Hendrick Makaneta - Education activist talks about TVET today, there is the constant challenge that very little research has been done on the relationship between skills development and culture.



How do we go about developing systems that fit into the country’s culture, values, traditions and social interaction as well as its particular level of development?

Timing is everything. In the past, development banks and donors have funded a range of interventions that mimicked the “best practice” of the countries of origin of the consultants that were hired. But many have not taken off… or the take off was so cumbersome and protracted that it was clear the plane was not well designed… or fit for purpose. Why?


What do people think about TVET? Is it better to have an unemployed lawyer as a son than an employed construction supervisor? Is it better to have an daughter earning almost nothing as a teacher or working for international wages in a factory as a electronics technician?


Industry is not the agent of change setting the future scenarios as we often think it is. Industry if they are successful, exploits very well what people at a particular moment prefer, what they want to associate themselves with, what they value and consider important in their lives. Industry pays millions to have this kind of researches.

Margaret Tyobo - CEO of Ayanda Junior Academy talks about Margaret Tyobo is the pride of Vosloorus on the East Rand for launching the first private junior academy in the township.

Tyobo, who has been described as a source of inspiration, is the founder and CEO of Ayanda Junior Academy, which has 248 pupils.

Her success story has been making waves on social media. The academy is an extension of Ayanda Pre-School which has been in existence since the late 1980s.

The R5m school which opened its doors last year for grade R to grade 2 pupils boasts an indoor swimming pool, computer lab, library and a tennis court that is still under construction.

Tyobo, 63, said she had to sell her Range Rover and a holiday house in Knysna in order to fund the project. She also cashed in her investments, she said.

She said that her passion for early learning started in the 1980s when she looked after neighbours' children to make ends meet.

Monageng Legae – Chairperson of South African Funeral Practitioners Association talks about Unrelenting load shedding coupled with a heatwave across parts of South Africa are causing bodies to decay much faster at funeral parlours, an industry body has warned.

The South African Funeral Practitioners Association’s (SAFPA) national secretary-general Vuyisile Mabindisa urged people to bury their loved ones within four days of their death to ease pressure on funeral parlours, and to ensure that they are buried with minimal decay.

"The industry is seeing a large number of putrefied bodies being buried. Burying one’s kin within four days, or less, is cost-effective and prevents families from seeing their departed ones in a poor state of decomposition," Mabindisa said in a statement on Tuesday.

South Africa experienced over 200 days of load shedding in 2022, while every day of 2023 has seen load shedding, including six days of Stage 6.

Mabindisa said the current heatwave was causing the rate of decomposition to skyrocket. According the SA Weather Service, parts of KwaZulu-Natal, including Pietermaritzburg, are expected to approach a high of nearly 40 degrees Celsius on Tuesday. 

"Take a 45-year-old man with a history of diabetes: the minute he passes, he will start bloating within an hour. So if our refrigerators cannot manage decaying bodies, then we are looking at a disaster," Mabindisa said.

"Load shedding has a ripple effect on the bereaved. Besides seeing their loved ones decay at a rapid rate, they have to endure delays in the death certificate registration process at Home Affairs because of load shedding. This forces families to postpone the burial for a later date."

Luyanda Vilakazi – Founder of Punture Proof talks about One of the holy grails of motoring is the prospect of puncture-proof tyres that never need to be filled with air.

Korean tyre company Hankook showed the latest version of its non-pneumatic i-Flex prototype tyre at last week’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, US.

Instead of being filled with compressed air like regular tyres, the i-Flex is connected to the rim via multilayer flexible spokes.
In addition to being immune to punctures and the accidents they can cause, Hankook says the airless tyres are low maintenance, with no need for air pressure maintenance.

The i-Flex is a 10-inch tyre with a width of 105mm, and to absorb road shocks and bear a load, it adopts the design of a multilayer interlocking spoke inspired by the cellular structure of living organisms.

Hankook has not said when the i-Flex tyre might be available to buy, stating that it was continuing research and development for further improvement.

Michelin and Goodyear are also working on puncture-proof airless tyres.

Phelisa Nkomo – Development Economist talks about South African finance minister Enoch Godongwana says that the national government is looking at launching a housing bank to provide loans to public sector employees and the gap market.

Godongwana revealed the housing bank plans in an interview with CNBC Africa at the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos.

He said the unions asked the government to replicate the Government Employees Medical Scheme (GEMS) to create a housing bank.

“We agree with the unions that we should do a similar exercise as we did with medical aid by creating a state medical aid called GEMS,” he said.

“We need a similar arrangement with public sector employees to create a housing bank to create loans for them.”

The government housing bank would also provide loans to the gap market – people who earn too much to get RDP houses and too little to get mortgages from banks.

Godongwana added that a fully-fledged state bank via the South African Post Office is also under development.

“The challenge for a state bank was the regulatory framework. That regulatory framework is coming true,” he said.

“The second issue is sufficient instruments for a state bank. There are discussions about whether we should merge African Bank with the Post Office to create a bigger state bank.”

He added that the regulatory framework for a state bank would be similar to the regulations for any other bank.

“When tailoring the state bank products, it will take that into account,” he said. “That process is in motion.”

Shiwela Shikweni Branch manager at Boston City Campus talks about With the matric group of 2022 having received their final exam results, what are the future options for matrics who did not get a matric exemption or bachelor’s pass? While this can be a stressful time, all is not lost. There are alternative pathways to still achieve career success.