It’s morning break time down at TEDxJoburg and just a quick update for our live blog. We’ve had some interesting speakers this morning – lots of talk about tech, security, growth and – unexpectdly brains and how they work and how they represent multiparty democracy in South Africa.

One highlight we should just mention, however, was political analyst Ralph Mathekga.

Mathekga is a regular talking head on news channels here in SA, and his presentation approached the day’s theme – We The People – from a slightly different angle to the norm. As a pundit, Mathekga says, he often asks himself who does he actually represent in his views? coming from a poor background in Limpopo, Mathekga told the audience about his education at Wits, scholarship to the US and eventual realisation that it is possible to make a living explaining things to people (which obviously struck a chord with us…).

“I went to US and watched a lot of TV, because you have a lot of time during post grad studies,” says Mathekga, “And Americans question everything. Looking back at SA from the US, people discuss society all the time in the US, and I wondered if you could get away with back home.”

Mathekga’s conclusion, he says, is that he still speaks for the people he grew up with, the poor of Limpopo, even though as a member of the middle class his lifestyle and views have changed.

“I believe I speak for the voiceless,” he said, “I come from the voiceless where I grew in Limpopo.”

I’m not really doing the presentation justice here, which was very funny and eloquently argued. Definitely one to watch for when the TEDxJohannesburg videos go live.