The View Point

On 7 December 2020, South Africa will commemorate 20 years since the establishment of democratic local government. Municipalities are faced with a number of challenges: deteriorating accountability that is affecting the financial health of municipalities, service delivery and the maintenance of critical municipal infrastructure. Further, South Africa’s local municipalities are hanging on by a thread due to political interference.

Guest: Dr. Paul Kariuki - Executive Director | Democracy Development Program

In a recent virtual meeting of the BRICS Business Council, it became clear that global cooperation and stability is critical to the recovery of global, regional, and national economies. Our next guest says that: “BRICS has become a recognizable multilateral brand of global governance as it represents nearly 42% of the world’s population and offers major potential markets for business from these states to build networks and enhance intra-BRICS trade and investment.”

Guest: Busi Mabuza - Chairperson | South African Chapter of the BRICS Business Council

Pfizer Inc. Chief Executive Officer Albert Bourla pocketed about $5.6 million after selling stock, the latest executive to reap the rewards of insider share transactions after recent COVID 19 vaccine breakthroughs.

Bourla is one of many pharmaceutical executives who made deals under prearranged 10b5-1 trading plans, which let people schedule sales in advance at certain times or prices, absolving themselves from accusations of insider trading. Public-company executives typically receive a considerable share of their compensation in the form of stock, and the vast majority periodically sell part of their holdings.

Guest:Dr. Mandla Lamba - CEO | Verityhurst Capital

As South Africa looks to recover from the devastating effects COVID-19 has had on the economy, the government’s economic turnaround plan involves using transformation to pivot the country’s fiscal growth. A great deal of assistance will go towards small enterprises that are predominantly black-owned and that require financial support.

Guest: Roxanne da Mata Gonçalves - Transformation Specialist | Strata-G Labour Solutions

Over the years, South Africa has been rocked by a slew of accounting scandals and company failures, with prominent firms implicated in lapses of ethical conduct and have displayed suspect behaviour when carrying out their auditing duties in companies while some are reported to have misrepresented the financial data.

These lapses have caused the profession to suffer a crisis of major loss of public trust and confidence. Professionals have to advance a culture of accountability, correct the culture of selective consequence management and full disclosure. Corporations and governments have to integrate ethics into normal risk management and monitoring processes.

Guest: Meghan Naidoo - Head of Assurance | The question of Ethics in Leadership (Accounting firm)

On Thursday, Sonke Gender Justice and the MenCare Global Fatherhood Campaign will host the first of a four-part webinar series on: The Politics of Care.

This seminar series will follow a systematic discussion about how men can contribute to various elements of care, within an ethic of care, based on the groundbreaking work of Joan Tronto. The content presented draws on an extended case study about men’s contribution to care, done over three years with families based in South Africa, and on relevant intersectional feminist, critical masculinities, and moral philosophy discourses.

Guest: Wessel van den Berg - Regional Unit Manager at Sonke Gender Justice

Sello Hatang will be joined by Dr Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka – Former Deouty President of South Africa and now the Executive Director of UN Women.

As an advocate for social justice and women’s rights, Dr Mlambo-Ngcuka has been part of the Nelson Mandela Foundation’s Malibongwe Dialogue with the aim of highlighting the continuing struggle for gender equality and to act as a catalyst to encourage action on issues raised.

Guest: Dr. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka - Executive Director | United Nations

Sello Hatang was the Nelson Mandela Foundation's Information and Communication Manager, and spokesperson. Previously he was a senior manager at South Africa's Human Rights Commission. He participated in the post-1994 transformation of the National Archives, including archival support for the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and is a former

Director of the South African History Archive (SAHA). He was a member of the editorial team of Nelson Mandela's book, Conversations with Myself, published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in 2010.

Guest: Sello Hatang - Chief Executive Officer | Nelson Mandela Foundation

Millions of people do not have access to proper sanitation and in South African schools the situation is especially dire .World Toilet Day 2020 focuses on sustainable sanitation and climate change.

Climate change is getting worse. Flood, drought and rising sea levels are threatening sanitation systems – from toilets to septic tanks to treatment plants. Everyone must have sustainable sanitation, alongside clean water and handwashing facilities, to help protect and maintain our health security and stop the spread of deadly infectious diseases such as COVID-19, cholera and typhoid. Sustainable sanitation systems also reuse waste to safely boost agriculture, and reduce and capture emissions for greener energy.

Guest: Mandisa Mbenenge - PR Brand Specialist | Unilever

Whilst this year has been overshadowed by COVID 19 pandemic, Malaria is still an epidemic that remains deadly in the SADC region. As we get closer to the holiday season, it is important to understand what threat these diseases pose, at what stage, how treatment should be administered and the prevention measures. It is essential for citizens travelling to a malaria area(s) to understand the differences between malaria and COVID-19 symptoms.

Goodbye Malaria collaborates with world-class partners, including the Global Fund, private organizations, and the governments of Mozambique, South Africa and eSwatini to eradicate this scourge.

Guest: Sherwin Charles - co-Founder | Goodbye Malaria