The View Point

We speak to members of Team E-Smart – a group of four students from Rhodes University who beat 45 other teams when they won the 2019 Hult Prize regional summit, which was held at the Brookhouse International School in Nairobi, Kenya last week. The Hult Prize challenges innovative university and college students from across the world to create a social entrepreneurship start-up that will create more than 10-thousand meaningful jobs in the next decade.

GUESTS: Lindokuhle Nene – She’s doing her PhD in Organic and Medicinal Chemistry – 25 years - she’s Bronkhorstspruit AND Nobuhle Ndebele – She’s doing her PhD in Electro Chemistry – 24 years old – she’s from Noordegesig in Soweto

Justice Kriegler hasn’t been a stranger to South African media in past couple of years; he has always been vocal and he has always done his part to uphold our democracy. A week before we head to the polls for our sixth general election since the dawn of democracy in 1994, we engaged him on various issues relating to democracy and governance, elections in South Africa (and Africa) and the rule of law in our country

guest: former chief Justice Johann Kriegler.

Songezo Mabece was in conversation with Nonthuthuzelo Somdyala – a Senior Scientist in the Burden of Disease Research Unit of the medical Research Council AND she is also a member of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on the Prevention and Control of Cancer.
They spoke about cancer in South Africa and what contributes to it becoming a crisis and what makes it grow rapidly among the South African population. They also touch on the shortages of specialists (especially at public sector level) and the challenges that are faced by researchers in this field.

Songezo Mabece spoke to Verne Harris – Head of Leadership and Knowledge Development at the Nelson Mandela Foundation – about ‘Why should the old South African flag be banned?’- The Nelson Mandela foundation first approached South Africa’s Equality Court in February last year, following the so-called Black Monday protests in October 2017, when the old flag made its appearance as part of a protest against crime, seen as, targeting white farmers. Today, the case resumed and the foundation asked the court to declare the display of the old apartheid flag as hate speech. Will the banning of the old flag help us achieve anything, when the problem lies deeper within those who do not see a problem with displaying it?

Sogezo was in conversation with Professor Barbara Boswell - Associate Professor for English Literature at UCT AND Shanel Johannes – Masters Student at UCT (she is working with Prof Boswell on the petition) about a report, titled Age- and education-related effects on cognitive functioning in colored South African women, which has sparked outrage but Stellenbosch University's Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences says there is nothing wrong with the report as it was approved by an ethics committee at the university.
A petition has been launched following the release of a report which suggests that coloured South African women have an increased risk of low cognitive function, due to lower education levels and unhealthy lifestyle behaviours.

South Africans have on many occasions proven to be a nation that thrives and finds solutions to difficult problems through dialogue, discussion and reaching out to one another. But why are we not overcoming the hurdles that are blocking our progress in inclusively embracing our indigenous languages? When declaring 2019 as the INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF INDIGENOUT LANGUAGES (IYIL2019), UNESCO stated that indigenous languages play a crucial role in the daily lives of people, not only as a tool for communication, education, social, integration and development, but also as a repository for each person’s unique identity, cultural history, traditions and memory. But despite their immense value, languages around the world continue to disappear at an alarming rate. Why do we still have communities that need to fight more than the others in order for their languages to be developed and included in mainstream communication? Why are we underplaying the role that indigenous languages can play in, among other things, the advancement of our education and our social cohesion endeavors?

Guests : 1. Chief Chrissila Billings (The Korana Leader)
2. Inkosi Jongisilo Pokwana ka Menziwa (Leader of Amazizi Clan)
3. Prof Ncedile Saule (Academic at Rhodes University)
4. Prof Vuyisa Tanga (former VC: Cape Peninsula University of
Technology)
5. Prof Ben Khoali (Retired Prof from University of Free State)
6. Dr Nozuko Gxekwa (Academic at University of Fort Hare)

South Africans have on many occasions proven to be a nation that thrives and finds solutions to difficult problems through dialogue, discussion and reaching out to one another. But why are we not overcoming the hurdles that are blocking our progress in inclusively embracing our indigenous languages? When declaring 2019 as the INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF INDIGENOUT LANGUAGES (IYIL2019), UNESCO stated that indigenous languages play a crucial role in the daily lives of people, not only as a tool for communication, education, social, integration and development, but also as a repository for each person’s unique identity, cultural history, traditions and memory. But despite their immense value, languages around the world continue to disappear at an alarming rate. Why do we still have communities that need to fight more than the others in order for their languages to be developed and included in mainstream communication? Why are we underplaying the role that indigenous languages can play in, among other things, the advancement of our education and our social cohesion endeavors?

Guest: 1. Chief Chrissila Billings (The Korana Leader)
2. Inkosi Jongisilo Pokwana ka Menziwa (Leader of Amazizi Clan)
3. Prof Ncedile Saule (Academic at Rhodes University)
4. Prof Vuyisa Tanga (former VC: Cape Peninsula University of
Technology)
5. Prof Ben Khoali (Retired Prof from University of Free State)
6. Dr Nozuko Gxekwa (Academic at University of Fort Hare)

Guests : Miranda Madikane - Director of the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town (an NGO which provides specialized services for refugee, migrant and South African communities in Cape Town) AND Abigail Dawson - Media and Communications Officer at the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa – CoRMSA) (the NGO coordinates and represents over 25 organizations in South Africa working with migration issues)

As South Africa prepares for its national elections, the issue of migration continues to make headlines across the country. Negative or misinformed perceptions about migrants and refugees can spark xenophobic sentiments and violence. To address these issues, the Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town, in collaboration with African Centre for Migration & Society, Sonke Gender Justice, Lawyers for Human Rights and CoRMSA, has published a Journalist's Guide to Reporting on Migration in South Africa. The complex issues that are covered in the guide book are birth registration in South Africa; migrants’ and refugees’ access to public healthcare in SA; the Refugee Amendment Act AND the White Paper on International Migration

Guest : Dr Abraham Serote – Director for Social Cohesion at the Department of Arts and Culture

Tomorrow evening, the National Department of Arts and Culture in partnership with the Eastern Cape Provincial Department of Sports, Recreation, Arts and Recreation will be hosting a Freedom Month Dialogue as part of the build-up activities for 2019 Freedom Day. This panel discussion on social cohesion, celebration of 25 years of freedom and indigenous languages will take place at the North Campus Goldfields Auditorium, Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth.

Dr Abrahams Serote, Director General for Social Cohesion at the National Department of Arts and Culture, joins us to talk about the aim of these conversations and why they're specifically held before public holidays; the theme for tomorrow’s dialogue; the panel and what insights we can expects from each panellist; and we’ll also talk about the are they bringing to the discussion; he will also touch on the Freedom Day celebrations that will be held at the Miki Yili Stadium in Makanda.

Guests : Michael Masutha – Minister of the Department of Justices and Correctional Services AND Clare Ballard – Attorney at Lawyers for Human Rights and Head of the Prisoners’ Rights Litigation Programme

With the month of April being Human Right’s month, we zoom in on the rights of inmates. While many people believe that inmates shouldn’t have rights, the Constitution says otherwise.

• It is very sad to hear that South Africa, with its best constitution, is home to some of the world’s most dangerous prisons. Is it not likely that inmates’ rights will be infringed on considering that state of our correctional centres?
• In a country where terminology and policies have been changed to contribute positively to development and rehabilitation, how have we done in terms of restoring the dignity of our correctional facilities?
• Why are we grappling with parole systems and overcrowding – we’ve had complaints from some of our listeners about their relatives who are in Leeuwkop and Sun City having to wait longer because contracts of the parole board haven’t been finalised.
• Safety in prison and prison escapes – does the department take accountability in any of these issues
• We also want to touch on voting and the department’s readiness to cater for inmates who want cast their vote – we’re all promised something better when we vote, what are prisoners being promised?