The 3rd Annual Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) Shop Stewards and Union Officials Conference kicks off tomorrow morning.
Under the theme “The National Minimum Wage: The Post Implementation Conversation”, the event will bring together hundreds of shop stewards and union officials across federations from all over the country to address the challenges faced by the shop stewards and union officials amidst changing legislative environment and policy and the nature of work.

Songezo Mabece was in conversation with William Thomson, Acting Senior Commissioner for Dispute Prevention and Training at the Commission for Conciliation Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA). They also spoke about the need for such a conference to exist – where did it stem from; the misconceptions about the relationship between unions and business (are unions out to cripple businesses); and the role of the CCMA when unions and business do not reach a resolution.

The 12th Annual ACFE Africa Fraud Conference is hosted by the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) South Africa Chapter. It is recognised as the largest anti-fraud event in Africa and the second largest in the world. This event brings together more than 1,000 anti-fraud professionals from more than 20 countries — all with the shared desire to gain leading-edge knowledge.

Fraud and corruption across Africa is widespread, despite the activities of governments and other regulatory bodies to stem it. It has become prevalent in recent years mainly because the deterrents to such activities are not fully applied. The socio-cultural factor must also be considered, where corrupt persons are praised and no questions are asked as to the source of their wealth. Furthermore, there’s the reluctance of becoming a whistle blower - anyone who dares to raise a comment on the sudden wealth attained by these individuals is vilified.
Mr. Jaco de Jager – CEO of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) and Mr. Gavin Stansfield, Director at Mcaciso Stansfield Inc.

Izwi domestic worker’s alliance – addressing disputes between employers and employees
Songezo Mabece spoke to Ms Maggie Mthombeni, the co-founder of Izwi Domestic Worker’s Alliance

We’re talking about the unfair treatment of domestic workers and the lack of employer compliance with respect to contracts, annual increases, pay slips and UIF registrations. It has been highlighted that one of the major challenges of achieving the realisation of employment rights for domestic workers is the lack of knowledge of legal obligations by employers.
While many people have ventured into employment placement agencies for domestic workers, Izwi is in the business of maintaining the working relationship and assisting domestic workers with legal advice, should things go sour.

Songezo Mabece was in conversation with Mr Tumelo Mogodiseng, the General Secretary of SAPU (South Africa Police Union) about the leadership crisis in the police services
The South African Police Union (SAPU) has blamed crime intelligence for the poor state of policing in the country following the spate of xenophobic violence. In a conversation with Lizette Khan on The Focal Point earlier today, the General Secretary of the union, Tumelo Mogodiseng, blamed the leadership in the security cluster and said that things are out of control because leaders are obsessed with politics and not focused on helping the SAPS fulfill its mandate.

Is the SAPS faced with a leadership crisis hence we’ve reached such high levels of lawlessness? Is it just for SAPU to blame leadership when it is the men and women in blue who do not deliver on the ground?

How start-ups are changing healthcare through innovation
Songezo Mabece was in conversation with Mr Khotso Bapela, the Founder and Chief Technology Officer at BIIS (Baps Innovations) about CyberGuardian, an online depression detector

In light of the fact that September is Innovation Month, we catch-up with Cyber Guardian, Khutso Bapela. He has developed an early depression detector mobile application built on machine learning algorithm. Cyber Guardian uses access to end user’s mobile device activities such as social media lifestyle, chats, searches and emails to analyse an individual’s mental health. Khutso is one of the finalists in this year’s Africa Cup at the SA Innovation Summit and will be competing next week in Cape Town for a R5 million investment offer and three weeks of acceleration.
He believes technology provides efficient solutions to improve quality of life on the continent and through their company they were able to contribute to the development of a variety of technologies that are currently improving how we live on a daily basis.

Songezo Mabece was in conversation with Mrs Ilze Alberts, a Psychologist, Human Behaviour Specialist and Founder of the BellaVida Centre

Earlier this year, the Global Wellness Index placed South Africa last out of 151 nations evaluated on obesity, alcohol consumption, blood pressure, diabetes, activity levels and happiness measures. Additionally, a Stats SA’s report says that in South Africa, 46% of women and 44% of men older than 15 have hypertension, or high blood pressure, which can increase the risk of heart disease, stroke and death.

With this in mind, we focus our attention on Burn Out – it is a medical condition that we seldom pay attention to yet its effects can be very detrimental to one’s productivity and happiness.

SandtonShutdown: Is GBV none of corporate South Africa’s business?
Songezo Mabece was in conversation with Ms Lindelwe Nxumalo, a Woman’s Right’s Programme Manager at Action Aid Africa

In an attempt to force Corporate South Africa to take action and join the fight against the alarming rate of GBV in the country, a large number of civil society organisations are organising a #SandtonShtdown for Friday the 13th of September 2019.

They are of the view that protest action is only seen in townships and in the CBD, yet the richest square mile in Africa (i.e. Sandton) remains untouched as if they do not have a responsibility to the country’s social ills.
They further argue that the money spent on CSI is only 03% of the annual turn-over of these big corporates – and they say that like government, business South Africa has not will to spend money and time to ensure an end to GBV

Child Safety in South Africa: have we failed our children?

Songezo Mabece was in conversation with Dr Shaheda Omar, Clinical Director at the Teddy Bear Clinic for Abused Children AND Ms Lucy Jamieson, a senior researcher at the UCT Children's Institute

We focus our attention on child safety – the past couple of days have come with some gruesome reports pertaining to the safety of our children… there’s the Dros Rape Accused who pleaded guilty to raping a 7 year old; there’s the Mpumalanga Mother who has been found guilty of murdering her 4 children… these are 2 of many examples of how unsafe our children are – at home, at school, in the streets. What kind of a society allows such harm to fall upon its children? Why do we keep hearing about the rape and abuse of children yet we have laws in place to protect the most vulnerable members of our society?

Songezo Mabece was in conversation with Namhla Mniki-Mangaliso, the Executive Director at African Monitor.

The African Monitor is part of this year’s World Economic Forum currently underway in Cape Town. The African Monitor - an independent catalyst for monitoring development commitments, delivery and impact on the grassroots - represented by Executive Director Ms Namhla Mniki, will lead discussions on Innovating for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
While many of Africa's leaders at WEF are grappling with Africa’s current opportunities and the 4th Industrial Revolution, the African Monitor is asking “how can we discuss ease of doing business in a nation that is in turmoil? How can we talk about Artificial Intelligence and drone economies (spending billions on research and testing), but can't put resources aside to help the women of South Africa to be safe? Shouldn’t the women of this country be our priority?”

Songezo Mabece was in conversation with Dr. Emma Durden, programme manager at the Twist Theatre Development Projects, about her passion for community theatre and the role that it plays in bringing critical issues to the public domain

The Hilton Arts Festival kicks off next week and in preparation for the grand appearance at the festival, Dr. Emma Durden, programme manager of Twist Theatre Development Projects, has been up and about launching a theatre book - Acting in South Africa: Skills and Inspirations.

Dr Durden, is the recipient of the Chicago-based Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE) 2016 Award for Leadership in Community Based Theatre and Civic Engagement. This prestigious international award is given to those individuals or theatre organisations that help facilitate communities in creating theatre that reflects their constituents and to those who develop lasting relationships with those communities.