The moments worth hearing, as they happen.

Sihlobo: SA farming has more than doubled in value since 1994

Agbiz chief economist Wandile Sihlobo says farmers are diversifying into citrus and the sector has more than doubled in value and volume since 1994.

“You have a whole bunch of other things. You have El Nino, but we're not going to start there. I'm going to start with: I'm busy selling a car, and the Wee Buy Car guys come out, and I learn that the rep is from Limpopo…”

Sihlobo: GMOs lifted maize yields from 2.5 to 6.57 tons a hectare

Agbiz chief economist Wandile Sihlobo defends GMO crops, saying higher yields let SA plant less land and protect the climate.

“In the year 2000, we were having maize yields of about 2.5 tons per hectare on average dry land. Today, we are at 6.57 tons per hectare.”

El Niño drought will hit SA beef farmers hardest, not consumers

Agbiz chief economist Wandile Sihlobo says SA has ample maize, but cattle farmers face culling and blocked exports as El Niño bites.

“What sort of pressures are the cattle farmers facing right now? You know, Lindsay, people used to say at this point and say, ah, if you look at South Africa, agriculture uses roughly two-thirds of the water.”

Baobabs left baking in Durban car park three months after seizure

Daily Maverick hosts say five protected baobabs seized in July were still lying cut and unprotected in October while the legal fight plays out.

“About the significance of these trees in that region? So, I grew up hearing stories about how significant beobabs are, not just because they're a biological marvel, but also because of the deep cultural and traditional…”

Wildlife smuggling is the world's fourth-biggest illicit trade, and rats may help

Journalist Tony Carney says environmental smuggling is worth about $21bn a year and describes Tanzanian-trained rats that sniff out contraband in containers.

“Is smuggling of plants a big issue in South Africa? And what do you think is being done to combat it?”

Trump told voters to 'pretend I'm on the ballot', and they did

Daily Maverick's Mondli Makhanya says the US midterm result was a personal repudiation of Trump, who toured his ballroom as results came in.

“The Trump agenda by American of the cost of living, the war in Iran, of every single big thing. Yeah.”

Defeat sinks in at ANC desk as national and local blame each other

Daily Maverick's Mondli Makhanya describes glum ANC leaders at the results centre and a looming blame game between national and local structures.

“Gwede Mantashe obviously is leading that delegation of the people who are at the desk there and there are various other leaders.”

Why Lesufi survives: he built power but not governance, Makhanya says

Daily Maverick's Mondli Makhanya says Gauteng ANC chair Panyaza Lesufi consolidated power but neglected governance, hastening his party's demise.

“Why doesn't Panyaza and Lesufi get fired? You know, in twenty twenty four, Gauteng ANC got thirty-four percent and that's been mirrored downward this time.”

Pillay: White House staff prepared sanctions papers against her UN commission

Nobel laureate Navi Pillay says she was told US officials were drafting sanctions on her and two fellow Gaza commissioners, so they secured savings.

“But you mentioned the Commission on Israel and Palestine and East Jerusalem set up by the United Nations Human Rights Council.”

Pillay recalls magistrate who put his feet on the desk

Nobel laureate Navi Pillay recalls the humiliation she faced as a young Durban lawyer in apartheid courtrooms.

“When I walked in as a lawyer into the magistrate's office in Durban, for instance, what you saw were the soles of his shoes because he would have both feet on the desk, he wouldn't take them off.”

AfriForum's Kriel: 'state within a state' critics use private medical aid

Asked if AfriForum is a state within a state, Kallie Kriel says critics use medical aid and private security, and that self-help follows state failure.

“But if you're going to ask Darryl Swannapool, does he have a medical aid? His answer would most probably be yes. Those political elite that accuse us of building a state within a”

AfriForum's Kriel: we're federalists, not separatists, against centralism

Asked about separatism, AfriForum's Kallie Kriel says it backs devolving power, citing failures in policing, Eskom and Transnet.

“We are separatists? No, we are federalists. It does not mean when you have impact input with regard to what happens in your local community, you are isolating yourselves.”

AfriForum's Krill: Trump aid cut came 10 days after Expropriation Act

AfriForum's Kallie Kriel rejects blame for US pressure, saying Trump acted ten days after Ramaphosa signed the Expropriation Act.

“But if there's going to be an accusation against AfriForum, I think it's important that we look at the timeline. Where did the trouble start? It started long ago in 2017.”

Port St Johns residents blockaded roads, then cheered ANC's return to ballot

Daily Maverick's Mondli Makanya recalls Port St Johns residents protesting service delivery, then celebrating the Constitutional Court ruling that put the ANC back on the ballot.

“But during that period, in the build-up to the Constitutional Court ruling, the people were on the streets, they were blockading streets, they blockaded the major highway, I think it's the R61, protesting against the…”

Is South Africa headed for five years of chaos without the ANC?

Daily Maverick's Mondli Makanya and host debate the 'vacuum' warning and ask which ANC would be lost if it fell.

“And it's really sad. Oh, yes, one of the messaging that I wanted to refer to is the scare story that's coming through as well. It's about the vacuum. If we are not here, who then gets to be the center of society?”

Journalist: ANC candidate blunder is symptom of deeper malaise

A veteran political journalist compares the ANC's missed candidate deadline with the 2006 ACDP case and says it reflects wider party dysfunction.

“In terms of what it says about the AMC's stability and its attitude towards these elections? No, certainly not on this scale.”

Analysts: Zuma's MK vote holds despite his health and image

Daily Maverick analysts say MK polls steady at 12-15% nationally, with voters having discounted Jacob Zuma's flaws and viral clips fuelling the buzz.

“The other week, the head of the MK party, the former president Jacob Zuma, said to be in hospital and really, really ill.”

Analyst: ordinary voters enjoy Zille's boat stunts, elites misread them

A Daily Maverick analyst says critics of the DA's Joburg campaign antics wrongly assume ordinary voters feel insulted by them.

“Candidate for Joe Burke, the mayoral candidate. She was spinning first and then she arrived in a Gusheshe. Thoughts about that? I didn't see it. I've just seen the snippets that have been there. So bits on the news.”

Analyst: ANC's national reform pitch can't beat lived local failures

A Daily Maverick analyst says Ramaphosa's reform message clashes with voters' water, power and cost-of-living reality ahead of the 4 November local elections.

“So, what the president was then spoke about at some length, and it was a really long and detailed briefing, is that he's focused on the national reforms, the fact that we no longer have load shedding, the fact that…”

Lex Libertas: apartheid's central pillars still stand in South Africa

Lex Libertas's Ernst Roets says decentralisation is the solution and that a centralised, race-based state echoes apartheid.

“That is a good society is one of different nations living in different self-governing communities? And is that something that you believe in and are working towards? Yes.”

Lex Libertas: blaming us for AGOA loss is like blaming firefighters for a fire

Lex Libertas's Ernst Roets rejects the claim that lobbying in Washington would be to blame if South Africa loses AGOA.

“asked me that exact same question and that was the south african ambassador to to washington roof maier he was a bit more upfront he pretty much he didn't frame it as a question but more as an accusation saying that if…”