Early Breakfast with Africa Melane

Your early morning chat - traffic - news fix delivered in a relaxed manner. weekdays from 4 am to 6 am.

Episodes in this series

Cape Town and Charlotte Maxeke fire reveal the appalling state of SA's fire services

22 April 2021 | 5 Minute Listen

Guest: Stephen Faulkner, Acting general secretary of Democratic Municipal Allied Workers union of SA Cape Town and Charlotte Maxeke fire, these two headline-grabbing fires hide a shocking truth. A truth that firefighters and their unions have been trying to get into the public arena for years: that the fire services in almost every part of the country are in a deep crisis, and no more so than in our large urban areas.

IEC explains what happens next following the announcement of the local government election date

22 April 2021 | 11 Minute Listen

Guest: Masego Sheburi | Deputy Chief Electoral Officer: Electoral Matters at Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) Political parties went head-to-head in 15 by-elections across the country on Wednesday. Elections were held in the Western Cape, the Eastern Cape, Kwa-Zulu Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, the North West and the Northern Cape. Masego Sheburi, Deputy Chief Electoral Officer: Electoral Matters at the IEC. joins Early Breakfast again to talk about yesterday's proceedings.

Health: Why over 60s should be getting the flu vaccine before the covid jab

22 April 2021 | 7 Minute Listen

Guest: Dr Angelique Coetzee | Chairperson at South African Medical Association Because of the Covid-19 pandemic, reducing the spread of respiratory illnesses like flu this fall and winter is more important than ever. Flu vaccination is especially important for adults 65 years and older, who account for most hospitalizations and deaths from flu and from Covid-19. Dr Angelique Coetzee, Chairperson at the South African Medical Association, talks about why over 60s year olds need to get the flu vaccine before the covid vaccine.

Fitness with Liezel van der Westhuizen: TikToks centre of gravity challenge

22 April 2021 | 8 Minute Listen

Guest: Liezel van der Westhuizen A fun game to test out balance, has brought Professors, astronauts, and even TikTok contributors together. Our resident Fitness Enthusiast Liezel van der Westhuizen, finds out what the "Center of Gravity" TikTok challenge is all about, and the safe way you can quickly try it at home.

Amazon to set up South African headquarters in Cape Town

21 April 2021 | 8 Minute Listen

Guest: Alderman James Vos | Mayoral Committee Member for Economic Opprtunities and Asset Management at City of Cape Town The City of Cape Town has greenlit the R4 billion River Club mixed-use development, which will be the new home of retail giant Amazon in Africa. Almost 60,000 sqm will be used as office space, with Amazon as the anchor tenant. Mixed-use space for retailers, a 200-room hotel, gym, restaurants, and conference facilities will also form part of the development. It is envisaged that 5,239 jobs will be created in the construction phase alone. The project will also create up to 19,000 indirect and induced jobs, it said.

Is a 20-year long contract for floating powerships really necessary?

21 April 2021 | 10 Minute Listen

Guest: Hilton Trollip | Fellow at UCT Global Risk Governance Programme The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy is defending using a 20-year power purchase agreements offered to companies to ease the country's electricity supply constraints. Hilton Trollip, research fellow in the Global Risk Governance Programme at UCT argues that powerships in particular could provide good value if leased for three years, in which time SA could construct permanent onshore gas turbines

Finance: Weighing up a car loan vs a home loan?

21 April 2021 | 6 Minute Listen

Guest: Gerald Mwandiambira | Financial Planning Professional, Entrepreneur and Author Public transport is pretty unreliable. With that many South Africans choose to purchase their own vehicle. Rather than opting for an affordable option, many choose to take on vehicle finance to afford the purchase. Instead of investing in an asset that depreciates consumers are increasingly weighing their options and with the pandemic there has been a marked increased interest in home loans instead of vehicle finance. But how do you choose what's best for you?

Fitness with Liezel van der Westhuizen: How to make your workouts screen free

21 April 2021 | 7 Minute Listen

Guest: Liezel van der Westhuizen Unplug from your devices, and experience fitness workouts sure to refresh your body and mind. Our resident fitness enthusiast Liezel van der Westhuizen is talking screen-free workouts now, so tune in!

School’s rotation attendance system is not working out, says expert

20 April 2021 | 9 Minute Listen

Guest: Felicity Coughlan | Director at Independent Institute Of Education For schools that can accommodate social distancing and other Covid-19 protocols there maybe a false sense, that except for the inconveniences of screening, masks and sanitation, education is returning to normal. According to Dr Felicity Coughlan, director of the Independent Institute of Education nothing could be further from the truth. The learning conditions all children currently face are not optimal for the confidence and calm needed to learn effectively.

53% of SA's senior municipal managers meet minimum competency levels

20 April 2021 | 12 Minute Listen

Guest: Prof Nico Steytler | SARChl in Multilevel government, law and development at the Dullah Omar Institute at UWC During a parliamentary Q&A session Minster in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni revealed that out of 2,747 senior municipal officials, only 1 500 met minimum competency levels. Only 128 of the country's 248 chief financial officers achieved minimum competency levels. And only 53% of all municipal senior managers met minimum competency levels. Prof Nico Steytler, SARChI Chair in Multilevel Government, Law and Policy at the Dullah Omar Institute discusses what this means for delivery of services on a local government level.

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