BizNews Radio

Herman Mashaba went into the local elections with commentators writing ActionSA off. He came out holding the balance of power in all three Gauteng metros. Speaking to Alec Hogg days after the count, the ActionSA leader revealed the offer he made to DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis in a private phone call, named the two people whose appointment would end talks before they began, and explained why a DA-ANC pact in Joburg would suit him just fine come 2029. He also set out the price of his support in Tshwane, why he turned down a cabinet post, and what he believes township voters were really saying at the ballot box.

DA chief whip Glynnis Breytenbach, a former senior prosecutor, tells BizNews that IDAC must be closed down - you cannot build a clean unit inside a corrupt NPA - and that the ANC, sitting on 30%, is getting about 20% more than it deserves. She also says South Africa may be the only country with its entire police top structure suspended or arrested, and wants the criminal justice system reset. Political analyst Mzo Mpolase sees no long game, only an ANC still blaming the voter. Plus Lincoln Mali on pre-loved boots for township rugby, and Wall Street's tech bounce.

In this NdB Sunday Show with Chris Steyn, political analyst Mzo Mpolase, says while the DA has increased its footprint in the Local Government Elections, “it was not enough to give it a mandate of governance. It will still find itself in these messy coalitions”. He says the DA's conduct in the GNU has impacted on voting trends. “They had this X factor, unknown factor to the voter. However, them being in coalition with the ANC has stripped that away from them…The whole notion of the DA getting into power and in coalition with the ANC was to pull back the ANC's worst instincts. But then all of these ANC worst instincts still play out…So now the voter is stuck with this thing that there's not that much differentiation between these two because the DA is actually not that responsive and in fact is walking toe-in-toe with the ANC on so many issues.” With the voting results at 99%, Mpolase also gives his take on the performances of MKP, the EFF, the FF Plus, the PA and the SACP. He examines the futures of all eight Metros and weighs in on how the animosity between the DA and Action SA could impact some of these cities.

A former head of IDAC in a police cell. A suspended deputy police commissioner denied bail. A whistleblower general lined up to run the Hawks. And an ANC that has slipped to around a third of the vote. Few people have watched South Africa's criminal justice system unravel from as close up as Glynnis Breytenbach, the former senior prosecutor who is now the DA's chief whip in Parliament. In conversation with Alec Hogg, she said she was "sadly not surprised" by the latest arrests, called the Agrizzi plea deal a travesty, argued IDAC should never have existed and said the acting police minister should simply be appointed. She also set out how long a proper reset of police, prosecutors and courts would take, and who she would like to see behind bars a year from now. Despite all of it, she insisted the country can be fixed.

Across the Eastern Cape, boys and girls run onto rugby fields in their school shoes or a pair of tekkies. Lincoln Mali, founder of the Mzwandile Mali Schools Rugby Champions League, tells BizNews how a visit by businessman Paul Gardiner to Kwanobuhle township led to Boots for Boys and Girls, a campaign to give pre-loved rugby boots to players who don’t have the right kit. The first collection box was placed at St Andrew’s College in Makhanda, and Mali hopes the drive will spread to other schools beyond the Eastern Cape. His league, which grew out of a tournament he started to honour his father to bring rugby to township schools, now includes 133 schools and is growing to 150 next year. Mali says his main aim is not only to produce rugby players. He wants them to stay at school, get good grades and have families of their own, because rugby gave him “great friendships, a lot of structure, a lot of discipline.”– Linda van Tilburg