Black Sash has warned that many South Africans may not receive their Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant payment this month after the Department of Social Development and SASSA halted application processing for April without explanation. The organisation is worried that the department’s published regulations have dropped the income eligibility threshold for the SRD, from the food poverty line (R624), to R350—meaning people are now only eligible to receive the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant if their income is below R350 per month. For more on this, we are joined by…..

Guest: Hooda Abrahams-Fayker, National Advocacy Manager at Black Sash

A Motherwell teacher is in hot water following allegations that she discriminated against a boy she suspected could be HIV positive. The child’s grandmother alleges a teacher at Imbasa Primary School said she needed surgical gloves to touch the boy while teaching him. The school’s principal has apologized to the boy’s family, but alleges he is disruptive and violent towards other children. The Eastern Cape Education department says the issue is being investigated. We are now joined by Eastern Cape Department’s Spokesperson, Mali Mtima

Centrist Emmanuel Macron has won 58.54% of the second round of the French presidential run-off, beating Marine Le Pen who got 41.46 of the vote. It’s the second time the two rivals are going head to head against each other and Macron has come victorious yet again. Macron says on the list of his priorities is uniting his divided nation. Macron is the first president in twenty years to win a second term in France. A move that has been welcomed by the EU. We are now joined on the line by French Ambassador to South Africa, Aurelien Lechavallier

Eskom board member Busi Mavuso has defended herselft following a standoff with Scopa Chair, Mkhuleko Hlengwa in parliament on Friday after she said the issues at Eskom were a result of a mess created by the ANC government. Scopa was unhappy with its visit to Eskom’s Kusile and Medupi Stations. Mavuso has been applauded by many for her criticism of government, however, some say her views are a copout for Eskom’s governance issues and failure to deliver its core mandate to South Africans. We are now joined by Governance Expert, Sandile Swana

Over 20 emergency vehicles have been damaged while private ambulances have been stoned in the Eastern Cape as emergency services workers in Amathole District Municipality and Buffalo City Metro  embarked on a strike ealier today. They are striking over poor working conditions and understaffing at the two municipalities. The Eastern Cape Health Department says the strike is unprotected, while the National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union says it has not been informed about the strike and is not aware of its members downing tools

guest: Mlu Ncapayi

Following last week’s heated exchange between Scopa Chairperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa and Eskom board member Busisiwe Mavuso. We are joined by Hlengwa to tell his side of the story as you may have heard Mavuso speaking to my colleague Stephen Grootes earlier on today. On Friday last week, Scopa was on an oversight visit to Eskom to get the power utility to explain the current round of load-shedding. In a meeting with management and board members, Mavuso told Scopa that the board and CEO André de Ruyter could not be the “fall guys” for the ANC-led government, and that’s when an argument between her and Hlengwa ensued. In case you missed it, take a listen….

Guest: Mkhuleko Hlengwa, Chairperson of Scopa

On World News today we ask – what now for Marine Le Pen? French President Emmanuel Macron has been re-elected for a second term. The incumbent president received about 58 per cent of the vote, while far-right challenger Marine Le Pen got around 42 per cent. Yesterday, Le Pen vowed that she will not abandon the French people after losing out to Emmanuel Macron in the second-round vote and also revealed that she will lead the campaign for the parliamentary elections.

Guest: John Keiger, Retired Professor of Politics and International Relations at the University of Cambridge

Chief justice and chairperson of the state capture commission Raymond Zondo has approached the high court for another extension for the final delivery of the state capture commission report. Zondo feels that the final instalment of the report will be ready by mid-June. 

Guest on the line: Karyn Maughn, Senior Legal Journalist @News24

A survey by the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit at UCT has found that getting or keeping a job is the main reason why vaccine hesitant South Africans get their Covid-19 jabs. Authors of the study say work mandates can be used as the best remaining strategy to encourage vaccination, however, employers should thread with caution in their implementation. When the survey was done last year, majority of people surveyed said they would either get vaccinated as soon as they could or wanted to wait. However, by February and March this year, only 29% of them said they thought they would be vaccinated by May. We are now joined by Dr Katherine Eyal, co-author of the study

Advocacy group, Real Reform for Early Childhood Development in South Africa says a recent index on early childhood development show South Africa is failing its pre-school children. The Thrive by Five Index tracks early childhood outcomes. It found that 65% of South African children, aged between four and five, are not able to meet early learning and physical growth standards. It specifically looked at early learning, physical growth and social emotional functioning. We are now joined by Kayin Scholtz, from Real Reform for Early Childhood Developmen