The Burning Platform — Various
Various people in the know tell us the truth about what’s going on in South African politics. Fired up by Nando's.
21
JAN
End of an American Era
If a mere seven more MPs had voted with Prime Minister JBM Hertzog in favour of neutrality, South Africa's history would have been quite different. Will we see more war under the administration of US President Joe Biden?
14
JAN
Biden Our Time with Vaccines
Grave concern in Mozambique, where the impotence of the African Union is compounded by crushing poverty and the actions of Muslim fundamentalists, who are converting vulnerable civilians at the end of a barrel. The team discusses the potential for corruption around the Covid vaccine process in South Africa, and how citizens might end up overpaying, while many may not even get vaccinated. And finally, what will the Biden regime mean for Africa?
07
JAN
Don't PANDA to Big Pharma
Nick Hudson, co-founder of Pandemics Data and Analytics (PANDA) joins the Burning Platform to discuss what the data suggests about the effectiveness of lockdowns on a cost-to-benefit ratio. There’s a discussion around the media’s role in stoking pandemic panic, before moving on to the subject of a vaccine - its viability given a rapid public uptake after an equally rapid turnaround, and Big Pharma’s push to get a solution to market without it first being peer reviewed.
17
DEC
2020
Second wave and the Garden Route
As South Africa prepares for the Covid 'second wave', the ruling party has elected to limit access to beaches, potentially crippling the tourism industry. How long will the Garden Route take to recover economically from the current lockdown, and were there any options that would have limited the spread of Covid-19 without shutting down the economy? The team gives us their reasons to be optimistic for 2021.
10
DEC
2020
Matrics are all the Covid Rage
As the South African government clamps down on high school students and their celebrations after finishing school, how should we view the admonishment of these gatherings and them being labelled Covid-19 'superspreader' events? The National Pharmaceutical Agency is being floated again - red flag or good news?
03
DEC
2020
Unions and broken State apparatus
If you are building an organisation which is in public service, should you have to reveal all your funding sources? We have seen the erosion of State institutions over the past 20 years - can the poor survive without functional state apparatus? Is the relationship between unions and the ANC surreptitious? Do South Africans have a viable alternative political party to vote for?
26
NOV
2020
Cyril, Activism and Bumbling Corruption
Is the notion of 16 Days of Activism purely performative, or are South African authorities actually serious about quashing this social ill? How important is it for people to know who pays for a newspaper organisation to be in business? Is Cyril Ramaphosa losing the trust of South Africans across the board? Julius Malema has been exposed for lying about vile abuse - what is the apt punishment for this? Corruption must be high level and sophisticated, or you shouldn't do it... the ANC is being exposed for having no price point for their deals with the devil.
19
NOV
2020
The PIC is on the table
Is there collusion between the ANC and the corporate world, and should this concern South Africans moving forward? The IRR and SA citizens have been misled by South African banks, which is being revealed as conversations between government and the big banks spill into the public domain. Our government is out of money... what is left for them to extract from the public coffers? Is the Zondo Commission just a perception management exercise? Are there correlations between South Africa's and Venezuela's economic declines - and should we be observing them closely to avoid the same dreadful fate?
12
NOV
2020
Identity Politics and Opposition Dilution
Helen Zille joins the Burning Platform this week to discuss Cyril Ramaphosa's address to South Africa coming out of the global pandemic. The by-election results for the DA were mixed... what was the reason for the strategy adopted for this election period? Is the presence of a multitude of small parties good for democratic stability? Is South Africa being racially divided by political parties for their own ends? Could the Cape secede from South Africa without civil war? Are identity politics the move of the moment, and is this political environment sustainable for South Africa to flourish?
05
NOV
2020
US Election: Reality Show of the Year
How is it that in 2020 the US Election can still be shrouded in this much controversy when it comes to vote counting? Is the Democrat voter base reactionary and lazy? Is the USA falling apart, as they seem to be divided right down the middle as a country? Is the media to blame for so-called bad polling? Have the ANC stolen all the money, or are they coming for your retirement fund as well? The Zondo Commission has become a circus and we now need answers... is this just another time waster or is progress being made? Is South Africa finally falling over the fiscal cliff as a country?
29
OCT
2020
Debt and Taxes
Why did Tito go off script during his Medium Term Budget Speech? Were his comments about Tygerberg Hospital unethical, and how much power does he have in reality? Is SAA a distraction, or simply a failing SOE? It's important to keep an eye on the Zondo Commission so you are better informed for elections. How do we deal with debt and taxes? And the team takes bets on who will win the US election.
22
OCT
2020
Laptops and Oval Office nightmares
For the umpteenth time, South Africans are having to hear the term "economic restructuring" as part of the recovery plan for the country's economy from the ANC-led government. Are we to trust Cyril Ramaphosa to lead us to the promised land, or should we be sceptical as citizens? Hunter Biden has possibly derailed his father's Presidential campaign... how will this go with only two weeks remaining until the US election?
