ACDP reacts to National State of Disaster extension. The party’s leader Reverend Kenneth Meshoe says he hopes that the extension of the National State of Disaster will not be used to tighten lockdown restrictions as the 5th wave of coronavirus infections looms. Meshoe is against the unending month-to-month extension. 

Guest: Rev Kenneth Meshoe, leader of the African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP)

The South African Human Rights Commission convened the first sitting of an inquiry into racial discrimination in the advertising industry. Led by the commission’s Gauteng provincial office, the inquiry aims to address and avoid the publication of adverts that carry racial undertones in South Africa.  In 2020, a Tresemmé shampoo advert depicted blonde women's hair as "normal," and black women's as "frizzy and dull,” while in 2018, H&M apologised for an advertising image featuring a black boy modeling a hoodie with the slogan “coolest monkey in the jungle”.         

GUEST: Gushwell Brookes - Spokesperson for the SAHRC 

Free State police are investigating the circumstances around the death of a man who was stabbed in the neck, allegedly by his partner over WhatsApp messages. 

Guest: Linda Yende, Author & relationship expert  

The Western Cape Government says there were no fatalities reported during last summer's initiation season in the province. MEC for Cultural Affairs and Sport, Anroux Marais, says during the last season which ended in January, 1-thousand-417 initiates completed their rite of passage at 35 sites throughout the province. Marais says 10 initiates had to be hospitalised due to dehydration, but were discharged within a day of being admitted. The WesternCape government attributes the zero death toll to some of the measures that they have introduced such at the provision of water tanks; and the training of cultural practitioners on hygiene and Covid-19 infection prevention control measures.  

GUEST: Anroux Marais Ms Western Cape MEC for Cultural Affairs and Sport 

The Grassy Park Community Policing Forum (CPF) condemned the recent attack on two law enforcement officers in Lotus River, fewer than 24 hours after it launched a campaign to raise awareness of the impact of such attacks on the communty’s well-being. According to the CPF,  there have been 28 malicious attacks on police vehicles and seven on law enforcement vehicles over the past 12 months.  They say that this has traumatised the police officials and as a result, a total of 114 workdays were lost. They also noted that repairs to the 12 vehicles that were damaged by the community will cost the taxpayer R65 000; and six of those vehicles are still out of commission.  

Is this a situation that is notorious to Grassy Park or is this the nature of our relationship with law enforcement? (They shoot to kill therefore we also mobilise against them?)
 

GUEST: Dr Chris de Kock - Crime expert and former head of the Crime Information Analysis Centre  

In conversation with the CEO of Proudly SA Eustace Mashimbye about how the Covid 19 pandemic and the recent Ukraine-Russian war have disrupted the world’s supply chain and how important it is now more than ever for South African businesses and consumers to support local business and buy local. According to him “lack of local demand remains one of the most significant obstacles limiting South Africa’s economic growth potential”.  

Guest: Eustace Mashimbye, Proudly South African Chief Executive Officer 

Following the Civil Aviation Authority’s decision to suspended Kulula and British Airways operations indefinitely due to safety concerns, we hear from an aviation analyst in terms of how things got to this point.  

Guest: Phuthego Mojapele, aviation analyst 

Senegal has deployed its army to counter rebels in the southern Casamance region, near its southern border with Gambia. A statement by the military chief of staff suggests that the operation is aimed at destroying all armed bands participating in criminal activities in the region. For more on this, we are joined by….. 

Guest on the line (Somalia): Dr Mustapha Mheta, Senior Research Fellow / Head of Africa Desk at Media Review Network SA & Dean of the School of Language at Somali National University  

Today, the Public Protector Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane and the Gauteng Premier David Makhura are expected to enter into an agreement that will make it more efficient for the office of the public protector to accelerate investigative processes pertaining to provincial government.  

Guest: Adv Busisiwe Mkhwebane, Public Protector