0:01

You're with Mandy Wiener

0:03

on 702. Let's walk the

0:06

talk streaming on the Prime

0:08

Media Plus ad. DSTV Channel

0:10

856. 92.7 and 106 FM.

0:12

Coming up on the show

0:15

today, the A&C caucus leading

0:17

Cape Town flips to the

0:19

DA. cabinet on the new

0:21

US ambassador to South Africa,

0:23

the water minister says we

0:25

don't have a water crisis,

0:27

a statue of Johnny Cleggs

0:29

being unveiled today, and our

0:31

book of the week is

0:34

the uncomfortable truth about South

0:36

Africa's agriculture. All of that

0:38

over the next hour. The

0:40

midday report with Mandy Wiener,

0:42

streaming on the Prime Media

0:44

Plus app, DSTV Channel 856,

0:46

92. And 106 FM. Good

0:48

afternoon, welcome to the Madere Report on

0:50

702 and Cape Talk with me, Mandy

0:52

Wiener. Great to be with you today.

0:55

We will take you to Ekurulene, as

0:57

you heard there in the EWA News

0:59

bulletin from Alpha. There's chaos at the

1:01

State of the City address. We'll try

1:04

and bring you the latest about what's

1:06

happening there involving the ANC and the

1:08

EFF. And sure, if you live in

1:10

Ekurulene, your EMT or blocking the highways,

1:12

your counselors are causing chaos in the

1:15

city hall in the city hall. tough

1:17

for people in Ikuralini. So

1:19

we will bring you the

1:21

latest on that. And then

1:24

there's a statue being unveiled

1:26

of Johnny Clegg today, a

1:28

life-size statue. Who else should

1:30

be getting a statue? And

1:32

Johnny Cleggs, so well-deserved. Who

1:35

else do you think should

1:37

be added to that list

1:39

of people that are receiving

1:41

statues? Send me a WhatsApp

1:43

voice note. 072. 702. 702.567.

1:46

Cape Town because there's also

1:48

been disruption at the Cape Town

1:50

Council meeting today because there was

1:53

an announcement that the ANC caucus

1:55

leader, Benile Majingle, has resigned from

1:57

the ANC to join the DA

2:00

and this was as there was

2:02

about to be a vote of

2:04

no confidence in the speaker. So

2:07

Magingale was due to lead the

2:09

charge for a motion of no

2:12

confidence, again Speaker Felicity purchased of

2:14

the DA today, but things unfolded

2:16

very dramatically. Lindsay Dentinger, EWS reporter

2:19

there for us, Lindsay, what

2:21

happened? Good morning afternoon, Mandy. Well,

2:23

and pretty much as you've explained

2:25

it there, the mayor due to...

2:27

deliver his budget address today by

2:29

proceeding that was an item on

2:31

the agenda for this motion of

2:34

no confidence in the speaker but

2:36

she pointed out that because the

2:38

person who had tabled the motion

2:40

which in this case at the

2:42

time with the agency's opposition leader

2:44

Bernetti Magingo was not present in

2:46

the chamber the motion did not

2:48

proceed in terms of the House

2:50

rules and obviously members from the

2:53

opposition benches. who had all rallied

2:55

behind this motion and were planning

2:57

today to vote in favor of

3:00

Felicity Purchase's removal and didn't want

3:02

to hear about the fact that

3:04

this motion could not proceed and

3:07

they wanted someone else from the

3:09

ANC caucus to put that motion

3:11

forward, Felicity purchase the speaker saying

3:14

that could not happen in terms

3:16

of the House rules and so

3:18

a bit chaotic and preventing the

3:20

mayor from starting his delivery of

3:23

the budget speech. And council proceedings

3:25

had to be adjourned for about

3:27

10 to 50 minutes for things

3:30

to settle down and then to

3:32

work out how they could then

3:34

proceed. But eventually, despite all the

3:37

hecking and the interjections, Mayor Jordan

3:39

Hill Lewis did eventually take to

3:41

the podium and started his budget

3:44

delivery address mandate by actually provoking

3:46

those opposition members even further saying

3:48

it was an unprecedented... standing

3:51

move that we've never yet witnessed

3:53

since the formation of the university

3:55

in 2000 that an opposition leader

3:57

or any leader of a caucus

3:59

in the Cape Town City Council

4:02

would then defect to another party,

4:04

Andy. Lindsay, did we see this

4:06

coming where their rumblings is a

4:08

part of a broader move? What

4:10

happened that we've seen this flip?

4:13

Not quite sure, Mandy, on what

4:15

has led to this. We have

4:17

since seen a resignation, a video

4:19

statement made by Councillor Maginggo, who,

4:22

because he's now resigned, he's seated,

4:24

not only from all structures of

4:26

the ANC in this province, he's

4:28

not automatically now a DA Councillor,

4:31

but I do suspect that is

4:33

going to happen because today the

4:35

DA is saying goodbye to long-standing

4:37

Alderman Patty Chapel, Nora Gross from

4:39

the DA. So they are too

4:42

vacant in the council and I

4:44

think we can expect him to

4:46

take up one of those he's

4:48

pretty soon. But in that resignation

4:51

video he said he was taking

4:53

this decision with a heavy heart

4:55

and but he had to follow

4:57

his conviction to take a different

4:59

path. He mentioned that he was

5:02

designing from all the... structures in

5:04

the ANC here in the province,

5:06

also notably being part of the

5:08

regional electoral team. He said it

5:11

had been a difficult decision for

5:13

him to take and he had

5:15

appreciated all the knowledge that he

5:17

gained as being the opposition leader

5:20

for the ANC in the council

5:22

since 2022 and he was grateful

5:24

to have served the ANC in

5:26

that position and saying also that

5:28

by him detecting this was not

5:31

in rejecting the values and principles

5:33

of the ANC, something quite strange

5:35

to say when one is leaving

5:37

for another party, but he said

5:40

rather that he was recognising that

5:42

he needed to find quote another

5:44

vehicle to serve the nation, Mandy.

5:46

Lizzie Dantlinger, E.W.N. reporter, thank you

5:48

very much for that. We have

5:51

tried to get hold of Bonilla

5:53

Magingo to invite him on to

5:55

the show, but take a listen

5:57

to what the Mayor Jordan Hill

6:00

Lewis posted on social media. show

6:02

media short while ago. the leader

6:04

of the ANC in Cape Town,

6:06

Councillor Banelli Maginko, has just resigned

6:09

his seat and has joined the

6:11

DA. An extraordinary moment. I think

6:13

it's historic. I'm not sure that

6:15

this has ever happened before. And

6:17

I think his resignation letter is

6:20

very, very powerful. And I want

6:22

to read it. He says, of

6:24

the careful consideration, I've come to

6:26

realise that my personal values and

6:29

principles are now more aligned with

6:31

those of the democratic alliance. I'm

6:33

increasingly... with their commitments to deliver

6:35

for poor residents and the unemployed.

6:38

I want to say thank you

6:40

to Councillor Magingo for those words

6:42

and for that integrity and I

6:44

want to speak directly to all

6:46

of the current ANC counselors members

6:49

and indeed most importantly ANC voters.

6:51

In our city, in our country,

6:53

you might be thinking and feeling

6:55

just the same as Councillor Magingo,

6:58

your leader, the ANC's leader here

7:00

in Capetan, his feeling. He has

7:02

joined the DA today. and I

7:04

invite you to do the same.

7:06

He has realized we are building

7:09

the future here, we are building

7:11

a future of opportunity for our

7:13

country and for our city. Please

7:15

join the DA and invite you

7:18

all. Cape Town Mayor Jordan Hill

7:20

Lewis, claiming a victory there, not

7:22

missing out on the opportunity as

7:24

Manila Magingo, resigns from the ANC

7:27

to join the DA. Keith, I

7:29

love it. It's like a man

7:31

united player, defecting to Liverpool without

7:33

compensation. 7.02. The midday report Monday

7:35

to Friday. 12 to 1 p.m.

7:38

Well let's tell you what's happening

7:40

in Kuralini because there's drama there

7:42

too. Alpha Ramashuan, E.W.N. reporter, is

7:44

in Kuralini where the executive mayor

7:47

was due to deliver the state

7:49

of the city address at the

7:51

council chamber in Germaston. Alpha good

7:53

afternoon to you. Talk us through

7:55

what happened earlier today. to

7:58

get it by hand. Alpha, we'll

8:00

try Alpha again for you and

8:02

let you know about that. Alpha,

8:05

we're struggling with your line there.

8:07

I know that you've had some

8:09

difficulty with it. So just see

8:11

if you can maybe move around

8:13

and we'll try again. Alpha. No.

8:15

Okay, so we'll try and get

8:18

Alpha back on another line. You

8:20

heard in the EWR bulletin there

8:22

how there was some chaos this

8:24

morning and the state of the

8:26

city address was disrupted. We'll try

8:28

Alpha again for you and let

8:31

you know about that. And now

8:33

it's back to Mandy Wiener on

8:35

the midday report. This is 702.

8:37

Let's walk the talk. 1219 on

8:39

the midday report, a two-day conference

8:41

underway, the water and sanitation in

8:44

Darber taking place, having a look

8:46

at water security. water security and

8:48

provision as getting underway today. We

8:50

know that many municipalities are dealing

8:52

with water interruptions. Joe Big is

8:54

a prime example of that. The

8:57

president has just finished speaking there.

8:59

We'll bring you some of that.

9:01

The water and sanitation Minister Pemimajodina

9:03

has also said that South Africa

9:05

does not have a water crisis,

9:08

but getting water to South Africans

9:10

is a priority. The deputy minister...

9:12

of water and sanitation. Selo Seclolo

9:14

joining us now, Deputy Minister, good

9:16

afternoon to you. Thank you very

9:18

much for your time. Good afternoon,

9:21

Mindy, and good afternoon to the

9:23

702 listeners, and thank you for

9:25

the opportunity. Pemi Magrodina says we

9:27

do not have a water crisis.

9:29

How would you define it? Well,

9:31

I suppose by and large, if

9:34

you look at the current state

9:36

of our water levels in our

9:38

dams, it certainly does suggest that

9:40

we've received sufficient rainfall to be

9:42

able to have those over 109%

9:44

you know dams that are full,

9:47

either be the vow or other

9:49

dams across across across the country

9:51

in the free state and other

9:53

parts of the country as well.

9:55

The minister's argument and it has

9:57

been our argument over the past

10:00

nine or so months is that

10:02

if we've got full dams It

10:04

doesn't matter how many dams we

10:06

can build, we can quadruple those

10:08

particular dams. At the end of

10:10

the day, if we cannot articulate

10:13

water to households, to businesses, to

10:15

communities, by and large, it means

10:17

that we've not really dealt with

10:19

the issue of the water crisis

10:21

in our country. And that is

10:23

by and large, the separation in

10:26

terms of functions, wherein we are

10:28

responsible for the management of the

10:30

water resource, which obviously makes us

10:32

happy that we've got full dams,

10:34

but that doesn't really do anything

10:37

if the reticulation thereof. is not

10:39

actually taking place largely because of

10:41

a number of issues that I'm

10:43

sure you are aware of at

10:45

a municipal level. Absolutely, and it's

10:47

great to see full dams and

10:50

all that, but the reticulation is

10:52

the problem. So in Joeberg, the

10:54

failing infrastructure, you mentioned the Vol

10:56

Dam, we know that the Vol

10:58

River is incredibly polluted on the

11:00

west grand. We see pollution, we

11:03

see pollution. So how do you

11:05

hope that this today in Daba

11:07

will bring together people to really

11:09

prioritize these issues and... fix them.

11:11

Many, I want to piggyback on

11:13

that issue that you've highlighted of

11:16

water pollution, as you might be

11:18

a way that the two deputy

11:20

ministers have obviously different delegations in

11:22

as far as assisting the executive

11:24

authority that is Minister Pinna Magodina's

11:26

consent. Over the past nine or

11:29

so months, I've had to undertake

11:31

oversight visits across over 20 municipalities,

11:33

eight provinces across the country, to

11:35

really assess the current state of

11:37

our water quality in our dams

11:39

and rivers respectively. The crisis that

11:42

is actually looming in as far

11:44

as the minister's comments are concerned

11:46

around us not being in a

11:48

water crisis, that is largely because

11:50

of what I've indicated are dams

11:52

that are full and so forth

11:55

and so on. But it isn't

11:57

the fullness of the dams actually

11:59

that we should be worried about,

12:01

it is the raw water quality

12:03

of those dams and rivers that

12:06

we should be worried about, that

12:08

is going to lead to a

12:10

crisis where in the potable water

12:12

that needs to be treated. will

12:14

quadruple in number making it extremely

12:16

difficult for communities to be able

12:19

to afford to purchase water in

12:21

the coming in the near future.

12:23

This is largely because of the

12:25

ongoing rosary that is flowing into

12:27

our water courses, whether you talk

12:29

about the Vau River, the Hartis

12:32

Dam, Hana's Priva, Chaske River, and

12:34

all other water resources in the

12:36

country. Currently municipalities in Hao, they

12:38

are discharging on average 1.5 billion

12:40

litres of rosary today into our

12:42

water resources. We may very well

12:45

be stuck with a situation wherein

12:47

we've got gray water in our

12:49

rivers and dams that will cost

12:51

the likes of rainwater, astronomical amounts

12:53

to treat, creating a vicious cycle

12:55

and a failure chain that is

12:58

unsustainable for economic growth and job

13:00

creation in the country. And I

13:02

would believe that in terms of

13:04

talking about water security, that we

13:06

secure first the resource where it

13:08

starts so that the end of

13:11

the value chain, which is the

13:13

portable water that comes out of

13:15

our taps, is also secured. When

13:17

you look at infrastructure in Joburg,

13:19

obviously as you mentioned, it's such

13:21

a big worry in terms of

13:24

water security and the fact that

13:26

we're seeing these these frequent interruptions.

13:28

The president saying that water infrastructure

13:30

build is on the increase. He

13:32

spoke about the fact that 23

13:35

billion ran has been secured for

13:37

seven large water infrastructure projects. But

13:39

is there a sense that again,

13:41

like with power in this situation,

13:43

we've allowed the situation to deteriorate

13:45

to such an extent that it's

13:48

going to be very difficult to

13:50

fix? That is absolutely correct. And

13:52

there's a situation that has been

13:54

ongoing for years. If you look

13:56

at how many municipalities have actually

13:58

reinfenced their water sanitation revenue back

14:01

into the infrastructure of water services,

14:03

rather, that has not really fundamentally

14:05

happened. Now it is up to

14:07

national government and national treasury, beginning

14:09

with the metro municipalities. to look

14:11

at their entities and say, well,

14:14

we're starting now with this particular

14:16

process as National Treasury, where any

14:18

municipalities, or our metros rather, will

14:20

need to be in a position

14:22

where in their institution or their

14:24

entities, such as aerobic water, for

14:27

example, would need to be able

14:29

to take full responsibility and accountability

14:31

of the water resource and in.

14:33

infrastructure so that they may be

14:35

able to then whatever it is

14:37

that they generate from a very

14:40

revenue point of view that is

14:42

a real defense back into the

14:44

water services infrastructure maintenance and operation

14:46

which has largely resulted in the

14:48

current collapse of our infrastructure across

14:50

many municipalities in the country. Deputy

14:53

Minister, thank you so much for

14:55

your time. Deputy Minister of Orton,

14:57

Sanitation, Sélolo, speaking to us there

14:59

about the water and Darber currently

15:01

underway. As I mentioned, the President

15:04

was there. He delivered the keynote

15:06

address a little bit earlier, taking

15:08

listen to what he had to

15:10

say, and the sound is courtesy

15:12

of Newsroom Africa. The National Infrastructure

15:14

Fund has to date secured 23

15:17

billion grand for seven large water

15:19

infrastructure projects. and phase two of

15:21

the Lesotho Highlands water project has

15:23

resumed, as has the work on

15:25

the Umkomasi Dam and the preparations

15:27

are underway for the construction of

15:30

Dabelanga Dam on the Umsinvubu River.

15:32

Now many of these may well

15:34

have delayed for years and years,

15:36

and we regret that. We've been

15:38

talking about a number of these

15:40

projects, like Umsin Vu Boudam, for

15:43

well over 10 years. But we've

15:45

now reached a stage in the

15:47

sixth administration and now in the

15:49

seventh administration, that we are now

15:51

going to push ahead and allocate

15:53

money and serious money. President Trump

15:56

was admitting government is still very

15:58

much way. from achieving a clean

16:00

waterfall. 702. 702. Mandy Wiener. We

16:02

days 12 to 1 p.m. Let's

16:04

go back to Ikura Lady now

16:06

and find out what happened in

16:09

that council sitting earlier. Alpha, Ramashwana,

16:11

E.W.N. reporter back with us. Alpha,

16:13

I hope you can hear me

16:15

or at least I hope we

16:17

you hear you, talk us through

16:19

what happened a bit earlier today.

16:22

Good afternoon, Mandy. Yadi, the mayor

16:24

of Agurani, talked about Gaza, was

16:26

initially scheduled to deliver his state

16:28

of the city at Chase at

16:30

exactly 10 o'clock. And he was

16:33

ready on the podium at exactly

16:35

turn o'clock to deliver the state

16:37

of the city at Chase. But

16:39

just as he was giving his

16:41

opening remarks, he was disrupted by

16:43

EFS counselors who began raising Clark

16:46

hearts within the inside the council

16:48

chambers. And the pluckers were speaking

16:50

about poor service delivery. They were

16:52

speaking about potholes, water issues, electricity

16:54

issues, which then disrupted the council

16:56

meeting because the ANC council has

16:59

then started questioning why the EFS

17:01

would wait until the mayor takes

17:03

to the podium to raise their

17:05

frustrations with the state of the

17:07

city of Ecuador. But I think

17:09

it's quite interesting that the EFS

17:12

would choose to, you know, protest

17:14

inside the council chain with using

17:16

plark cards. protesting against post-service delivery,

17:18

knowing very well that they are

17:20

also part of the government in

17:22

the city of Ecuador, and you

17:25

would know that the mayoral committee

17:27

in the city of Italy is

17:29

occupied by two political parties, the

17:31

EFS and the ANC, so they

17:33

are coalition partners in the city,

17:35

meaning the program of service delivery

17:38

is the responsibility of both political

17:40

parties in the city and the

17:42

EFF started the day with Clarkard,

17:44

questioning... reason concerns about the state

17:46

of service delivery in the city

17:48

of El Boulier. Now, some agency

17:51

council has then decided to take

17:53

matters into their own hands, trying

17:55

to physically grab those plarkas out

17:57

of the EFS council's hands. And

17:59

of course, that created another scuffle

18:02

in this council with both political

18:04

parties pushing each other in council

18:06

and disrupted the council meeting. Now

18:08

the council, we've had to ask.

18:10

the speaker to adjourn the council

18:12

sitting for a few minutes so

18:15

that they can go and engage

18:17

outside of council chambers and discuss.

18:19

a way forward. The mayor has

18:21

started speaking now and he is

18:23

delivering his date off the city

18:25

address, but I think it's important

18:28

to highlight that this is not

18:30

the first time that a council

18:32

meeting is disrupted. I think last

18:34

year I was covering this very

18:36

same council meeting where the mayor's

18:38

phone was stolen, the former mayor,

18:41

you know, got one, was stolen,

18:43

his phone has stolen actually during...

18:45

I forgot about it, yes. Between

18:47

ANC and ESF counties, literally as

18:49

they were fighting physically... We did

18:51

see on video, we posted a

18:54

video on EWM report on Twitter,

18:56

and EFF councilor pocketing the mayor's

18:58

phone. So there's been many of

19:00

these scuffles in this council before,

19:02

it's not a surprise, it wasn't

19:04

a surprise to the councilors themselves.

19:07

So I'm busy watching the video

19:09

that you posted this morning of

19:11

that scuffle where it gets quite

19:13

physical between the EFF and the

19:15

ANC. And it reminds me of

19:17

what Julius Malema said on the

19:20

eve of the first sitting of

19:22

the National Assembly on the 13th

19:24

of June last year when he

19:26

said that the EFF is going

19:28

to be more responsible in legislatures

19:31

and parliaments and they are going

19:33

to play an oversight role. This

19:35

is not it. Yeah, I mean,

19:37

I also covered just after the

19:39

May 29th elections last year, where

19:41

the EFS realized that they did

19:44

not perform as they expected, the

19:46

first media briefing that the EFS

19:48

held at the National Results Operations

19:50

Center, Julius Malema, said, you are

19:52

not going to see us anymore

19:54

in Parliament disrupting proceedings. One would

19:57

assume that such an order, such

19:59

an instruction would also be binding

20:01

to city council, to legislature. but

20:03

it seems maybe it was just

20:05

for parliaments and all the other

20:07

you know counselors and council in

20:10

council changes and make these measures

20:12

maybe don't abide by that instruction

20:14

not to be disruptive anymore. Indeed,

20:16

Alpha, thank you very much. Alpha

20:18

Ramashwan, EWN reporter, go check out

20:20

the at EWN reporter handle on

20:23

X if you want to see

20:25

that video. of what happened in

20:27

a corollini earlier. Mandy. On 072,

20:29

702, 1.702. I'm Mandy. Nothing is

20:31

ever a crisis to ANCK doesn't

20:33

or a minister's. I mean, what

20:36

are with another crisis, prison over

20:38

populations, not a crisis, road accidents,

20:40

not a crisis, public transport availability,

20:42

no crisis, poverty, it's not a

20:44

crisis. Nothing to them is a

20:46

crisis, just a small minor challenge.

20:49

Thanks Mindi, Taubo Midland. After Mindi,

20:51

my suggestion on who else should

20:53

be getting a statue, I nominate

20:55

a person like Dr. Kaizamutawu. I

20:57

mean, I can't think of anybody

20:59

that has built a brand from

21:02

seed to where it is today

21:04

and to become one of the

21:06

biggest brands in in South Africa.

21:08

You know, so a person like

21:10

Dr. Kazamutawoon deserves a statue while

21:13

he's still alive. Fabulous recommendation. Thank

21:15

you very much for that. I

21:17

did ask a question in light

21:19

of the fact that there's a

21:21

statue of Johnny Clegg being unveiled

21:23

in Cape Town today, which other

21:26

South African you believe should get

21:28

a statue. Thank you very much

21:30

for that. Post cabinet briefing underway

21:32

today, Kubuzzo Intuveni, the minister and

21:34

the presidency, leading that for us,

21:36

speaking about a variety of issues.

21:39

Bubalo and Denze, EWN reporter, is

21:41

following that story for us. Bubalo,

21:43

good afternoon to you, what has

21:45

cabinet been discussing? Yes indeed good

21:47

afternoon Mandy post cabinet briefing led

21:49

by Minister Shabene this morning I

21:52

followed yesterday's meeting of cabinet and

21:54

touched a number of issues you

21:56

know focusing on you know the

21:58

resilience of the economy I'm starting

22:00

with the economy and how you

22:02

know the public sector should also

22:05

try increasing investment in the country

22:07

and noting some investments by companies

22:09

like Google I'm also touching on

22:11

energy security and the strength thing

22:13

of the grid, cabinet welcoming, this

22:15

additional 800 megawatts from Guzile power

22:18

station in Buma Lange, also, you

22:20

know, touching, you know, quite briefly

22:22

on the quarterly employment statistics, noting

22:24

a slight improvement in some sectors,

22:26

including transportation and logistics, and also

22:28

welcoming this withdrawal of the banning

22:31

of the sale of cannabis food

22:33

products that are on sale at

22:35

various dispensaries and other outlets in

22:37

the country, saying such regulations. She

22:39

welcomes, cabinet welcomes the withdrawal saying

22:42

such regulations must not go against

22:44

the constitutional courts ruling from last

22:46

year on personal use and welcoming

22:48

the minister's decision now to retract

22:50

those regulations that are contained in

22:52

the Food Stuff Act. Also a

22:55

free forum mandate continuing to be

22:57

at dawn on the side of

22:59

cabinets also discussed during yesterday's meeting

23:01

cabinet noting with concern. you know

23:03

the continued misinformation campaigns by solidarity

23:05

and every forum and their allies

23:08

and Charlie adding that you know

23:10

law enforcement agencies are also investigating

23:12

any violations of South African laws

23:14

and she says you know to

23:16

prevent further misinformation that the police

23:18

met with every forum you know

23:21

quite recently to clarify allegations of

23:23

white genocide with a reference to

23:25

form murder specifically and she says

23:27

at that meeting every forum conceded

23:29

that crime statistics that are released

23:31

quarterly now quite regularly by the

23:34

Minister of Police are accurate including

23:36

on issues around farm murders you

23:38

know noting that you know farm

23:40

murders are committed by people that

23:42

are known to the farm victims

23:44

including family members and there's no

23:47

concerted effort you know by criminals

23:49

to target farmers specifically also saying

23:51

that cabinet is a way of

23:53

a forced claim she says that

23:55

the approximately 72,000 wide farmers who

23:57

have signed up to relocate to

24:00

the US in response to that

24:02

invitation by the president saying that

24:04

saying there are only 41,000 forming

24:06

units in the country and therefore

24:08

for the country's 72,000 commercial white

24:11

farmers that are. And she says

24:13

that the figure is clearly a

24:15

false claim, Mandy. Babalo, thank you

24:17

so much. Babalo and Denz, E.W.

24:19

and reporter, attending their post-cabinet briefing,

24:21

the Minister and the President, Yjuboto

24:24

and Cheveni, also speaking about the

24:26

credentials of Leo Brent Bozel, the

24:28

third as US Ambassador, take it

24:30

us in. Let's start on the

24:32

question of the US ambassador. The

24:34

US is a sovereign state, so

24:37

they have the right to choose

24:39

their own ambassador. They don't have

24:41

to consult with us. OAS is

24:43

when we receive the credentials to

24:45

consider the credentials and decide whether

24:47

to accept and not accept them.

24:50

And that is not a cabinet

24:52

discussion, is the responsibility of the

24:54

Department of International Relations and Co-operations.

24:56

Well, speaking of the Department of

24:58

International Relations, a meeting underway today

25:00

in Pretoria between the Minister of

25:03

International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald LaMola,

25:05

and his counterpart from the DRC,

25:07

Teresa Wagner, who is the Minister

25:09

of Foreign Affairs for the DRC,

25:11

so they've been speaking about bilateral

25:13

cooperation between the two, of course,

25:16

the situation in the Eastern DRC,

25:18

and big focus because of South

25:20

Africa. involvement there as a peacekeeper.

25:22

So they are having a briefing

25:24

at the moment that is currently

25:26

taking place. I'm just watching it

25:29

now on television, comments being made

25:31

by both Ronald LaMola and his

25:33

counterpart from the DRC. 7.02. Mandy

25:35

Wiener. Week days 12 to 1

25:37

p.m. Well, let's take a look

25:40

at the courts now. Various court

25:42

stories that we are following for

25:44

you, of course, the Johnson Smith

25:46

matter that is currently underway, and

25:48

that perpetual case that tends to

25:50

consume our courts involving former President

25:53

Jacob Zuma. Lawyers for the state

25:55

attorney say that Zuma's attempts to...

25:57

Undermine court rulings that order to

25:59

recover 28.9 million rent in taxpayer-funded

26:01

corruption trial legal costs from the

26:03

former president are desperate and a

26:06

complete waste of time. The state

26:08

attorney and the presidency's multi-million-round claim

26:10

against Zuma has its roots in

26:12

in the failed attempt to insist

26:14

he was entitled to state funding

26:16

of his defense costs. So let's

26:19

understand this now with Karen Mourn,

26:21

news 24 legal journalists. Karen, good

26:23

afternoon to you. Thanks very much

26:25

for your time. We know that

26:27

the state attorney and the presidency

26:29

last year launched litigation against Zuma.

26:32

They want to recover. over 28

26:34

million in taxpayer funded corruption. What

26:36

are they saying about this and

26:38

what are the latest developments? Well,

26:40

essentially, Mandy, what happened was that

26:42

there was a first judgment in

26:45

2018 by a full bench of

26:47

the Pretoria High Court, which was

26:49

then endorsed in 2021 by the

26:51

SCA, and it ordered the state

26:53

attorney to take, quote, take all

26:55

reasonable steps, unquote, to recover that

26:58

money. And this claim that was

27:00

launched by the state comes after

27:02

it essentially sent a letter to

27:04

Jacob's human and said, look, this

27:06

is what you owe, can you

27:09

pay it? And he, of course,

27:11

refused. And what has now happened

27:13

is that despite the fact that

27:15

the courts have substantially found that

27:17

he was not entitled to taxpayer

27:19

funding of his corruption trial legal

27:22

costs, that this was a complete

27:24

abuse of the state attorney's act

27:26

and needed to be rectified by

27:28

him repaying that money. Jacob Zuma

27:30

is doing what he is well

27:32

known for doing and is actually

27:35

trying to re-litigate cases that have

27:37

already been decided against him. This

27:39

process here was really an opportunity

27:41

for Jacob Zuma to question the

27:43

invoices to say I don't agree

27:45

with the numerous bulls that have

27:48

been put forward by the state

27:50

attorney to as substantive evidence of

27:52

its claim. He has not done

27:54

that and is essentially trying to,

27:56

as the state attorney and the

27:58

presidency's lawyers point out, trying to

28:01

re- litigate cases that he has

28:03

already lost. Karen is it a

28:05

realistic prospect for the state to

28:07

actually recover this 28.9 million grand

28:09

in taxpayers money that was spent

28:11

on defending Jacob's humor? Well what

28:14

they can do and they've done

28:16

this I think they attempted this

28:18

in the butte billet Lamini matter

28:20

and I think they may have

28:22

done it was they can attach

28:24

his pension. He receives I think

28:27

you know quite a substantial amount

28:29

of the form of president. of

28:31

South Africa that is an option

28:33

open to them and of course

28:35

they could also attempt to to

28:38

make for take for reaching steps

28:40

and by attaching assets or property

28:42

that he owns but the pension

28:44

of course I think would be

28:46

the most profound of all of

28:48

those. and you know in order

28:51

for them to be able to

28:53

do that they need a court

28:55

order and that's what they're attempting

28:57

to obtain in the high court

28:59

and they're essentially saying that Jacob

29:01

Zima has offered no substantive defense

29:04

at all to that application that

29:06

they're bringing and the court should

29:08

grant it and they will then

29:10

of course be empowered to attach

29:12

his property. Karen, thank you so

29:14

much. Karen Moore News 24 legal

29:17

journalists explaining the latest situation around

29:19

their 28.9 million grand of your

29:21

and my money has gone to

29:23

defending Jacob Zuma, the presidency, trying

29:25

to recover that money now. Not

29:27

sure they're going to be particularly

29:30

successful. Hi Mandy, I hope you

29:32

well, I just want to say

29:34

I enjoy the show and I

29:36

think we are actually talking scenes

29:38

in terms of this entire conversation.

29:40

So I'm part of a group

29:43

that runs a water company and

29:45

we provide water to rural areas

29:47

and communities etc. But I think

29:49

these are the type of challenges

29:51

we should be focusing on. Instead

29:53

of spending hours and days contemplating

29:56

why are we going to name

29:58

a street like St. and drive?

30:00

Let's rather focus on challenges that

30:02

the solutions we bring will make

30:04

a big impact and a big

30:07

difference compared to renaming a street.

30:09

Good day, good day Mindy. And

30:11

to your team in the studio.

30:13

I think in my comment, when

30:15

what you'll just say now. about

30:17

these interruptions of the EFF. And

30:20

I think now it's about time

30:22

as voters, man, we must take

30:24

a responsibility when we vote, because

30:26

we can't tolerate this issue of

30:28

every time when there's a meeting,

30:30

EFF, it's interrupting these meetings, I

30:33

think it's about time now, man.

30:35

Thank you mainly, this total cheer.

30:37

Thank you very much. I referenced

30:39

what's happening in Ikurulani in terms

30:41

of those disruptions. And as I

30:43

said after the elections last year

30:46

Julius Malema said there would be

30:48

more responsible, more adults when it

30:50

come to disruptions and that's clearly

30:52

not happening. On the WhatsApp line

30:54

Mandy how about Afylfugod if ever

30:56

a South African deserves to be

30:59

remembered for enriching our country across

31:01

so many sectors. It's him, suggestions

31:03

for a statue to a market

31:05

theatre and... and then name Santa

31:07

Drive Johnny Clegg Boulevard, someone we

31:09

love and can relate to. Thank

31:12

you very much for those WhatsApp

31:14

messages. 702 and Cape Talk, Book

31:16

of the Week. It's a Thursday

31:18

and on Thursdays in the Midderaport

31:20

we speak to the author of

31:22

a local non-fiction book. Today is

31:25

somebody you've heard us speak to

31:27

before. Juan D'élès Elobo, the agricultural

31:29

economist and co-author, along with Johan

31:31

Kirsten, of the uncomfortable truth about

31:33

South Africa's agriculture. It is hard

31:36

hitting, it's honest and that's the

31:38

intention of this book and the

31:40

tone in which it is written.

31:42

It hopes to stir up South

31:44

Africa. Africa's agriculture stakeholders. from inertia

31:46

that has taken hold over time,

31:49

particularly around policy discussions and what

31:51

is being done. As they say,

31:53

while politicians and farmer representatives debate,

31:55

farmers suffer the unemployed language and

31:57

small towns crumble. Juan Dile, Secrobo,

31:59

joining me now. Hey, Juan Dile,

32:02

last time we spoke on the

32:04

Madere report, I erroneously gave you

32:06

a doctorate. So today I'll get

32:08

it right. Yes, thanks Mindy Ann.

32:10

Thanks for inviting me for the

32:12

segment. I appreciate this. The truth

32:15

is, the number of books you've

32:17

written, you should have a doctorate

32:19

by now anyway. We should just

32:21

count this as a thesis. So

32:23

thank you very much. In this

32:25

book, you speak about... Enoch and

32:28

Ronald and you use them as

32:30

your two farmers with their personal

32:32

experiences and personalize it. And your

32:34

intention is to really explain what

32:36

this inertia, as I mentioned, around

32:38

things like policy discussions, what that

32:41

practical impact is on South Africa's

32:43

farmers. Yeah, and the intention here,

32:45

Mindy, is really this. We have

32:47

this sector here that has all

32:49

of this potential. to grow and

32:51

assist us in resolving the triple

32:54

challenges of South Africa which is

32:56

unemployment, poverty as well as low

32:58

growth. And for a longest period

33:00

we've always put the blame on

33:02

the one side of saying the

33:05

government is not doing ABC and

33:07

of course the government has many

33:09

failings on its part but also

33:11

within the organized agriculture and the

33:13

private sector there are other things

33:15

that we see a lot of

33:18

failings on. And then our intention

33:20

now this time on the book

33:22

was saying, look, we have been

33:24

writing for many years about how

33:26

to grow the South African agricultural

33:28

economy. And perhaps now it is

33:31

time we become a bit more

33:33

direct and of course utilizing case.

33:35

of all of those farmers that

33:37

you are mentioning in our farms

33:39

just outside Kanavan in the Northern

33:41

Cape. Someone that we visited and

33:44

the farms in a government owned

33:46

land which you will call plus

33:48

farms which is a proactive land

33:50

acquisition strategy. He lists that land

33:52

from the government and one of

33:54

the key things that the reader

33:57

encounters is they and to read

33:59

the book is that these government

34:01

farms they have challenges not only

34:03

the fact that farmers do not

34:05

have collateral there. But the fact

34:07

that whenever you have to make

34:10

any adjustments, either you are fixing

34:12

a house or you are fixing

34:14

the fences, there's a whole bureaucracy

34:16

side at which the farmer had

34:18

to apply to get permission to

34:20

do all of these things. But

34:23

also even on a bigger policy

34:25

themes, let's say the agriculture must

34:27

have planned other things that the

34:29

government would put on a table.

34:31

The fragmentation of farmer associations also

34:34

draws us to this idea where

34:36

we end up in agriculture only

34:38

involved in meetings and discussions. and

34:40

never really adopting and saying, okay,

34:42

these are the plans proposed, we

34:44

don't agree in 60% of these,

34:47

but we do have 40% of

34:49

things that we agree on, let's

34:51

get on and do that, and

34:53

then we'll revisit what we don't

34:55

agree with at a later stage.

34:57

And I think we get a

35:00

satisfaction whenever we finish a plan,

35:02

as if publishing a document is

35:04

the achievement of work, but actual

35:06

work starts through implementation. And I

35:08

think the book maps up then

35:10

about how do you arrive at

35:13

such a level. I love, love,

35:15

love that you go out and

35:17

actually get your boots dirty and

35:19

speak to farmers. You both academics,

35:21

but you also have, and you

35:23

bring into the book that personal

35:26

experience, but you speak about how

35:28

the tone of the book is

35:30

deliberately candid, how it's direct, how

35:32

it's unfiltered. What was your intention

35:34

with doing that? I mean, I

35:36

hope that farmers won't have their

35:39

shotguns out when you put up

35:41

in your highlights the next time

35:43

around. I think the short, the

35:45

intention of that maybe is like,

35:47

I mean, it's not out of.

35:49

regard and perhaps maybe not not

35:52

reflecting deeply on what the government

35:54

official and some of the farmers

35:56

but I think it was about

35:58

having that frank conversation because ultimately

36:00

we are all sitting we see

36:02

the ros of African towns crumbling

36:05

we see good ideas ending up

36:07

in in papers but the key

36:09

thing now is to say can

36:11

we be more straightforward and direct

36:13

so that we can get everyone

36:16

at least a little bit more

36:18

uncomfortable and perhaps maybe encouraged to

36:20

do something because we're not only

36:22

direct but we are also direct

36:24

in outlining what needs to be

36:26

done it's no time to be

36:29

trying to come up with the

36:31

fancy theories and all of these

36:33

things but really to map up

36:35

the basics of how to unlock

36:37

the rural economy what do you

36:39

do on land What do you

36:42

do with animal diseases? What do

36:44

you do with municipalities? And also

36:46

even on the trade side and

36:48

the suck who are themes in

36:50

this trade in the region. So

36:52

these are some of the teams

36:55

that we're really going through with

36:57

my co-author, Professor Yuan Kirsten, as

36:59

we are thinking through and working

37:01

on this book. You look at

37:03

policy decisions, you speak about farmer

37:05

organizations, politics, deception. The agriculture sector

37:08

is front and center of the

37:10

G&U government, given that John Stienhazen

37:12

is the Minister of Agriculture. The

37:14

Appropriation Act has been central to

37:16

America, South Africa relations. There's a

37:18

lot of politics going on in

37:21

the sector. Isn't it a worry

37:23

for you that we get distracted

37:25

by all of the politics and

37:27

don't focus on the things that

37:29

you outline in the book? This

37:32

is the one of the things

37:34

that, which I think the book,

37:36

perhaps maybe we are lucky, it

37:38

questions about the same thing that

37:40

we are having now. Many since

37:42

the start of this year, we

37:45

spent more time discussing international relations

37:47

matters, rightly so, but not all

37:49

of us should be engaged on

37:51

those things because there are few

37:53

people that can make meaningful contribution

37:55

on that about what to do

37:57

for the country. there we've almost

37:59

divorced ourselves from addressing the basics

38:01

the roads the railway lines of

38:03

course ports transit and the others

38:05

are doing some work there but

38:07

the point is that we need

38:09

them to deal with the basics

38:12

and of course then the book

38:14

also comes as you rightly put

38:16

it on under the theme of

38:18

the expropriation we did not address

38:20

the expropriation act issue in the

38:22

book because it's a new thing

38:24

that came in in December when

38:26

we have completed that but I

38:28

think the most important thing is

38:30

again What the book highlights is

38:32

that this is a sector that

38:34

is thriving. The reason agriculture is

38:36

at the top and mind within

38:39

even the G&U is because of

38:41

the economic benefits that it has

38:43

brought for the country. It has

38:45

more than doubled in value and

38:47

in volume terms. We have more

38:49

than 1.3 million South Africans working

38:51

in primary and value chain. 950

38:53

people in a primary agriculture, the

38:55

rest in a value chain. But

38:57

the sector is not at capacity.

38:59

it could still grow by plus

39:01

30% more employment could come into

39:03

the sector. But the other aspect

39:06

the book touches on is some

39:08

of the land that is also

39:10

sitting in the government hands at

39:12

over 2.5 million hectares. And I

39:14

think if South Africans want to

39:16

picture how big 2.5 million South

39:18

Africans, they should consider what we

39:20

currently plant for all grains and

39:22

all seeds in summer rainfall in

39:24

South Africa. We plant those at

39:26

about 4.5 million hectares. If then

39:28

the state between 2006 and the

39:30

end of last year bought 2.5

39:33

million hectares it's almost over half

39:35

of that and that land is

39:37

almost as if we've bought it

39:39

in the open market as South

39:41

Africa and thereafter taken it out

39:43

and retired it and this is

39:45

the part then where I think

39:47

allocating it with title bids and

39:49

proper support and financing and trainings

39:51

to black farmers for the benefit

39:53

of the commercial production begins to

39:55

address even the low contribution of

39:57

black farmers at commercial agriculture, which

40:00

as we speak in total. it

40:02

averages at around about 10% and

40:04

yes Monday the sector is driving

40:06

it's not under siege as some

40:08

presidents have alluded to that and

40:10

I think even there when you

40:12

speak to actual farmers they will

40:14

testify to that that they are

40:16

as confused about some of the

40:18

contemporary discussions. Wandila, as always, thank

40:20

you so much and thank you

40:23

for another excellent book, Wandila Sejubo,

40:25

is the co-author of The Uncomfortable

40:27

Truth about South Africa's agriculture. He's

40:29

written that book along with Johan

40:32

Kirsten, and as he's mentioned, this

40:34

is not the first book that

40:36

they have written. There are several

40:39

other books that have been written

40:41

by them in terms of the

40:43

agriculture situation in the country, a

40:45

country of two agriculture, a compendium.

40:48

of essays on land reform in

40:50

South Africa. And if you want

40:52

to understand the land question in

40:55

South Africa, please read Wanda Lisa

40:57

Global's books and where we are

40:59

in terms of the agricultural development

41:01

in the country and what needs

41:04

to happen in terms of decisive

41:06

policy and a program of implementation

41:08

so that we see stronger collaboration

41:11

among social partners. The midday report.

41:13

Well thank you very much for joining

41:15

us.