 17 August 2026 at the Durban International Conference Centre in Durban City, Republic of South Africa.

 His Excellency Mr Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, President of the Republic of South Africa, will host and chair the 46th SADC Summit under the theme, “Resilient, sustainable and inclusive industrialisation through Infrastructure Development, Agricultural and Critical Minerals Transformation in Pursuit of a Just World”.

1. Uganda – Kampala

Stop the Cows - Museveni Warns High Bride Price Pricing Young People Out of Marriage

President Museveni has criticised the rising cost of bride price and lavish wedding ceremonies, warning that the growing financial burden is discouraging many young Ugandans from marrying.

Critics argue that while bride price remains an important cultural tradition, excessive financial demands undermine its original purpose of strengthening family bonds and preparing couples for married life.

Museveni's intervention is likely to reignite calls for cultural and religious leaders to promote simpler, more affordable marriage ceremonies while preserving the cultural significance of traditional practices.

 

1. In our historical archives, it was on this day, 4 August 1983, when a coup d'état was launched in the Republic of Upper Volta (today Burkina Faso) in an event sometimes referred to as the August revolution or Burkinabé revolution. 

It was carried out by radical elements of the army led by Thomas Sankara and Blaise Compaoré, against the regime of Major Jean-Baptiste Ouédraogo.

Reality Check with Mavuso Msimang: Pre-1994 Migrant labour: the supplying countries, the internal migration from SA’s rural areas and the disruptive social impact.

Guest: Mavuso Msimang - retired civil servant and former freedom fighter

The battle over South Africa's Expropriation Act is back in court. The Western Cape High Court has begun hearing arguments challenging the constitutionality of the legislation, with AfriForum, the Democratic Alliance, the Institute of Race Relations and the Vaderland Foundation all opposing the Act. At the heart of the case are questions about property rights, compensation for expropriated land, and whether Parliament followed the correct legislative process when passing the law.

Guest: Kallie Kriel, CEO of AfriForum 

 

 

 

Market Brief with Ntaoleng Lechela - Business Reporter

• Kevin Warsh eyes fewer Fed rate meetings

• 2. Snap beats expectations despite user losses
• 3. Market update

 

 

The Western Cape is grappling with a surge in violent crime, with more than 170 murders recorded across the province in just two weeks. Against this backdrop, Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis has formally declared an intergovernmental dispute with Acting Police Minister Firoz Cachalia over the devolution of policing powers, arguing that metro police need greater investigative authority to help tackle violent crime. Will devolving policing powers make communities safer, and what does this dispute mean for the fight against crime?

Guest: Geordin Hill-Lewis - Cape Town Mayor 

 

Iran says it is not currently holding direct talks with the United States, insisting that Oman remains the only active channel for communication.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has secured the endorsement of his Workers' Party to seek another term in October's presidential election.

Myanmar's detained former leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, has met a delegation from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in one of the few known visits she has received since being imprisoned following the 2021 military coup.

Guest: Na’eem Jeenah - International Relations expert and Senior Researcher for Humanity at MISTRA 

 

Municipal Watch: The African National Congress State has suspended the Lejweleputswa District Municipality Executive Mayor, Phindiwe Maseko, from the party. She has reportedly not even finished five weeks on the job. They are accusing her of failing to comply with party directives regarding the composition of the municipality’s Mayoral Committee. This issue has again highlighted the tensions surrounding internal party discipline and the ANC’s cadre deployment processes.

Guest: Wellington Mahloane - Member of the Lejweleputswa Mining Community and Development Forum  

Guest: Thabiso Letlhake - DA Chief Whip in the Lejweleputswa District Municipality