Today Mpumalanga Premier, Ms Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane lead a delegation of MECs and Local Government leaders on a visit to the homestead of Ndebele iconic artist, Dr Esther Mahlangu. The visit follows a case of robbery in Mahlangu’s residence in which she was attacked over the weekend. The latest, according to the Premier is that no arrests have been made yet. The Premier also urged communities to be vigilant and to report any suspicious criminal activity at all times. Following what happened at Gogo Esther Mahlangu's home in Mpumalanga, I'd like us to have a conversation about the safety of senior citizens in South Africa. Gogo's house was broken into - her firearm was stolen - when a woman of her age had to arm herself with a gun, what does this mean about the safety of our senior citizens? We've read countless stories about senior citizens being raped and robbed of the SASSA pensions - did an attack have to happen to Gogo Esther for us to be cognisant of how unsafe our elders are?  

GUEST: Mr Centie Ngubane - Head of Comms at DSD Mpumalanaga 

E-hailing services have been on strike since yesterday.  Apart from the e-hailing industry itself, this strike might have some greater implications for society as services come to a halt. Though mainly affecting the transportation side of the service, the strike is also impacting restaurant businesses. The Restaurant Collective has already reported that about 20% of the income gained by sit-down restaurant come from food delivery services such Uber Eats and Mr Delivery alone and this might be shifted. 

We’re in conversation with restaurant owners who are listed on Uber Eats and Mr Delivery, and they give us a sense of how business has been since the strike commenced yesterday  

GUESTS: Absalom Nyoni - Supervisor at IT Corner in Melville on 7th 

 In its attempt to address low turnout during the elections. Yesterday, the Electoral Commission and Wits university launched a unique partnership with the youth at tertiary institutions to grow youth participation in electoral democracy and encouraging them to register to vote. The campaign is designed to encourage students to be active, engaged and responsible citizens of South Africa’s democracy, as well as make it easier for university students to go online and register to vote. 

Guest: Mr Mmakgabo Ramatlhodi, Assistant Manager for Stakeholder Liaison and Civic Education at the Electoral Commission  

EMS paramedics were once again robbed at gunpoint in Alexandra by three unknown armed criminals. What makes these attacks specifically horrifying against EMS personnel is that health-care personnel are responding to a crisis that is deeply affecting all societies - yet not everyone appreciates their efforts and contributions. Reacting to this incident, the South African Emergency Personnel’s Union has called on police to arrest the culprits and there have been repeated calls from civil society and anti-crime activists that paramedics must be protected when attending to emergencies.  

Guest: Mpho Mpogeng, President of the South African Emergency Personnel’s Union (SAEPU)  

SA has proposed a rival draft resolution in the UN General Assembly that seeks to address the humanitarian consequences of the war in Ukraine. The SA-authored text was issued after a French and Mexican drafted resolution was circulated to member states demanding an immediate cessation of hostilities by the Russian Federation in Ukraine, in particular the targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure. SA abstained, along with 34 other member states in an earlier GA vote that, by an overwhelming majority, deplored Russia's aggression and demanded the immediate and complete withdrawal of its forces from Ukraine. Sherwin Bryce-Pease reports that Pretoria's position is one that the UN must take decisions and actions that would lead to a constructive outcome conducive to the creation of sustainable peace between the parties.... 

Guest: Peter Fabricius, Foreign Policy Analyst  

AfriForum has successfully interdicted the Department of International Relations and Cooperation from making a R50 million donation to Cuba. Judge J Neukircher of the Pretoria High Court found that Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s approval of the donation was irrational.

Guest: Reiner Duvenage, Campaigns Officer for Strategy and Content at AfriForum

According to the Zero Dropout Campaign, South Africa needs real-time data to get an up-to-date and relevant picture of school dropouts in the country. The Zero Dropout Campaign has explored the knowns and unknowns in dropout debates and they recommend that the availability of accurate and reliable data will allow for accountability within the education sector. They are of the view that the best way to promote accountability is by making dropout a key performance indicator and by making budgetary commitments that will make this a reality..  

The consequences of dropouts are too damaging to ignore because when a young person drops out of school, the effects go beyond the individual pupil; they deepen inter-generational poverty, unemployment and inequality. 

GUEST: Merle Mansfield - Programme Director for the Zero Dropout Campaign 

AfriForum has successfully interdicted the Department of International Relations and Cooperation from making a R50 million donation to Cuba. Judge J Neukircher of the Pretoria High Court found that Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana’s approval of the donation was irrational.

Guest: Reiner Duvenage, Campaigns Officer for Strategy and Content at AfriForum

ActionSA has terminated Dr Makhosi Khoza’s membership with immediate effect. The party’s disciplinary committee was unanimous in finding Dr Khoza guilty on all charges that were brought against her. The evidence brought against Dr Khoza included numerous public utterances and comments made to the media which were deemed to have been made with the intention of bringing ActionSA into disrepute.

Guest: Lerato Ngobeni, ActionSA spokesperson

Deputy President David Mabuza, in his capacity as the chairperson of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Land Reform and Agriculture, conducted an oversight visit to the District Six Development Project in Cape Town this morning. He engaged with claimants of the District Six Development Project who are in line to receive housing units as part of the resettlement project.

A total of 1 200 claimants are scheduled to be resettled when phase five of the project is completed and Minister for Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development Thoko Didiza says work has already started to construct the last phases. Some of the claimants expressed unhappiness at the slow progress as they are still in the dark about when they can return to their area. The latest delay was with regard to the issuing of occupancy certificates, which means the claimants couldn’t move into their new units. To get an update on what was discussed earlier and the way forward for the claimants, we’re joined by… 

GUEST: Karen Breytenbach - District Six Working Committee (D6WC) spokesperson