Should South Africa change its name? As today is Freedom Day, we ask – did we miss an opportunity by not giving South Africa an indigenous name, 28 years ago? Joining us for this discussion is Veli Mbele kaSompisi who is an Afrocentric essayist, content creator and co-founder of the Black Power Front and the Afrocentric platform, Mutapa. 

President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa is not where it should be. He was speaking in Mpumalanga commemorating 28 years of Freedom Day. He says despite challenges, the quality of life has improved for many South Africans. He says basic services are now available to all and that is one of the fruits of freedom.

guest: Policy analyst, Nkosi Nyembezi.  

Nigeria’s presidential hopeful, Adamu Garba says if he's elected as president, he will reunite Nigerians and change the country’s name to “the Nigritian Federation” or simply NIGRITIA. He is arguing that “If Ghana can change its name from the Colonial Gold Coast, Kenya from British East Africa, Benin from Dahomey, Togo from Togoland - why would Nigeria maintain a colonially induced name?” To talk to us about how this proposal has been received in Nigeria is…..

Guest on the line (Nigeria): Samson Omale, a Multi-Media Broadcast journalist based in Nigeria

Yesterday, Parliament announced that it will establish an ad hoc committee to oversee the national state of disaster after flooding caused major devastation in KwaZulu-Natal and parts of the Eastern Cape. This to ensure that the elected representatives can be directly involved in oversight of the work that is needed to provide relief. Joining us to outline the objectives of the committee is…..

Guest: Lechesa Tsenoli, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly 

Following what transpired in the Western Cape High Court yesterday, we speak to Oupa Segalwe about the Public Protector’s next move. Apparently, her lawyers have written to the registrar of the Constitutional Court, seeking clarity about an anonymous text that was sent to Parliament's advocate Andrew Breitenbach SC while court proceedings were underway. It is reported that the message said the sender had it on good authority that the Constitutional Court would soon, within the week, be refusing to entertain Mkhwebane’s application to rescind its impeachment judgment.

Guest: Oupa Segalwe, Public Protector's spokesperson

It has finally happened. Elon Musk has bought social media company, Twitter for a whopping R690 billion. Many denied Musk was planning a hostile takeover when he turned down the company’s offer to have him on the board, a move that would have limited his options. Considering Musk’s political, business and social views, what does this mean for the app?

guest: Andile Masuku, Co-founder of African Tech Roundup 

President Cyril Ramaphosa says National Treasury and Auditor General will provide oversight on the spending of relief funds in KwaZulu-Natal after the province was ravaged by floods, claiming over 400 lives. Ramaphosa was speaking in parliament this afternoon, outlining government’s response to the disaster. Political analyst Ralph Mathekga has written an opinion piece, in it he says creating more bureaucracy to avoid corruption is not going to help. He says while these oversight structures might work as a short-term solution, they do not build confidence in public service in the long-term.

Guest: political analyst Dr. Ralph Mathekga

Sibanye-Stillwater has increased its wage offer from R700 to R850 in a bid to end a strike by its employees that has been going on for more than 40 days. Employees have been asking for a R1000 salary increase per month and the company has not been budging. Smaller unions accepted previous offers by the company, however, they only account for about 10% of the company’s workforce while AMCU and NUM have continued to reject them. At the same time, it is being reported that Sibanye Still-Water CEO, Neal Froneman was awarded R300 million in 2021, a move many unions have labelled immoral.

Guest: AMCU President, Joseph Mathunjwa

The news that Sibanye-Stillwater CEO was paid R300 million in 2021 while the company has refused to give its employees a R1000 monthly increase has sent shockwaves across the country. Many have condemned the move by the company, calling it immoral. It is Freedom Day tomorrow and South Africa remains one of the most unequal countries in the whole world and this speaks to an issue of income gap in the country where the rich continue getting richer, while the poor keep getting poorer.

Guest: Lindi-K Khumalo, Social Policy Researcher at the Social Policy Initiative

We look at the ongoing war between Arabs and non-Arabs in Sudan’s war-torn Darfur region. According to the Norwegian Refugee Council in Sudan, the violence in Darfur is threatening the upcoming harvest season and over 18 million people are likely to face acute food insecurity by September because of the combined effects of insecurity, economic crisis and poor harvests. But who is orchestrating these attacks and what do they hope to achieve?

Guest: Izak Khomo, African affairs commentator