The reality of KZN’s FMD outbreak. Plus: Tony Leon on next DA leader

Loading player...
KwaZulu-Natal has emerged as the epicentre of the current devastating outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) among cattle, with farmers, desperate for the new locally made vaccine, resorting to the worst to protect their livelihoods. We get a sense of the situation on farms with our roaming KZN reporter, Sakhiseni Nxumalo, who tells us farmers are shooting their infected livestock. Meanwhile, former DA leader Tony Leon offers John Steenhuisen’s eventual successor some strong pointers, and any guesses who his money is on? Finally, we tune in for our regular segments; On This Day in SA History and the ever-challenging Rauby’s Pointless Braai Quiz. Comment below and send our host, broadcast journalist Graeme Raubenheimer, a voice note: 072 562 3179. To advertise: thelead@24.com. Full editions drop Monday through Thursday at 19:00 on Spotify, Apple and YouTube. The show is fully produced, presented and edited by Raubenheimer and quality-checked by Simon Sonnekus.
Chapters
  • 00:01 Graeme's intro
  • 01:42 Crossing to Sakhiseni in KZN
  • 08:30 What about the cultural impact?
  • 15:57 Tony Leon with tips for next DA leader
  • 27:47 Tony's backing who?
  • 30:49 On This Day in SA History / Rauby's Pointless Braai Quiz
11 Feb English South Africa News · Society & Culture

Other recent episodes

Johannesburg Water strike called off but supply crisis deepens

We begin this late Tuesday edition of The Lead with breaking news: Johannesburg Water says an unprotected strike by some of its staff has been called off, following discussions with municipal union SAMWU. Note, please, that the rest of this show was compiled before this development. Meanwhile, the blame for the…
10 Feb 22 min

Red tender flags, yet PP clears Gauteng in Mashatile sons’ deal

They scored big contracts with the Gauteng government. And, according to News24 investigations, the Public Protector’s about to clear the province’s Infrastructure Development Department of any alleged wrongdoing in awarding these tenders to companies linked to the sons of Deputy President Paul Mashatile.But journalist Kyle Cowan fears that this Chapter Nine…
9 Feb 22 min

Here we AGOA again, but no silver bullet for US-SA trade

The Trump administration has now signed off on a new AGOA deal, allowing South Africa duty-free access to the US market. But do not celebrate too quickly, warns our seasoned business journo, Jan Cronje. Those pesky 30% Liberation Day tariffs remain, and our trade delegation’s yet to strike any new overriding…
5 Feb 22 min

Who succeeds Steenhuisen? With Pieter du Toit and Velani Ludidi

In an about-turn, John Steenhuisen has decided to bow out as DA leader. It’s left the party’s upcoming elective congress all the more intriguing. We take stock of Steenhuisen’s tenure with News24 investigations editor Pieter du Toit, and assess Steenhuisen’s potential successors with journalist Velani Ludidi, in this special roundtable…
4 Feb 27 min

Witness F’s WhatsApps to Matlala, Sibiya and Mabuza. Plus: Steenhuisen’s done?

They are one of the most critical witnesses yet…In the Madlanga Commission’s view, the implicated police officer known as Witness F was the “go-between” for Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala and General Shadrack Sibiya. The commission, as legal journalist Karyn Maughan reports, is leading Witness F’s sensitive WhatsApp messages that also reveal talk…
3 Feb 20 min