ZAR Podcast

My guest today is Chris Yelland.

This week we discuss the woes at Eskom, whether we will experience a national blackout, the future of renewable energy and why Eskom might be unmanageable in it’s current form; plus POWER SHIPS!

Chris holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Natal and he is currently the managing director of EE Publishers , the publisher of EngineerIT, Energize, Vector and PositionIT magazines.

This week on ZAR returning guest and economist Russell Lamberti discusses the woes of the Rand, the threat of Junk bond status and why South Africa needs to build a better boat.

My guest today is Andile Mngxitama.

Andile is a leading Black Consciousness thinker, organizer and activist, He holds an MA in sociology from the University of Witwatersrand.
Andile is a former member of parliament for the Economic Freedom Fighters. He also served as their commissar for land and agrarian revolution. He publishes a pamphlet series called New Frank Talk and is also a columnist for the Sowetan and City Press newspapers.

Andile is an associate of the Sankara Policy and Political School and founding member of the Black First Land First movement.

In this week’s show we cover Andile’s view on land policy – why all South African land is stolen property – and his views on racial redress and inequality.

Tony Leon is the Executive Chairman of Resolve Communications (Pty) Ltd, a South African consultancy specialising in strategic communication, reputational management and issues’ advocacy. He is also a noted author, columnist and speaker.

For nearly twenty years Tony Leon has been a Member of Parliament in South Africa, and for thirteen years he led the Democratic Alliance and its predecessor. He is the longest serving Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, since the advent of democracy in April 1994. He led and grew his party from its marginal position on the brink of political extinction into the second largest political force in South Africa.

A trained lawyer, Tony Leon actively participated in the critical constitutional negotiations which led to the birth of a democratic South Africa and served as a co-chairperson of the Constitutional Assembly’s Theme Committee on Fundamental Rights.

He was appointed by President Jacob Zuma as the South African Ambassador to Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay in August 2009. Since returning from his three year post in Buenos Aires in September 2012, Tony Leon has been thinking, writing, speaking and about matters in South Africa and the world. He consults to businesses both locally and abroad and has a special interest in risk consulting on Africa and South America and on navigating the intricacies of the booming markets of South America.

We discuss the current state of liberalism in South Africa, why Jacob Zuma is an incompetent executive and the incoherent nature of South African foreign policy.

My guest on this week’s podcast is Michael Harris. Michael is an independent political strategist. He is also a partner at Vsolution management consultancy,

Michael trained at leading geopolitical consultancy Stratfor in the United States and has been published on a number of topics ranging from local election forecasts to African geopolitics.

This week we dive into the South African political landscape. We cover the ANC succession, the future of the DA, the COSATU split, the future landscape of Municipal politics and the political forecast of SA’s future.

Sizwe Nxedlana is the chief economist at FNB.

Prior to this role, Sizwe held the role of senior economist at FNB Wealth and was a member of the investment and asset allocation committees.

He joined FNB in 2008 and was responsible for the analysis of South African and global economic trends and global markets, initially servicing the FNB Commercial and more recently the FNB Wealth segment.

Sizwe holds a Master of Commerce in Economics from the University of KwaZulu-Natal.

He completed his Bachelor of Commerce Degree from the University of Cape Town and prior to FNB, Sizwe worked at Kagiso Trust Investments and Standard Bank, as a property economist.

Russell Lamberti is the head strategist at ETM Analytics.

Russell has been involved in high-level consulting projects for government and the private sector ranging from feasibility studies to market impact assessments, and now consults full time to the fund management industry where he oversees a team providing research and strategic macro insights to portfolio managers for use in their asset allocation process. He has a passion for economics and financial markets and for individual liberty and economic freedom. His stated goal is see the return of sound, just money, the wholesale reform of our broken financial system, and the diminution of centralised and coercive state power.

Russell is the co-author (with Phillip Haslam) of When Money Destroys Nations: How Hyperinflation Ruined Zimbabwe, How Ordinary People Survived, and Warnings for Nations that Print Money Which is available in paperback and electronic editions at Amazon and Takelot.

The guest this week is…. Me, Stephen Reardon. This week's show is guest hosted by Russell Lamberti and we discuss a wide range of topics from liberalism, the student movement, my most surprising guests, what I've learnt about South Africa and the story of ZAR podcast.

Stephen is a business executive who has worked in a wide range of businesses and industries. He has always had a keen interest in politics and social issues and most recently founded, produced and hosted the podcast ZAR.
ZAR podcast has grown into a 20 part series that has featured prominent guests such as the Public Protector Thuli Madonsela, Tony Leon, RW Johnson, Zizi Kowda and many other prominent South African commentators.

My guest today is DA national spokesperson Refiloe Ntsekhe.

We discuss the state of the Democratic Alliance, race based legislation, racism, DKB, local elections and economic policy.

Refiloe has a degree in Politics and Philosophy from the University of Cape Town, and a Post-Graduate Diploma in Marketing. During her years at UCT, she was a national executive member of the South African Liberal Students Association in the 1990s and joined the DA in 2001.

After qualifying at university she held a range of marketing positions in various corporations including: The Foschini Group, Capespan, SAA, ABSA and SABC.

She was appointed in 2009 as the DA’s National Director of the LEAD programme which increased communication with voters in traditional ANC support areas. She left this position when she became the councillor for Ward 24 in Ekurhuleni in 2011.

In 2012, while still a councillor, she was appointed as the DA’s Gauteng provincial spokesperson. After the May 2014, she was elected as a Member of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature and is currently the Shadow MEC for Social Development and a member of the Health Portfolio. She is also the DA Political Head for Kempton Park and Tembisa.

On the 10th of May 2015 she was elected one of the three Deputy Federal Chairpersons for the DA.

My guest today is Professor Adam Habib.

We spoke from his office in Johannesburg. Our discussion covers the recent student protests, racism in our culture and on our campuses, #feesmustfall and higher education funding. WARNING: There is some explicit language in this interview.

Professor Adam Habib is the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of the University of the Witwatersrand, and has served in this position as from the 1st of June 2013.

He is an academic, an activist, an administrator, and a renowned political media commentator and columnist.

A Professor of Political Science, Habib has more than 30 years of academic, research, institutional and administration expertise. His experience spans five universities and multiple local and international institutions, boards and task teams

Professor Habib holds qualifications in Political Science from three universities including the University of Natal and Wits. He earned his masters and doctoral qualifications from the Graduate School of the City University of New York.