Democracy Unplugged

What has been delivered since the last State of the Nation (SONA), and what does that mean for ordinary South Africans? In his address last year, the President signalled a renewed focus on healthcare - from advancing the National Health Insurance (NHI) roll-out, to infrastructure upgrades for hospitals and clinics, to responding to the loss of major foreign health funding from PEPFAR and USAID. This episode helps you assess whether those promises moved beyond rhetoric into real change. Phumi Mashigo is joined by Matshidiso Lencoasa, budget expert with Section 27, the public interest law centre that tracks government policy and spending on essential services. The Burning Platform

What has changed since last year’s State of the Nation (SONA) promises? At last year’s SONA, water infrastructure was particularly framed as a national priority yet in parts of Johannesburg, the heart of South Africa’s economy, and in municipalities across the country, taps still run dry. Treatment plants fail. Maintenance collapses. Phumi Mashigo, along with Dr Ferrial Adam from WaterCAN, a civic organisation focused on water accountability, look at how this all came to be and whether we can have hope that the dire situation will actually improve. The Burning Platform

What has changed since last year’s State of the Nation (SONA) promises? At last year’s SONA, water infrastructure was particularly framed as a national priority yet in parts of Johannesburg, the heart of South Africa’s economy, and in municipalities across the country, taps still run dry. Treatment plants fail. Maintenance collapses. Phumi Mashigo, along with Dr Ferrial Adam from WaterCAN, a civic organisation focused on water accountability, look at how this all came to be and whether we can have hope that the dire situation will actually improve. The Burning Platform

Can South Africa defend human rights without the power to enforce them? South Africa speaks confidently about justice, peace, and human rights on the world stage. But holding that position requires real capacity, and that’s where things get complicated. Phumi Mashigo explores the consequences of a country that still wants to lead morally, but may no longer have the muscle to do so. How does this affect South Africa’s standing - and the lives of its people? Human rights activist and Chairman of the Rwanda National

Congress (RNC), Frank Ntwali, and defence analyst and associate editor of The Daily Friend, Ricardo Teixeira, join the conversation to unpack what’s

changing, what’s being lost, and what it all means. The Burning Platform

This edition of Democracy Unplugged is a forward-looking conversation on

where South Africa, and the world, is headed politically. Phumi Mashigo

picks the brains of Ismael Steenkamp, ward 29 councillor from the

Patriotic Alliance; Solly Msimanga, leader of the opposition in the

Gauteng Legislature from the Democratic Alliance; and Lerato Madisha,

grassroots activist and community leader within the Gauteng government

from Build One South Africa. This is an insightful look at the impact

and the future of democracy.

Want to be part of the live audience? Democracy Unplugged records once a

month from our Sandton studios. Email [email protected] to

request free tickets. The Burning Platform