In response to this, the launch of a new, locally-produced current affairs programme on TopTV is perfect timing. The hour-long weekly show, Real Issues on Top, is broadcast on Top One, channel 150 on TopTV, on Wednesday evenings at 20:30.

The studio-hosted show introduces a new topic each week that provokes discussion amongst the studio participants and evokes reaction and interaction from the viewers, making extensive use of social media.

Says Eddie Mbalo, interim CEO of TopTV: “The launch of original programming on TopTV is the culmination of many months of research and hard work behind the scenes. We have a very clear strategic direction as to where and how we want to position locally-produced content on our platform. With the launch of three innovative shows on our flagship channel, Top One, we are confident that we have delivered on this mandate.”

Each week on Real Issues on Top, a topical issue will be introduced by the two studio hosts, Kgopedi oa Namane and Aubrey Masango, and interrogated by a number of studio guests offering their expert insights and varying points of view. Following the commentary that presents opposing opinions, it will be up to the TopTV viewers to make their own conclusions on the issue being debated, and share these viewpoints via the interactive platforms available. These include email, Facebook and Twitter.

The programme is presented by two rising young stars in the broadcast world who are making their television debuts. Kgopedi oa Namane is the midday news anchor on South Africa’s largest commercial radio station, Metro FM. She also hosts the weekday slot, 'Africa Watch', on the programme, TSI. Her love of the African continent and the medium of radio saw her involvement in the Roll Back Xenophobia campaign and she played a lead role in garnering support for Ghana as the last African team during the 2010 Soccer World Cup. She is a passionate advocate of women and children empowerment.

Aubrey Masango is currently a weekly columnist for the online publication, The Daily Maverick. He is also a talk show host on Talk Radio 702 and Cape Talk 567, hosting the midnight to 04:00 timeslot where discussions with listeners range from politics and current affairs to sport and everything in between. Masango was involved in the corporate world for many years, and was a director of a national records management company until 2009. He started a retail wholesale business in Mamelodi in 2010 and worked in his father’s business – property development and low-income housing. He started hosting the talk show in May 2010, and began writing a weekly column for The Daily Maverick in May this year.

He also teaches and facilitates management courses at various tertiary education institutions. He is a motivational speaker, an avid reader and has a strong interest in esoteric wisdoms and spiritual development. He loves South Africa and all its people, and “looks for ways for the diverse people who make up this country to find their common humanity, given our complicated past and interesting present”.

Real Issues on Top will present relevant and current burning issues that affect and impact the everyday lives of all South Africans. The programme is produced by Pumeza Bam with TopTV’s David Makubyane as editorial manager. Hermina Matlhong is the researcher on the team and production co-ordination is the responsibility of Yvonne Simpson.

On Wednesday, 7 November at 20:30, Real Issues on Top will examine the current state of education in South Africa – a topical and emotional issue high on the current political and social agenda, as the 2012 matriculants, the majority of whom were born in the year that South Africa become a democracy, complete their schooling and ponder the options available to them in this country. Studio guests include Panyaza Lesuti , spokesperson for the Department of Education; Mmusi Maimane, the Gauteng Chairperson of the Democratic Alliance; and Prof Graeme Bloch of the University of the Witwatersrand’s Public and Development Management School.

Says Mmabatho Kau, channel Manager: Top One at TopTV: “It has long been our dream to showcase relevant and topical local content on our platform – and Top One is the perfect vehicle to capture the imagination and aspirations of our growing South African viewing family."

“Although it has taken us some time, we always believed that we would commission original and local content for our screens. Our intention with the launch of Real Issues on Top is to express and showcase a real South African spirit, reflective of the times in which we find ourselves,” concludes Kau.