A female traffic cop has been kidnapped while on duty just outside Vrede on the R103 in the Free State. Her duty vehicle was left behind when a group of suspects carrying rifles arrived at the post where she was working and abducted her. For an update on what, we are now joined by Free State police spokesperson, Sergeant Peter Kareli.  

The Minister of Home Affairs, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi, has amended the tariffs for South African passports and travel documents. According to him, the changes to passport and travel document fees were informed by the outcome of a bench-marking exercise with other countries which found that South Africa’s tariffs were up to three times lower. This is the first price adjustment since 2011. For more on this, we are joined by….. 

GUEST: Thulani Mavuso: COO, Department of Home Affairs  

Professor the Lord Alton of Liverpool, is calling for sanctions against Eritrea for its role in the conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region. Alton has released a detailed report evidencing the continued collection of a 2% Diaspora Tax by Eritrean consular staff in the United Kingdom. The report calls for an end to the Tax’s collection, especially where extortion and harassment are involved.  

GUEST (UK): Professor the Lord David Alton of Liverpool, Independent Crossbench Member of the House of Lords in UK Parliament  

The traditional prime minister to the Zulu Monarch, Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi has defended the involvement of the Anglican church official ceremony to handover the certificate of recognition to King Misuzulu kaZwelithini. Indonsa Yesizwe Think Tank condemned the religious segment of the ceremony, led by the Anglican church, saying the role of the church in the ceremony amounts to an attempt at recolonisation. Buthelezi says the church was invited at the request of the king who is not only Christian himself, but whose father was an Anglican. He says he finds the accusations unfortunate and the Anglican church and Archbishop Thabo Makgoba are owed an apology. To respond to that, we are now joined by Dr Makhosi Khoza, Spokesperson for the Indonsa Yesizwe Think Tank.

It is day one of the Presidential Summit Against Gender Based Violence and Femicide. Activists and survivors of gender-based violence have been engaging President Cyril Ramaphosa, highlighting short comings in the police and justice system when dealing with cases. Many have also expressed frustration with the slow pace in response as well as implementation of some of the things promised in the last summit held in 2018. Numbers have increased in alarming numbers, and violence against women and children keeps getting more gruesome. Where is the disconnect? We are now joined by Gender Activist and Executive Director at Oxfam South Africa, Lebo Ramafoko.

Next week Monday, Stats SA will commence with data collection operations for the country’s fifth large-scale Income & Expenditure Survey. The poverty and inequality outputs from the survey will be published in a series of reports and releases between 2024 and 2026. To explain why it is so important for South Africa to embark on this process is ……. 

GUEST: Werner Ruch, Income Expenditure Survey Project Director at Stats SA

Parliament’s Section 194 inquiry into Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s fitness to hold office has rejected her latest bid to postpone its proceedings. This after Mkhwebane requested that the proceedings be deferred to next week Monday. SABC News reporter, Bulelani Phillip is following this particular story and he joins us now to give us an update…… 

GUEST: Bulelani Phillip, SABC News reporter  

Peace talks between warring sides on Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict have been extended into this week. The dialogue is aimed at finding a lasting ceasefire and making both sides agree to the reactivation of basic services. All sides in the conflict have been accused of abuses, with the death toll believed to be in the hundreds of thousands and millions more displaced. While we understand that negotiations are extremely difficult - But why are we not hearing something positive coming out of these talks?  

GUEST: Dr David Matsanga, political analyst & expert on East Africa diplomatic relations 

The matric class of 2022 sat for its first exam today. Some concerns have been raised prior to today, including the impact of loadshedding as well as security for question papers. Over 900 000 candidates are enrolled for the National Senior Certificate this year. How did the first day go? We are now joined by Basic Education Spokesperson, Elijah Mhlanga.

we hear from Mandla Cebekhulu on why the Batho Pele Soweto Commuters Forum is not happy with the new smart card system that was introduced by Putco bus services last month. The forum is calling for the suspension of this new smart tab system as they argue that sometimes when it’s offline they can’t use the buses.  

GUEST: Mandla Cebekhulu, Chairperson of the Batho Pele Soweto Commuters Forum