As South Africa embraces a new normal under level 1 of lockdown, citizens are urged to download the Covid Alert SA app so that another strict lockdown can be avoided. Listen in to hear from a wide range of experts on how the app works and why you need not fear your privacy being compromised.

In today's news headlines: - Government will ‘reprioritise’ R10.5bn to save SAA; - Comair's business rescue plan was approved; and - KPMG will pay damages to SARS employees affected by rogue report it published in 2014.

Last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa urged South Africans to download the Covid SA Alert app. The government’s plan is to use the app to trace people who have come into contact with Covid-19 infected individuals to self-isolate and, in so doing, use this as an alternative to strict shutdowns. But, some people are worried that the app will not work and that it may be a case of Big Brother encroaching on citizens’ rights to privacy. BizNews has been assessing the details of the app. In this package, you will hear from Discovery Health CEO Ryan Noach, who explains how the app works to BizNews founder Alec Hogg. Alec Hogg also spoke to Gaurang Tanna, the Head of Policy co-ordination and Integrated Planning at the National Department of Health behind the launch of mobile app Covid Alert SA. If you are worried about your privacy, hear what Emma Sadleir, a lawyer who is a data and privacy specialist has to say about the app. The University of Stellenbosch’s Professor Wolfgang Preiser, one of South Africa’s top medical specialists on diseases like Covid-19 says he has downloaded the app.

My Octopus Teacher tells the story of a Capetonian film maker and free diver, Craig Foster who needed a break from a busy schedule that was taking its toll. The film is a backed by  the Sea Change Project, a non-governmental organisation that wants to create awareness of the great African sea forest. Craig Foster spoke to BizNews shortly after the release of the film on Netflix and said he was still in 'shock' that the film had been seen by so many people. - Linda van Tilburg

Professor David Dickinson of the University of the Witwatersrand talks to Jackie Cameron of BizNews about the social issues surrounding Covid-19 and the resultant lockdown - which was not effective in many areas. He highlights how many more people have been plunged into poverty, with rampant corruption around assistance to the most vulnerable.

There were some memorable meetings during our UK sojourn from 2016 to May last year. One of them was this on-the-record interview with independent cigarette manufacturer Yusuf Kajee, owner of Pietermaritzburg-based Amalgamated Tobacco. Kajee, accompanied by business partner Paul De Robillard, expressed himself so freely that, at the time, publishing all his opinions would most likely have landed us in an expensive law suit. So after a fruitless attempt to engage with parties he attacked, I put the 45 minute interview to one side, promising myself to return to it at a more appropriate time. In recent weeks, much of what Kajee alleged is now in the public domain. And with a couple of hard hitting books putting tobacco back in the limelight and government's controversial banning of cigarettes, there is plenty of interest in the industry and the controversial personalities who play in it. So here's the edited version of what was originally a 45 minute gospel according to devout Moslem Yusuf Kajee - business partner of Jacob Zuma's son Edward; the man who lost a kidney to poisoning; arch enemy of Paul O'Sullivan; and someone SARS calls "Mr Half Pregnant". Fascinating. - Alec Hogg 

Dr Ryan Noach, the chief executive of Discovery Health, talks with BizNews founder Alec Hogg about data suggesting that 13-million people have been infected with Covid-19 in SA so far - not 650,000 as the official data suggests.

This week 45-year-old restauranteur Anastasia Sideris will enjoy a double celebration: 15th anniversary of the founding of her 25-store Tasha's restaurant group; and the repurchase from Famous Brands of the 51% stake sold in 2008. In this biographical podcast, we get a unique insight into an OCD workaholic who has already surpassed the achievements of her successful restauranteur father. After reaching her targets in SA and UAE, she is about to introduce Tasha's into new geographies, including the UK and Australia.

Professor Wolfgang Preiser is the head of the division of Medical Virology at the University of Stellenbosch, which is a division of the National Health Laboratory Services. Preiser is a medical virologist with a global reputation and he has undertaken extensive research on the types of diseases that the coronavirus falls into. Here, BizNews Editor Jackie Cameron discusses Covid-19 and zoonotic diseases with Professor Preiser, among other things.

The recently launched Covid Alert SA mobile app will undoubtedly help in the fight against the virus. However, many South Africans are understandably skeptical of the app, which many believe may collect private data. Here, BizNews founder Alec Hogg talks to Emma Sadleir, a leading expert on privacy and data. The chief executive of the Digital Law Company discusses the safety and privacy of the essential app, and outlines why she thinks it's definitely worth downloading.

This episode features Sygnia founder Magda Wierzycka, a visionary financial services entrepreneur whose story is an inspiration for all. A rags to riches story of penury in Poland when the country was a vassal to the Soviet Union, to a role model for anyone possessing the grit and determination to overcome the odds. Today Magda is living her dream - but in her words, getting there "hasn't been a picnic."

As the Covid-19 pandemic paralysed a number of industries across the country, one man took his love for extreme sports and put it to excellent use. Capetonian extreme athlete, Jamie Marais teamed up with the Kariega Foundation to push himself through extreme discomfort to raise money for endangered rhinos and to feed the local population around the reserve. 

In episode one of Inside Investing we investigate the investment appeal of fallen angel Aspen; offer a view after annual results were released by Discovery, one of the Biznews portfolio’s top performing stocks; hear from Cemair’s Miles vd Molen about the impact of South Africa re-opening its borders; look at the appeal – or lack of – in SA banking stocks; and in our education slot, we learn from Dr Richard Smith how to turn investment cycles to advantage.

In today’s news headlines: - The repo rate remains unchanged at 3.5%; - Woolworths reports a 65% slump in earnings; - Creditors to meet over missing SAA funds; and - The Foschini Group will take over Jet stores.

Aspen Pharmacare has been through a difficult phase of restructuring but the pharmaceutical giant is in great shape, especially with the latest sale of its thrombosis unit to Mylan. With Covid-19 wreaking havoc, Aspen is also in a great position with the production and distribution of the life-saving drug Dexamethasone. BizNews founder Alec Hogg was joined by CEO Stephen Saad during his Rational Radio webinar to discuss Aspen's excellent preliminary results as well as his desire to take Aspen further into vaccine territory. Market commentator David Shapiro and Adrian Saville of Cannon Asset Managers also joined the fascinating discussion.

The Covid pandemic may seem to be on the decline in South Africa, but that doesn't mean that we can't protect or shouldn't be protecting ourselves. Shout4Masks is an initiative which was put together by celebrities Danny K and Kabelo Mabalane. Here, we speak to Danny K and James Vos, the head of Vitality Strategic Programmes.

In this episode: SA restrictions lift to level one. BizNews founder Alec Hogg interviews Discovery SA's chief executive officer Hylton Kallner, after the company’s financial results presentation. Veteran broadcaster Tim Modise speaks to Dr Jonathan Witt, a South African medical professional who argues that governments around the world, including South Africa, got it wrong in implementing ‘hard lockdowns’ against the Covid-19. And, BizNews reporter Linda van Tilburg picks up with tourism experts on what the government can do to kickstart that all-important sector of the economy.

President Ramaphosa has announced the easing of South Africa’s lockdown to level 1, effective from Sunday, 20th September. Listen to the highlights of his speech here.

In today’s news headlines: - The Foschini Group’s share price fell by 5%; - Shares in Discovery fell 3% following the earnings announcement; and - South Africa moves to alert level 1 from 20 September.

Listen to the full details of South Africa's move to lockdown level 1, as explained by President Cyril Ramaphosa. Among the moves designed to kickstart economic growth: an easing of travel restrictions, including international air travel, and larger gatherings will be allowed. But masks will remain compulsory and the president has urged all South Africans to do the Jerusalema to change the mood in the country after a prolonged period under strict rules to curb the spread of Covid-19.

In Episode Four our guest is a lad from Kensington in London whose chance meeting with a lass sitting on a wall in Cornwall sent him on an adventure that was to have a massive impact on South Africa’s peaceful transition. Until fate intervened, the highlight of Clem Sunter’s life had been playing on the undercard of a Rolling Stones concert at Oxford University as one half a folk music duo called Clem and John. Like other guests on this show, Clem was selected on the basis that if his story were captured in book form, it would likely be a bestseller. The only surprise is why South Africa’s most famous futurist hasn’t written that autobiography already. Because apart from his other attributes Clem Sunter is also a prodigious writer, having produced 17 books, the most recent of which refer to how we can all learn from foxes, that most adaptable of animals.

FirstRand reported a 38% drop in normalised profit for the year earlier this month. Hundreds of South Africans have been drowning in unpaid bills thanks to a harsh lockdown which caused many to lose their jobs or take pay cuts. As a result, the group increased provisions to cover bad debts relating to Covid-19 by over R15bn. It has since written off over R24bn in bad-debt credit impairments. It's not the only South African bank to feel the effects of Covid. In a Rational Radio webinar, BizNews founder Alec Hogg is joined by South Africa's favourite market commentator David Shapiro and chief executive at Cannon Asset Managers Adrian Saville to discuss the issues surrounding South African bank shares.

In this episode, the driving force behind a charity that is feeding 100,000 desperately hungry people in deep rural areas puts the human face on the devastation Covid-19 lockdown has caused. Johannesburg-based Marilyn Bassin of the NGO Boikanyo – The Dion Herson Foundation, tells how a chain of about 35 NGOs is getting food parcels to people who are relying on a few tablespoons of porridge a day - and how many families don't eat for days. And, a leading sociologist Professor David Dickinson of the University of the Witwatersrand provides the macro picture of how life has changed dramatically for the worse for many people in cities too. - Jackie Cameron

In today’s news headlines: - Lies from Eskom over stage 4 loadshedding limits; - R200bn of government’s relief package may go unused; - Magda Wierzycka accuses IRR of threat; and - Harmony Gold suffers R800m headline loss.

It's been very interesting to track economic indicators of an economy that is hopefully going to recover faster than the gloomy expectations that people have had. One of these indicators could well be how much we are driving.