Doors open

Welcome

Rebecca Davis , senior journalist, Daily Maverick

Opening address

Jillian Green , editor-in-chief, Daily Maverick

The good, the bad, the ugly & the surprising

Everything that went right, wrong and sideways in local government. You will laugh. You will cry.

Presented by Dan Corder , award-winning political comedian & news commentator

Are our metros really f*****cked?

Finding the answer to the question we've all been asking.

Moderator: Lindsey Schutters , journalist, Business Maverick
Panellists: Tsakani Maluleka , Auditor-General, AGSA, and Songezo Zibi , chairperson, Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts

Leaky cities, polluted waterways

Follow the sewage. From the burst pipe and creaky infrastructure, down to the ocean you swim in. Then find out what we need to do to protect this resource.

Moderator: Pieter-Louis Myburgh , investigative journalist, Daily Maverick
Panellists: Sean Phillips , director-general, Department of Water and Sanitation; Ferrial Adam , executive director, WaterCAN; Neil Macleod , specialist water & sanitation consultant; and Gregg Oelofse , coastal & environmental manager, Spatial Planning and Environment, City of Cape Town

Crime by numbers

Everyone has a theory about crime in their suburb, but almost nobody has the data. We unpack the numbers, from murders to housebreakings.

Presented by Lizette Lancaster , head of the Justice & Violence Prevention Programme, Institute for Security Studies

Crime the Beloved Country

Organised crime isn't loitering outside the gate. It has a desk inside, and it's on the payroll. And when they end up in prison is it business as usual or is there hope?

Moderator: Caryn Dolley , author & crime journalist, Daily Maverick
Panellists: Andy Mothibi , National Director of Public Prosecutions, NPA; Lizette Lancaster , head of the Justice & Violence Prevention Programme, Institute for Security Studies; Judge Edwin Cameron , author, judge & member of the Botswana Court of Appeal; and Rebecca Gore , author & advocate of the high court

How to spot the fake election messaging

Presented by Kyle Findlay , co-founder, Murmur Intelligence

The Ripple Effect

Jillian Green , editor-in-chief, Daily Maverick, in conversation with Dr Imtiaz Sooliman , founder and chair of Gift of the Givers.

In loving memory of Estelle Ellis

Friends with Benefits

Should business be helping to fix cities and invest in them? Is there a return on the investment or is it a bottomless pothole?

Moderator: Stephen Grootes , associate editor, Daily Maverick
Panellists: Denise van Huyssteen , CEO, NMB Business Chamber; Ozzy Nel , CEO, SA Harvest and Prof Bonang Mohale , Chancellor of the University of the Free State

The Story of the Wilds

Contemporary artist James Delaney turned The Wilds from a crime-ridden, forgotten patch of Houghton into one of Joburg's busiest parks – proof of what one determined citizen can do where the City won't.

Presented by James Delaney

Power to the People

Somewhere between the ward meeting and the abandoned building residents figured out that they are the answer to the questions. Now, community platforms are reclaiming inner-city blocks and holding municipalities to their own promises.

Moderators: Ferial Haffajee , associate editor, Daily Maverick, and Malibongwe Tyilo , creative lead, Maverick Studios
Panellists: Bea Swanepoel , Group CEO, Jozi my Jozi; Yunus Chamda , coordinator, Joburg Crisis Alliance; Asad Gaffar , chairperson, eThekwini Ratepayers Protest Movement; & Tim Harris , co-founder & chairperson, Mission for Inner City Cape Town

Point of Order

Ten minutes with Marianne Thamm , associate editor, Daily Maverick.

Our cities aren't broken, they're built wrong

Presented by Professor Edgar Pieterse , director, African Centre for Cities, University of Cape Town

Coalition nation

Presented by Professor Susan Booysen , analyst and author

Campaigning is easy. Governing isn't.

Coalitions, collapse and the politics of delivery, 10 weeks before the ballot. Bringing governance, political leadership and action to cities. Why thriving cities are intrinsically tied to South Africa's survival.

Moderator: Mondli Makhanya , columnist & editor-at-large, Daily Maverick
Panellist: Helen Zille , DA Johannesburg mayoral candidate;

Closing Address

National Anthem

Performed by the Abantakwethu Brothers

Post-event networking drinks

brought to you by Friedrich Naumann Foundation , supported by Radford Dale Wines .