Drivetime

Zack Achmat

Abdurrazack "Zackie" Achmat is a South African activist and film director. He is a co-founder the Treatment Action Campaign and known worldwide for his activism on behalf of people living with HIV and AIDS in South Africa. He is also the co-founder of Ndifuna ukwazi. He now joins us live…

24 Jul 2017 11AM 16 min

Africa hampered by lack of infrastructure

Leading African researcher, Professor Kelly Chibale has called for a deep commitment to investing in world-class infrastructure and skills for scientists to succeed on the continent. Professor Chibale is from Drug Discoveries and Development, Centre for Chemistry at the University of Cape Town. He now joins us on line. Guest…

24 Jul 2017 10AM 13 min

Israel implements new measures on al-Aqsa

The new measures of control implemented by Israel forces in Jerusalem's old city after a deadly gun battle will only lead to more attacks and escalation in violence, analysts say. On line is Tuba Nur Sonmez, political analyst based in Turkey. Guest : Tuba Nur Sonmez Position: Political Analysts

24 Jul 2017 10AM 9 min

Timol Inquest gets underway

The second sitting of the inquest looking into anti-apartheid activist Ahmed Timol’s death at John Vorster Square in 1971 resumes today. On line is Timol's nephew Imitiaz Ahmed Cajee Guest : Imitiaz Ahmed Cajee Position: Relative

24 Jul 2017 10AM 11 min

How Israel's 10-Year Blockade Brought Gaza to the Brink of Collapse?

Palestinians in Gaza have long struggled with electricity cuts, but further reductions implemented last month have deepened the ongoing power crisis. Already receiving just four hours a day, residents lost another 45-60 minutes after the latest round of cuts, which have put additional pressure on the besieged territory's health sector…

21 Jul 2017 6AM 17 min

Hate crimes in US on the rise

The number of anti-Muslim hate crimes in the United States rose 91 percent in the first half of the year compared with the same period in 2016. A report published by the council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) said crimes have spiked since 2016. Zainab Arain is a CAIR coordinator and…

19 Jul 2017 11AM 15 min

Israel implements new immigration rules

The Israeli Interior Ministry says the new immigration rules are intended to benefit the migrants and asylum seekers, whom the government refers to as illegal infiltrators. However, Ruvi Ziegler, Associate Professor of International Law at the Reading University says it is a calculated plan to make people understand that they…

19 Jul 2017 10AM 9 min

How to adapt in semi-arid regions

Population growth, urbanisation and climate change are changing the world. To adapt, attitudes and behaviour must change and political and social will to implement solutions must increase. Dian Spear is a Research Fellow in Adaptation at Scale in Semi-Arid Regions, University of Cape Town. She now joins us on line…

19 Jul 2017 10AM 12 min

Inflations stats out

Inflation decreased for the third month in a row in June, with the annual consumer price index (CPI) falling to 5.1% after a drop to 5.4% in May, Statistics SA announced today. On line is Dr Jason Musyoka, Post Doctoral fellow, University of Pretoria Guest : Dr Jason Musyoka Position:…

19 Jul 2017 10AM 12 min

10111 in wage dispute

The South African Police Union (SAPU) want 10111 operators to earn the same amount of salary as that of warrant officer by end of 2018. Wage talks have deadlocked and operators are set to go on strike today. On line is Oscar Skommere , General Secretary,SAPU 10111 Guest : Oscar…

19 Jul 2017 10AM 8 min

Palestinians oppose extreme security measures at Al Aqsa

Palestinians performed dawn prayers outside of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound today to show their opposition to new metal detectors installed by Israeli authorities at the mosque's entrances. The new security features are in response to a deadly shooting attack at the holy site on Friday. Meanwhile, Jewish Israelis were again…

19 Jul 2017 8AM 21 min

Human Rights demands inquiry into deaths of Syrians

Human Rights Watch has demanded an independent inquiry into the death of four Syrians who died while in Lebanese army custody and said anyone responsible for wrongdoing should be held to account. On line from Beirut is Bassam Khawa, Researcher, Human Rights Watch, Lebanon and Kuwait. Guest: Bassam Khawa Position:…

18 Jul 2017 11AM 11 min

SACP to go it alone

The resolution taken by the SA Communist Party (SACP), to contest for state power independently is a warning to the ANC that if it does anything stupid, it risks losing one of its alliance partners for good, according to political analyst Ralph Mathekga. He now joins us on line. Guest:…

18 Jul 2017 10AM 9 min

Yemen’s cholera crisis spirals out of control

Health and humanitarian officials say the cholera outbreak in Yemen has infected more than 300,000 people and caused more than 1,700 deaths in the last few months. Security concerns amid a severe shortage of safe drinking water are limiting what can be done to help fight the often-fatal bacterial disease…

13 Jul 2017 11AM 14 min

Maulana Igsaan Hendricks in Istanbul

For the next minutes, we are going to be chatting to Al Quds foundation president Ml Igsaan Hendricks who is in Istanbul for a Palestinian conference. It’s marked as the second one under the establishment of the international union of students and Youth movements. The conference was attended by close…

13 Jul 2017 10AM 7 min

Malusi Gigaba’s 14 point plan to revive economy

Finance minister Malusi Gigaba today released a 14-point economic plan to kickstart growth, amongst them, that the ministry will implement a "private sector participation framework" by March next year. Business and investors have raised concerns over the county's growth, rising government debt and policy uncertainty. The minister is detailing plans…

13 Jul 2017 10AM 7 min

Gaza plunged into darkness as power plant turned off

The Gaza Strip's only operating power plant was turned off late yesterday due to a severe shortage of fuel, leaving the coastal enclave in a complete blackout. The Gaza Strip, with more than two million people, has been suffering from an energy crisis since mid-April due to a dispute over…

12 Jul 2017 10PM 5 min

‘At Any Cost - The Civilian Catastrophe in West Mosul, Iraq’

You’ll recall that last week, we chatted to the Iraqi ambassador about the situation in Mosul and yesterday, Amnesty International released its latest report, stating that the tactics used by Iraqi forces and their U.S.-led coalition allies in the battle for Mosul violated international humanitarian law and might amount to…

12 Jul 2017 11AM 19 min

How power has shifted away from Zuma inside the ANC

Following the last of the media briefings yesterday on the outcomes of the ANC’s policy conference, there is still much to dissect in terms of analysis. Last week’s conference was ostensibly to decide policy issues, but it became apparent that policy subjects were a mechanism by means of which the…

12 Jul 2017 10AM 7 min

Lessons from the Bell Pottinger scandal

Now a name that has gotten South Africans hot under the collar this week is Bell Pottinger, the disgraced UK public relations firm who ran the Guptas PR campaign. As has been revealed recently, Bell Pottinger has been driving the narrative about “white monopoly capital” on social media, doing more…

12 Jul 2017 10AM 8 min