Sharp Sharp

Currency x Scrolla
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Currency News and Scrolla.Africa join forces to bring you South Africa's sharpest weekly conversation. Rob Rose and Zukile Majova sit down each week to talk straight about politics, money, and power. No spin. No script. Just the truth.

Episodes

  1. Hector Pieterson's Unfinished Business

    5d ago

    Hector Pieterson's Unfinished Business

    Fifty years after the Soweto uprising, South Africa's schoolchildren are still being failed. Rob Rose and Zukile Majova mark June 16 with a retrospective that asks not what went wrong but what went right — and finds that racial harmony, against all the odds and against the global trend, is the unexpected success story of post-apartheid South Africa. Then they turn to the ledger of failure. Eighty-one percent of grade four learners cannot read for meaning. Almost a million children drop out before matric. The pass rate is a statistical illusion. BEE has been treated as a goal rather than a tool and produced legalised looting — R65,000 to fix one pothole, R26 for a single-ply toilet roll at Eskom. And the first trillionaire in human history was born in Pretoria three years before June 16 1976, but South Africa blocks his satellite internet service from connecting 5,000 schools that still do not have textbooks by June. They also get into Geordin Hill-Lewis removing John Steenhuisen as agriculture minister, the DA stamping its authority on the GNU, and the World Cup — Bafana losing badly, African nations trolling South Africa with Mexican jerseys, and the Japanese fans who cleaned up the entire stadium after their match. Sharp Sharp is a weekly podcast on South African politics, money and power from Currency News and Scrolla.Africa. New episode every week.

    31 min
  2. Are South Africans Really Xenophobic?

    Jun 11

    Are South Africans Really Xenophobic?

    President Cyril Ramaphosa went on national television this week to say South Africans are not xenophobic. But the Human Sciences Research Council data tells a different story — those willing to welcome all immigrants dropped from 26% to 15% in four years, while the bloc that wants no immigrants at all grew from 30% to 42%, the highest hostility on record since 2003. Rob Rose and Zukile Majova are joined this week by Patrick Smith from Africa Confidential to dig into the real story behind the headlines. Zuks has a different answer to the data — in his village in Mthatha an Ethiopian shopkeeper has lived inside a South African homestead for decades, protected by community norms, because that is how things actually work on the ground. The marches are real, the frustration is real, but the target is wrong. The real story is a decade of state failure, porous borders, broken promises, and politicians from the ANC to ActionSA using immigrants as a scapegoat in an election year. Patrick widens the lens — Nigeria expelled three million West Africans in 1983, Ghana kicked out half a million Nigerians in 1969, and from Texas to Middlesborough this is a global moment of ethno-nationalism being weaponised by governments everywhere. They close with the World Cup curtain raiser — Bafana Bafana play Mexico tonight and Zuks wants a 2-1 win. Sharp Sharp is a weekly podcast on South African politics, money and power from Currency News and Scrolla.Africa. New episode every week.

    32 min
  3. Go Gogo Go

    Jun 4

    Go Gogo Go

    A 61-year-old woman in church clothes just beat the ANC in a ward they have held since 1994. Eight votes. Maki Tshabalala, the DA's new Ward 28 councillor in Emfuleni in the Vaal Triangle, wiped the floor with a party that had 90% of that ward in 2011 and is now down to 31%. Rob Rose and Zukile Majova dig into what it means for the November local government elections, why communities always know their own people better than any party headquarters does, and whether Helen Zille can replicate it in Johannesburg. They also get into the fuel price hitting R28 a litre, the government's decision to quietly reverse the fuel levy relief, and why Joburg residents are paying 65% more for water while being told it is only 12% more. And they close with SAFA, the World Cup, 12 players on the pitch against Nicaragua, visas not ready for Mexico, and the question of whether Bafana getting knocked out early might actually be the best thing that could happen to South African football. Sharp Sharp is a weekly podcast on South African politics, money and power from Currency News and Scrolla.Africa. New episode every week.

    28 min
  4. eGoli’s Meltdown

    May 27

    eGoli’s Meltdown

    Zukile Majova and Rob Rose dig into a week of high political drama as President Cyril Ramaphosa files his affidavit arguing why the Phala Phala impeachment report should be set aside - and why the whole saga looks set to drag well past the November election. The ANC elders are breaking ranks, caretaker presidents are circling, and the succession whispers are getting louder. Then: Johannesburg. Africa's richest city is effectively bankrupt, its roads are disintegrating, and the mayor wants to hire more executives to oversee the chaos. Rob and Zuks debate whether anyone - Helen Zille included - can actually fix a city that needs a miracle. And Bafana Bafana head to the World Cup. Can they finally escape the group stage? Rob and Zuks dare to hope. Sharp Sharp is hosted by Rob Rose of Currency News and Zukile Majova of Scrolla.Africa.

    35 min
  5. Ruled by Hitmen

    May 20

    Ruled by Hitmen

    South Africa increasingly resembles a mafia state, where it can cost as little as R2,000 to organise a hit. This week, Rob Rose and Zukile Majova dig into the case of taxi boss Joe "Ferrari" Sibanyoni, and the prosecutor who was too scared to show up in court. From cut-price hired hitmen to the brazen killing of AKA on Florida Road, they ask whether the rule of law has simply collapsed in the face of organised crime.The taxi industry's grip extends far beyond South Africa. Special guest Patrick Smith, editorial director of Africa Confidential, joins to unpack the Matatu strike that brought Kenya's capital to a standstill, and what it reveals about who really holds power across the continent.Then: the Iran war's ripple effects on African fuel prices, shipping backlogs, and food security — and why one man is coining it. Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote, has built the world's largest single-process oil refinery. With oil at $105 a barrel and the Strait of Hormuz closed, his timing looks like genius.Sharp Sharp is hosted by Rob Rose of Currency News and Zukile Majova of Scrolla.Africa.

    36 min
  6. Inside Cyril's Couch Lottery

    May 14

    Inside Cyril's Couch Lottery

    The Constitutional Court ruled last week that Parliament failed in its duty when it buried the section 89 panel report on Phala Phala. An impeachment enquiry is now required. Rob Rose and Zukile Majova dig into everything you need to know about how $580,000 in cash ended up stuffed under a couch on Cyril Ramaphosa's game farm, why a Sudanese businessman left without his buffaloes, and why the president who nearly resigned in 2022 is not going anywhere this time. They also ask the big question: has Ramaphosa actually been good for South Africa? Rob gives him 65 percent. Zuks gives him 80. You decide. Then they get into the construction mafia story of the week — a JSE listed company paid eight and a half million rand to a mafia boss for what was invoiced as strategic security services. Sharp Sharp is a weekly podcast on South African politics, money and power from Currency News and Scrolla.Africa. New episode every week.

    30 min
  7. Crocodiles Ate My Budget

    May 7

    Crocodiles Ate My Budget

    A man was eaten by a crocodile in the Komati River this week. Rob Rose and Zukile Majova used it as the perfect metaphor for what is happening to ordinary South Africans right now. Paraffin is now R28 a litre at the regulated price and R40 by the time it reaches a village spaza shop. It is the fuel of the poorest South Africans heading into winter and nobody in government seems to care. Rob and Zuks dig into the cost of living crisis that is eating through people's pockets, the HSRC survey showing support for democracy has collapsed from 65% to 36% since the mid-2000s, why that collapse is pushing people toward strongman leaders like Jacob Zuma and Donald Trump, the NSFAS disaster and the deeply questionable new appointment to fix it, and the Chad Du Plessis award of the week which goes to Gwede Mantashe's department for getting the fuel price calculation wrong by a rand. Sharp Sharp is a weekly podcast on South African politics, money and power from Currency News and Scrolla.Africa. New episode every week.

    30 min
  8. SA's AI Plan, By Chad Du Plessis

    Apr 30

    SA's AI Plan, By Chad Du Plessis

    Xenophobia is spreading from Durban to Pretoria to Johannesburg. The March on March movement is shutting down CBDs, politicians from the ANC to ActionSA are fuelling it, and the police are taking selfies with the march leaders instead of stopping them. Rob Rose and Zukile Majova dig into why this lawlessness is possible and why the leadership vacuum in law enforcement is letting it happen. Then they get into Sisisi Tolashe, the Social Development Minister and ANC Women's League president who registered two government cars in her children's names, one of whom sold the car and handed back a different one to Luthuli House. Cyril acted on Masemola but cannot seem to act on her. Zuks explains exactly why. And finally, Solly Malatsi launched South Africa's AI policy and then had to pull it because it was full of AI hallucinations. Rob and Zuks ask whether the government is half a step away from incompetence at all times and introduce the man responsible. His name is Chad Du Plessis. Sharp Sharp is a weekly podcast on South African politics, money and power from Currency News and Scrolla.Africa. New episode every week.

    30 min
  9. SA's License to Kill

    Apr 23

    SA's License to Kill

    A minor bumper bashing in Emmarentia this week ended with a man shot dead in front of his children, his wife wounded, and a country asking itself how it got here. Rob Rose and Zukile Majova dig into South Africa's road rage crisis and what the numbers actually say — 1,453 murders in a single quarter linked to road rage and provocation, SA ranked first in the world for aggressive driver behaviour, and 34 people shot dead every single day. What makes SA uniquely lethal is not just the anger — it is that the guns are legal. They also get into the xenophobic violence building in KZN, what it means that every political party except the DA is using anti-immigrant rhetoric ahead of the local elections, and the one figure who has the moral authority to calm things down. Plus Fannie Masemola charged and what it tells us about Ramaphosa's decision-making. Sharp Sharp is a weekly podcast on South African politics, money and power from Currency News and Scrolla.Africa. New episode every week.

    31 min
  10. Mam'Nontsapho and The Same Old White Guys

    Apr 16

    Mam'Nontsapho and The Same Old White Guys

    Julius Malema is in court in East London and Rob Rose and Zukile Majova have thoughts on whether a judge should ever factor in what happens outside the courtroom when handing down a sentence. Then they get into the big one: the DA just elected Geordin Hill-Lewis as leader and the question is whether another white guy at the top is enough of a break from the past. Zuks's grandmother wouldn't open the door for a big white man knocking. Would she open it for Helen Zille? Almost certainly. And that tells you everything about the DA's problem. They also get into the ANC's generational rot, the Phala Phala report and why Ramaphosa was never really a leader — just the only option available. Sharp Sharp is a weekly podcast on South African politics, money and power from Currency News and Scrolla.Africa. New episode every week.

    34 min
  11. Sharp Sharp: The TACO, The GNU and The ANC Rebels

    Apr 9

    Sharp Sharp: The TACO, The GNU and The ANC Rebels

    Trump threatened to wipe out an entire civilisation, then chickened out an hour before his own deadline. Rob Rose and Zukile Majova unpack the TACO moment heard around the world and what it means for South Africa's foreign policy in an era of creeping authoritarianism. They also get into the rebel faction inside the ANC that wants to collapse the GNU and replace the DA with the EFF and MK, why that would be catastrophic for the rand and investment, and whether South Africa's environment actually allows entrepreneurs to thrive after SA born Natie Kirsh sold his US company for R500 billion. Sharp Sharp is a weekly podcast on South African politics, money and power from Currency News and Scrolla.Africa. New episode every week.

    27 min
  12. Sharp Sharp Donald!

    Apr 2

    Sharp Sharp Donald!

    Trump's war on Iran has sent the fuel price through the roof and South Africa is feeling it hard. Rob Rose and Zukile Majova dig into the three rand a litre relief cut and whether the government can sustain it, Ramaphosa's investment conference and the smoke and mirrors around two trillion rand, the fascinating poll showing 47% of ANC voters want Patrice Motsepe as their next leader, why Ramaphosa cannot fire his police minister even when he knows he should, and Helen Zille swimming in a Joburg pothole. Sharp Sharp is a new weekly podcast on South African politics, money and power from Currency News and Scrolla.Africa. New episode every week.

    28 min
  • 12 Episodes

About

Currency News and Scrolla.Africa join forces to bring you South Africa's sharpest weekly conversation. Rob Rose and Zukile Majova sit down each week to talk straight about politics, money, and power. No spin. No script. Just the truth.

Information

  • Creator
    Currency x Scrolla
  • Years Active
    2K
  • Episodes
    12
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Currency x Scrolla
  • Show Website
    Sharp Sharp

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