The View Point

Much like our daily routines, religious and cultural rituals have been derailed by the coronavirus pandemic. A global ban on gatherings has meant that holidays like Passover, Easter and Vaisakhi are being celebrated in isolation. The same is happening for Muslims observing Ramadaan and Eid. Strict measures have also been place of funerals and cultural activities such as initiation schools have been banned.
At various points during South Africa’s lockdown, videos have gone viral, showing people of different faiths convening for prayer and worship and thus contravening the lockdown regulations. We have also seen couples being arrested for trying to get married, large pots of meat being spilled at imicimbi. Of course, this has created a sense of discomfort, and dis-ease to see, particularly since religious and cultural expressions are historical and deep forms of expression.
But what happens after alert level one? When all cultural and religious activity can resume? Are we willing to reconsider how we will re-socialise?

Guest: Amuzweni Ngoma - Researcher at the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection - MISTRA

Prior to COVID-19, there was a prevalence of depression and anxiety in pregnant and postnatal women. Besides caring for young children under strained circumstances, there are many terrifying things for under-resourced mothers to cope with.
Messages for Mothers (M4M) was recently launched by the Perinatal Mental Health Project (PMHP) to accelerate the provision of mental health services to pregnant and postnatal women during these covid times.
M4M is a one-stop online resource developed in response to COVID-19 and the lack of targeted messaging for vulnerable mothers who are concerned for their children, families and themselves

Guest: Prof Simone Hanikman - Perinatal Mental Health Project (PMHP)

According to health experts, the government's u-turn on cigarette sales could result in disastrous consequences of acute, forced, involuntary nicotine withdrawal. Last week Wednesday, cooperative governance and traditional affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma prohibited the sale of cigarettes during the nationwide lockdown. This announcement came less than two days before the initial ban on tobacco was supposed to be lifted during SA’s level 4 lockdown on Friday the 1st of May.
In order to navigate through subjective stress and anger, smokers are now left with very few options. Either ration current stock, quit smoking or source tobacco illegally. Most smokers have run out of the stock they bought for the initial three-week lockdown and the difficulty of quitting the habit has resulted in smokers turning to the illicit tobacco trade, thus feeding organised crime.

Guest: Yusuf Abramjee - Founder of Tax Justice South Africa

We’re in conversation with the VC of UC, Prof Mamokgethi Phakeng, about teaching and learning at UCT in the 2020 academic year. Covid-19 has really tested everyone and every industry – higher education institutions are no different.
Online learning, Online libraries, online submission of assessments – unusually has fast become the new usual.

Guest: Prof Mamokgethi Phakeng - Vice Chancellor - UCT

We rebroadcast an interview with Denis Goldberg at the second Robben Island Memorial lecture which took place on the 09th of July in 2019. This lecture was honouring struggle stalwart Govan Mbeki and the keynote speaker was former deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke.

Today is the last day of level 5 of lockdown and tomorrow we enter the next level to get the country back to where it was originally before the pandemic hit. Visuals and images were surfacing on social media of police enforcing lockdown rules in a questionable manner which angered the country. As rules have been eased slightly, government has ultimately left it to South Africans to adhere to curfews and restrictions placed as businesses start opening gradually; one wonders how SAPS will conduct themselves.
As we enter level 4 of the lockdown, what are you hoping to see from the SAPS and the SANDF? Are you aware of your legal rights should you be in a situation where you’re a victim or witness of police brutality?

Candice Pillay - Director at Lawtons Africa

The regulations on the Covid-19 disaster lists Members of Parliament as essential workers but it is far from clear what role they are playing in managing this pandemic.
Amongst Parliament’s key responsibilities, is the duty to scrutinise and oversee executive action (section 42(3) of the Constitution) - Parliament as an institution, one that sits at the very centre of our constitutional democracy, has the constitutional responsibility to hold the executive to account. Since the National Disaster Act, how has parliament been conducting its business? Has the executive been reporting to the various committees or did Parliament leave it up to individual MPs to "conduct oversight"? Did we ever imagine an online Parliament?

Guest: Adv Modibedi Phindela - Secretary to the National Council of Provinces

Guest: Masibulele Xaso - Secretary to the National Assembly

It’s been over a month since the lockdown in South Africa, and many small to medium-size businesses are wondering how they will pay salaries. Downsizing and retrenchments are on the rise and many workers fear for their jobs.
With the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) recently revealing that the COVID-19 pandemic could lead to over 370 000 job losses across the country, leading FinTech company, CompariSure, surveyed South Africans from all walks of life on their current employment challenges and fears of retrenchment.

Guest: Matt Kloos - CFO and Co-Founder at CompariSure

Schools are to reopen in phases from the planned date of the 06th of May, although this is subject to change. Feedback from social cluster ministers was that the 18th of May could be more feasible.

On the first day, only Grade 7 and Grade 12 pupils are expected to go back to school. Pupils and educators will be screened for Covid-19 when schools reopen and if they have raised temperatures, they will be considered for isolation and testing. There will also be strict physical distancing measures and more than 40 pupils in a class will not be allowed.

What do you make of this? Are we ready to send our children back to school?

Guest: Nkosana Dolopi - Deputy General Secretary of SADTU

We’re talking about a report, titled The Plight of the ECD Workforce, which was released by BRIDGE, Ilifa Labantwana, National ECD Alliance (NECDA), the Nelson Mandela Foundation, Smartstart and the South African Congress for Early Childhood Development (SACECD).

According to the report, it is estimated that as many as 30,000 ECD operators serving poor communities in South Africa run the risk of closure as a result of the Covid-19 crisis. This means that up to 175,000 people will be left unemployed and 1.5 million children will be without early learning services or safe places of day care. It finds that 68% of ECD operators are worried that they will not be able to reopen after the lockdown because 99% reported that caregivers have stopped paying fees after the nationwide closures on 18th of March. This is because these programmes primarily serve poor and vulnerable communities, whose household incomes have been severely constrained by the crisis.

Guest: Zaheera Mohamed - ECD Financing Director at Ilifa Labantwana