Capitalist Crusader – Herman Mashaba

November 7, 2015August 26, 2016 / Stephen / Leave a comment

My Guest this week is founder of Black Like Me – Herman Mashaba.

We discuss why private profits equal country growth, why the only thing you get out of communism is brutality and why we should abolish all race based legislation. We also cover why we need less government in our lives and how redress can come from our humanity not our statute books. I spoke to Herman Mashaba just after the ANC’s NGC at his offices in Sandton.

Herman Mashaba is a leading South African businessman and the founder of hair care company Black Like Me. Founded in 1985 with a R30,000 loan, Black Like Me has grown to a household name in South Africa. He still serves as a non-executive director of the business.

He is currently executive chairperson of Lephatsi Investments, a company he founded a few years ago, operating in the mining, construction and the logistics sectors.
He is the recipient of numerous awards including in 2012 the Ernest and Young Lifetime Achievement Award.

Like our Facebook page | Subscribe/Rate us on iTunes | Follow ZAR on Twitter | E-mail

Follow Herman Mashaba on Twitter | Black Like you

South Africa’s Love Affair with China – With Phillip De Wet

October 27, 2015August 26, 2016 / Stephen / Leave a comment

My guest this week is Phillip De Wet.

Phillip is the deputy editor of the Mail and Guardian. This week we discuss South Africa’s love affair with China, why we still don’t understand China, why the ANC doesn’t buy its own rhetoric but why others do and the future of media relations in SA. It is worth noting we spoke in October just before the ANC’s NGC.

Phillip de Wet writes about politics, society, economics, weird stuff, and the areas where all of these collide.

Direct Download

Over the past decade and a half, he has also written about telecommunications, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), property development, civil liberties, riot policing, mining, movies, the media, and UFOs, among other topics.But never about serious sport, which he knows nothing about.He studied journalism and has never been anything other than a journalist, except for ill-considered stints as a media trainer and starting up new newspapers, magazines and websites, a suspiciously large percentage of which are no longer in business.

Like our Facebook page | Subscribe/Rate us on iTunes | Follow ZAR on Twitter | E-mail

Do we need a national minimum wage? – with COSATU’s Neil Coleman.

October 24, 2015August 26, 2016 / Stephen / Leave a comment

Neil Coleman | Photography credit Hetty Zantman

This week’s guest is COSATU’s Neil Coleman.

Direct Download

Neil joined me on the line from Cape Town in the midst of the #feesmustfall student campaign. We discuss the future of trade unions, why we need a national minimum wage, how to cultivate a patriotic business sector and why COSATU is the ANC’s most vociferous critic.

Neil is Strategies Co-ordinator in the COSATU Secretariat. He has been active in various community organisations, and anti-apartheid formations such as the United Democratic Front, and trade union organisations, in particular the Congress of South African Trade Unions, over the last three and a half decades.

Neil has worked for COSATU since 1989 and has co-ordinated several departments in COSATU over this period, including COSATU’s parliamentary office and communications department.

His current role involves giving strategic advice to the COSATU Secretariat, as well as coordinating various teams of experts for the federation, including working with the country’s top progressive economists.

Since January 2015 he has been tasked with leading the delegation of three Labour Federations (COSATU, Nactu and Fedusa) in negotiations on the introduction of a National Minimum Wage in South Africa, through the Wage Inequality Task Team of Nedlac.

Like our Facebook page | Subscribe/Rate us on iTunes | Follow ZAR on Twitter | E-mail

Afrikaner Autonomy and cultural independence with Solidarity’s Flip Buys.

October 15, 2015September 30, 2016 / Stephen / 3 Comments

Direct Download

This week I interview Solidarity Chairman Flip Buys. We discuss Afrikaner autonomy, the pursuit of benevolent neglect, the need for community engagement and the benefits of the free market. Oh and also my quote of the year “you can’t out promise a socialist”.

Flip obtained a degree in Communication Studies, from the Potchefstroom University in 1988. In 1992 he obtained an honours degree in Labour Relations from the Rand Afrikaans University. He also attended courses in political economics at the University of the Witwatersrand and project management at the NWU.

Flip Buys previously served as council member and member of the executive committee of the North-West University for seven years. During this period he gained significant experience of the university setup and the activities of the university council.

Flip is executive chairperson of the Solidarity Movement, which consists of a “family” of 18 organisations and represents approximately 270 000 families. The Solidarity Movement considers itself a modern Helpmekaar movement that consists of Afrikaans community organisations. It is a federation of Afrikaans employee, social, language, culture, civil rights, media, and training institutions who believe that a community should take responsibility for itself instead of depending solely on the government or passively awaiting the future.

Like our Facebook page | Subscribe on iTunes | Follow ZAR on Twitter | E-mail

Solidarity

Can Eskom keep the lights on? – An interview with Chris Yelland

October 10, 2015August 26, 2016 / Stephen / 1 Comment

My guest today is Chris Yelland.

This week we discuss the woes at Eskom, whether we will experience a national blackout, the future of renewable energy and why Eskom might be unmanageable in it’s current form; plus POWER SHIPS!

Chris holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the University of Natal and he is currently the managing director of EE Publishers , the publisher of EngineerIT, Energize, Vector and PositionIT magazines.

Direct Download

Chris has won various industry awards and in 2009, Chris won the South African National Energy Association (SANEA) Journalism Award for “special efforts within the field of journalism to promote greater understanding of energy and its role in sustaining human endeavours”.

Chris has more than 20 years’ experience as a practicing engineer in the energy sector and is a senior member of the IEEE (USA), a member of the IET (UK) and a fellow of the SAIEE. He is also a registered Chartered Engineer with the Engineering Council in the UK and is widely regarded as an expert on the South African Energy Sector.

Like our Facebook page | Subscribe on iTunes | Follow ZAR on Twitter | E-mail

EE Publishers | Follow Chris Yelland on Twitter

Tony Leon – The State of South African Liberalism

October 3, 2015August 26, 2016 / Stephen / 6 Comments

My guest today is Tony Leon.

Direct Download

Tony Leon is the Executive Chairman of Resolve Communications (Pty) Ltd, a South African consultancy specialising in strategic communication, reputational management and issues’ advocacy. He is also a noted author, columnist and speaker.

For nearly twenty years Tony Leon has been a Member of Parliament in South Africa, and for thirteen years he led the Democratic Alliance and its predecessor. He is the longest serving Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, since the advent of democracy in April 1994. He led and grew his party from its marginal position on the brink of political extinction into the second largest political force in South Africa.

A trained lawyer, Tony Leon actively participated in the critical constitutional negotiations which led to the birth of a democratic South Africa and served as a co-chairperson of the Constitutional Assembly’s Theme Committee on Fundamental Rights.

He was appointed by President Jacob Zuma as the South African Ambassador to Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay in August 2009. Since returning from his three year post in Buenos Aires in September 2012, Tony Leon has been thinking, writing, speaking and about matters in South Africa and the world. He consults to businesses both locally and abroad and has a special interest in risk consulting on Africa and South America and on navigating the intricacies of the booming markets of South America.

We discuss the current state of liberalism in South Africa, why Jacob Zuma is an incompetent executive and the incoherent nature of South African foreign policy.

Tony Leon official website and books | Resolve Communications

Like our Facebook page | Subscribe on iTunes | Follow ZAR on Twitter | E-mail

What’s wrong with the Rand? An interview with Russell Lamberti

September 12, 2015August 26, 2016 / Stephen / 4 Comments

This week on ZAR returning guest and economist Russell Lamberti discusses the woes of the Rand, the threat of Junk bond status and why South Africa needs to build a better boat.

View Russell’s bio here.

Download Episode

Like our Facebook page

Subscribe on iTunes

Send me your feedback

Follow Russell on Twitter

Views from the left – An Interview with Andile Mngxitama

September 6, 2015January 23, 2017 / Stephen / 5 Comments

My guest today is Andile Mngxitama.

Andile is a leading Black Consciousness thinker, organizer and activist, He holds an MA in sociology from the University of Witwatersrand.
Andile is a former member of parliament for the Economic Freedom Fighters. He also served as their commissar for land and agrarian revolution. He publishes a pamphlet series called New Frank Talk and is also a columnist for the Sowetan and City Press newspapers.

Andile is an associate of the Sankara Policy and Political School and founding member of the Black First Land First movement.

In this week’s show we cover Andile’s view on land policy – why all South African land is stolen property – and his views on racial redress and inequality.

Direct Download Episode

Like our Facebook page

Subscribe on iTunes

Send me your feedback

Follow Andile on Twitter

How long will South Africa Survive? – An interview with RW Johnson

August 29, 2015August 26, 2016 / Stephen / 1 Comment

My guest today is RW Johnson.

R. W. Johnson is a South African author, journalist and historian. Born in England, he was educated at Natal University and Oxford University, as a Rhodes Scholar. He was a fellow in politics, philosophy and economics at Magdalen College, Oxford, for twenty-six years. He was formerly director of the Helen Suzman Foundation in Johannesburg.

He has published 12 books including Shootdown: The Verdict on KAL 007, South Africa’s Brave New World and his most recent How Long will South Africa Survive which is a follow up to his 1977 book of the same title.

His most recent book has captured the public imagination and is being debated both in the press and across dinner tables around the country.

Direct Download

Subscribe on iTunes

The Future of South African Politics – Interview with Michael Harris

August 16, 2015August 26, 2016 / Stephen / 2 Comments

My guest on this week’s podcast is Michael Harris. Michael is an independent political strategist. He is also a partner at Vsolution management consultancy,

Michael trained at leading geopolitical consultancy Stratfor in the United States and has been published on a number of topics ranging from local election forecasts to African geopolitics.

This week we dive into the South African political landscape. We cover the ANC succession, the future of the DA, the COSATU split, the future landscape of Municipal politics and the political forecast of SA’s future.