Leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have lifted economic and financial sanctions imposed on Mali, after its military rulers agreed to return to civilian rule by March 2024. However, the heads of state decided to maintain individual sanctions, and the suspension of Mali from ECOWAS, until the country returns to constitutional rule. To explain what this means is…..  

Guest: Nixon Katembo, African affairs commentator who also works for Channel Afrika  

Crime experts are warning kidnappings are becoming one of South Africa’s new criminal trends. Ransom has been one of the contributing factors to the rise, latest statistics show there were 3300 kidnap cases between January and March this year. The number was almost half of that for the same period the previous year. The Daily Maverick reported specific kidnapping of people from Bangladesh, Pakistan, India, China and Somali in Khayelitsha has been so rife that many foreign nationals in that area are considering leaving the country. Are we likely to see this getting better and why is South Africa such fertile ground for kidnappers all of a sudden?

Guest: violent crime specialist and investogator, Mike Bolhuis.

Staying with our conversation on the ongoing crisis at Eskom. The power utility has spend R4 billion on diesel to keep the lights on this year and avoid moving to higher stages of load-shedding. That is more than double the amount it had budgeted for. CEO, Andre de Ruyter says the company overspent partly due to increasing oil prices globally. But is that reason good enough? We are now joined by Craig Morkel, Chair of the SA Oil and Gas Alliances, Gas Economy Leadership Team.

Isn’t this just one of the most South African things you have ever heard? It is back up now, but many thought the internet was broken today because Google SA was down. The search engine’s domain was suspended because it wasn’t renewed. Those who use Google.co.za had to move to Google.com while waiting for the domain to get back up.

Guest: Jan Vermeulen, editor at MyBroadband

It never rains but pours for South Africans. The latest BankservAfrica Take-home Pay Index shows salaries one of the biggest annual falls in May 2022. The average real monthly salary was R14,696 in May and it went down by 6.7% on a year-on-year basis. Disposable income is eroding as inflation continues due to rising fuel and food prices. Some good news though, the index shows more people got salaries in May, with the total number of people paid exceeding levels seen in 2020 during hard lockdown. Guest: Shergeran Naidoo, head of stakeholder engagements at BankservAfrica.

eThekwini municipality has announced it will reopen some beaches on Friday following high levels of the bacteria, E.Coli. The bacteria was attributed to damage to the city’s wastewater treatment plants caused by the recent floods, resulting in sewage pollution.

Guest: Dr. Siphiwe Ndlovu, Senior Superintendent at eThekwini Municipality.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali  Bennett’s resignation has sparked another political fiasco in Israel. The Prime Minister resigned a year into his 4 years term. Foreign Minister Yair Lapid will become the acting Prime Minister of Israel until next elections in November. Bennet and Lapid have been in governing coalition since June 2021. One of the terms of the coalition agreement was that Bennet was going to lead the first two years before ceding the rest of the term to Lapid. What are the implications of this resignation on the country’s politics?

Guest: Tembisa Fakude, Senior Research Fellow at Africa Asia Dialogues.

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate has launched an investigation into police conduct in the alleged cover-up of the theft at President Cyril Ramaphosa's Phala Phala farm. Former spy boss Arthur Fraser, a close associate of former president Jacob Zuma, opened a criminal case against the President claiming that there was an attempt to cover up the theft of millions of US dollars from the Limpopo farm.

Guest: Lizzy Suping, IPID Spokesperson. 

THE INNERVIEW: I’m sure many of you have noticed that there is just too much negativity in the world right now. With all the talk of viruses, wars and climate disasters - negativity seems to be invading all of our lives these days. So to escape this negative vibe. Today we explain why laughter is good for you and why you should laugh more often. To help us decipher interesting facts about this tickling subject is Dr Martin Combrinck who is the founder of Laughter for Africa. He has been conducting Laughter Yoga & Coaching seminars, workshops & training in South Africa since 2007. We are also joined by David Kau, South Africa’s seasoned comedian and filmmaker. We hope that this discussion will be punctuated by laughter throughout. I would also like to know - what makes you laugh? Before we speak to our guests, take a listen to some of these funniest and crazy laughs……….

GUEST: Dr Martin Combrinck, founder of Laughter for Africa

GUEST: David Kau, South African Comedian & Filmmaker  

FNB Your Money Series: Today we bring you yet another interesting topic, focusing on “The Concept of Family Banking”. Remember FNB is here to help you through your Money Management Journey and to share key principles to manage your money wisely. Joining us for today’s discussion is….. 

Guest: Robert Gwerengwe, FNB Middle Market CEO