Breakfast with Martin Bester

A preventable case of blindness inspired Dr William Mapham to build a platform connecting frontline health workers with specialists when their patients need them most.

As a young doctor working at a rural hospital in the Eastern Cape, Dr William Mapham encountered a patient with an eye condition he could not identify.

With limited specialist support available, Mapham wrote a referral letter and sent the patient to a distant eye clinic.

Seven years later, Mapham returned to the area as a trained eye specialist. The same patient appeared, still carrying the same referral letter.

By then, he was blind in that eye.

The tragedy was that the condition had been relatively simple to treat.

The hospital had even stocked the medicine required.

What had been missing was access to the right specialist knowledge at the right moment.

That experience led Mapham to create Vula Medical.

Most of us have been in situations where we’ve experienced bad customer service.

In recent times, complaining about bad service or asking to speak to the manager has become synonymous with “Karen” behaviour.

Granted, there are many instances where customers are in the wrong and still complain about bad service.

But shying away from standing up for what is right out of fear of being ridiculed should also not be the norm.

This week, Breakfast with Martin Bester asked a very valid question on Asking For A Friend: When is it okay to ask to speak to the manager?

The moment a New Zealand councilwoman joined an online council meeting from her bathroom has gone viral, leaving internet users in stitches.

To make matters worse, City Councillor Jo Galer’s washing was also on full display as it dried behind her.

While some people would have died of embarrassment, it was Galer’s nonchalant response to the situation that really grabbed people’s attention.

According to the ‘New York Post’, Mayor Sophie Barker immediately addressed the situation and let Galer know that her washing was on full display for the entire livestream.

As the inventor of the automobile, Mercedes-Benz is celebrating 140 years of innovation in 2026, and Jacaranda FM and Breakfast with Martin Bester are celebrating with them.

We spoke to Mercedes-Benz South Africa's Head of Customer Connection, Mayur Bhana, about the new Mercedes-Benz CLA.

It is the most technologically advanced Mercedes-Benz yet, featuring AI integration and the new Mercedes-Benz Operating System, enhanced by Gemini. It combines innovation, luxury, intelligent features and impressive driving performance.

A new bill aimed at addressing absent fatherhood and mental health issues affecting men has been proposed.

According to The Citizen, Nikita Harris from Legacy Nation said that when men step up, “households stabilise and communities heal”.

This is exactly what she hopes to achieve with her MENPOWERED campaign and the proposed Responsible Parenthood Bill.

The new bill argues that having an official day dedicated to men could help address issues unique to men, as well as those affecting children and families.

The Responsible Parenthood Bill aims to establish an official Men’s Day on 26 June, aligning it with the anniversary of the 1952 Defiance Campaign.