Graduation season is upon us and at this time of the year, more graduates are anxious because of the unemployment rate in South Africa and the impact that it has on graduates.
Songezo Mabece spoke to Mondli Fananaye Xulu, a 23 year old from Kwa-Dukuza, who graduated with his Honours in development studies from the University of Zululand.
He arrived in an overall, a reflective jacket and boots donated by a farmer. He carried a placard appealing for someone to use his skills. Mondli also has a degree in environmental planning and development studies from the same university, which he obtained in 2015, at the age of 20.

Follow-up: Age- and education-related effects on cognitive functioning in Coloured South African women.
Last month, Stellenbosch University students published an article titled Age- and education-related effects on cognitive functioning in Coloured South African women. Many emotions were stirred by the publication of this article and some academics even went as far as saying it was resembling the colonial way of doing things. Stellenbosch University has acknowledged the severe trauma and anger caused by the article and they’re trying by all means to remedy the situation.
Songezo spoke to Deputy Vice Chancellor: Research, Innovation and Postgraduate Studies at Stellenbosch University, Prof Eugene Cloete.

Songezo Mabece was in conversation with Dr Pappie Majuba – The Managing Director of Right To Care:
RightToCare – a non-profit organisation that supports and delivers prevention, care, and treatment services for HIV and TB. We talk to them about the expansion of their pharmacy dispending units (PDU) – Also known as the medicine ATMs - through their Right ePharmacy. These ‘medicine ATMs allow chronic patients to collects their medication in 3minutes and they are set up in convenient locations. We also get an update on their Me1st Campaign, which targeted men who have sex with men (MSM) and encouraged them to test for HIV and get on treatment should they test positive.

Just seven year ago, Mr Lukhanyo Mafu was tending and pruning plants at the University of Fort Hare where he was employed as a gardener. Last week he graduated from the same university with a bachelor’s degree in social sciences. After having been arrested and sentenced to 15 years in Pollsmoor prison, being employed as a gardener and earning R50 a day, the 39 year old is grateful and humbled to have come this far.

Mark Heywood delivered his farewell lecture as he stepped down from his role as Executive Director of SECTION27. At an event title, The true confessions of an errant socialist, he spoke about his 24 years as an activist and he lauded civil society for all the progress that they’ve made in democratic South Africa. He also lamented at how civil society has not done to address issues of race and transformation in South Africa; and he highlighted how they “design flaws of civil society” are slowing down progress in some areas.

The 19th annual African Utility Week has just been concluded at the Cape Town
International Convention Centre. This conference is the leading conference and trade
exhibition for African power, energy and water professionals and it brought together
over 10 000 decision makers to source the latest solutions and meet over 350 suppliers.
We’re in conversation with Mr Miyelani Holeni, Group Chief Advisor at Ntiyiso
Consulting – he was a panelist and he also gave a presentation on Aligning
Municipalities within the roll out of Smart Meters.

GUEST: Mr Miyelani Holeni - Group Chief Advisor at Ntiyiso Consulting

Social Justice in SA. Is it something that we take for granted hence we do not strive for
its success as much as we should? And when compared to or African counterparts, how
do we fair as a country? Are we the worst violators of social rights? And what can our
inequality levels tell us about the pace of our social justice?

GUEST: Prof Thuli Madonsela - Chair of Social Justice at Stellenbosch University AND Founder
of the Thuma Foundation

Yesterday, Stats SA published its latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the first quarter of 2019, showing that the country’s unemployment rate has risen in the first three months of the year. The unemployment rate rose to a near 15-year high, with the labour force survey revealing that the unemployment rate jumped 0.5 percentage points to 27.6% in the first quarter of 2019 – meaning, the economy lost 237,000 jobs during the first quarter of this year. Analysts say that this highlights the enormous task that president Ramaphosa is faced with in reversing the unemployment rate. What direction do we need to create to avoid seeing such numbers and to get more people participating in the economy? What could have led to this and can we recover? After how long?

guest: Michael Bagraims - Labour attorney AND DA Shadow Minister of Labour

Minister of Higher Education and Training, Dr. Naledi Pandor, scooped her PhD in Education from the University of Pretoria a few weeks ago. She registered for her degree in person, diligently attended lectures and defended her proposal after waiting in the queue like all other students. We engage her on the subject of her PhD thesis - “The contested meaning of transformation in higher education in post- apartheid South Africa”.
Songezo Mabece engaged Dr Naledi Pandor on her PhD thesis about Transformation in Universities and how it forms an integral part of the conversation on decolonization in universities

Songezo Mabece was in conversation with Dr Gavin MacGregor - Director at Umthombo Youth Development Foundation
www.umthomboyouth.org.za

Umthombo Youth Development Foundation was formed to try and address some of the challenges faced by rural hospital. Rural hospitals often find it difficult to recruit and retain health care professionals for a number of reasons, including rural hospitals not being seen as attractive work places by city dwellers and city-trained graduates.