The National Pulse

We are expecting to finally hear from Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana tomorrow as he’ll finally be delivering his budget speech in the National Assembly. The proposed 2% VAT increase is still a NO from many organisations and political parties. So, what can we expect to cut tomorrow? To help us answer this question, I am joined on the line by… GUEST: Avias Ngwenya, Vice President &n...

Sport, arts and culture minister Gayton McKenzie has defended his department's recent job advertisement that gave preference to specific racial groups. The ad for the position of deputy director of administrative support and coordination in McKenzie's office stated preference would be given to coloured males, Indian males, white males, coloured females and Indian females. GUEST: Kagiso Lebethe - S...

The SA Medical Technology Industry Association is once again urging government to prioritise its response to provincial health departments’ delayed payment to med-tech suppliers and systemic budgeting and transactional inefficiencies that are disrupting health services. For more on this, I am joined on the line by… GUEST: Scott de Oliveira, SAMED – the SA Medical Technology Indu...

16 people have been killed in a horror crash on the R21 northbound before the OR Tambo International Airport off ramp in the City of Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, this morning. To get an update on this, I am joined on the line by… GUEST: Andile Mngwevu, MMC for Roads and Transport in the City of Ekurhuleni Spokesperson

The Electoral Commission of South Africa is currently hosting the E-Voting Conference in Cape Town to facilitate an informed national dialogue on the feasibility, sustainability, and policy implications of electronic voting in the country. Andile Mbanjwa, SABC News Reporter, is in Cape Town and joins me on the line to share what came out of day 2 of the conference… GUEST: Andile Mbanjwa, SA...

With less than 24 hours until the Budget is unveiled, many South Africans are wondering if tomorrow’s occasion will take place as scheduled, given what transpired two weeks ago. The controversy surrounding the VAT hike remains a thorny issue and has sparked a heated debate across the country. The last time we checked, the DA was against any possible VAT increase - so what’s their attit...

We tell you more about this wonderful Community Wolf initiative that has somehow succeeded in transforming WhatsApp into a free, anonymous crime reporting tool. This is a brilliant initiative, considering our country’s high crime levels and the challenge of under reporting. For more on this, we are joined by…. GUEST: Nick Mills, Co-founder of Community Wolf

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has been arrested on an International Criminal Court warrant, and he is accused of crimes against humanity. Human rights groups have welcomed his arrest, saying thousands of Filipinos were executed during his war on drugs campaign as president. For more analysis on this, we are joined by….. GUEST: Salman Khan, Independent geopolitical analyst for...

The production team received an email from an ex offender who asked us to get in touch with the department of correctional services and get clarification on how one actually qualifies for parole, especially when it comes to those serving a life sentence. I am joined on the line by… GUEST: Singabakho Nxumalo, Department of Correctional Services Spokesperson  

The official opposition, the MK Party, marched in Pretoria earlier today to the National Treasury and SARS offices opposing recent suggestions of a VAT increase. Leaders and supporters of the party said increasing taxes will result in a high cost of living. For more on this, I am joined on the line by… GUEST: Dr. Thanti Mthanti, MK Party member

The Deeds Office in Johannesburg has come to a halt with more than 5 000 property transfer files unattended as staff protest over unsafe working conditions in the Marble Towers building in the CBD. For the past eight days, no work has been done in a standoff over the office building’s conditions. Katherine Gascoigne, an executive of the Joburg Attorneys Association joins me on the line to sh...

A shooting incident has occurred in Amaoti, KwaZulu-Natal. Reports indicate that angry community members are shutting down certain areas, demanding urgent action from authorities to address crime. GUEST: Nonjabulo Mntungwa Makamu, SABC News Reporter

In conversation with SA Ambassador to South Sudan about the country’s fragile security situation. We understand that fighting in recent days has threatened an already fragile peace agreement between President Salva Kirr and Vice-President Riek Machar that was signed in 2018. Worried about the ongoing situation, the UN Human Rights Commission for South Sudan has warned of an alarming regressi...

With rapid advancements in Artificial Intelligence, we examine the role of South Africa’s insurance sector in empowering professionals with necessary skills to ensure the industry remains globally competitive and aligned with the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). Next week, the Insurance Sector Education and Training Authority will host its first ever Insurance Skills Indaba that will disc...

Given the ongoing Budget impasse, Neil Coleman from the Institute for Economic Justice is calling on Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to resign for misleading the country. This as he argues that the SRD grant should not be used to justify a 2% VAT increase.   GUEST: Neil Coleman, Senior Policy Specialist at the Institute for Economic Justice

Today we are joined by someone who is passionate about football and who will always be remembered as someone who transformed female football in this country, Fran Hilton-Smith. She will tell us more about her journey, both as a coach and football administrator, as we salute her for her tremendous contribution to the beautiful game of football. GUEST: Fran Hilton-Smith, former Banyana Banyana head...

  Yesterday I had a conversation with OUTA CEO, Wayne Duvenage about some of the suggestions the organisation had for government to deal with the budget shortfall besides implementing a 2% VAT. One of the things OUTA suggests is taxing the taxi industry. This is what Wayne Duvenage said about taxis paying tax… GUEST: Bafana Magagula – Chief strategic manager at SANTACO

As tomorrow marks International Women’s Day. We tell you more about this wonderful initiative driven by Wikimedia, titled “Knowledge is Human, Knowledge is Her” campaign that is aimed at enhancing gender equity on Wikipedia and beyond. This campaign celebrates contributors from Africa and beyond who have helped write, edit and source articles about notable women on Wikipedia. To...

As peace efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war continue. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has revealed that Ukrainian and American teams have resumed work in preparation for the US-Ukraine talks that are scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia next week. Interestingly Zelenskyy will also visit South Africa next month. Some of you may recall that in 2023 South Africa led a delegation of seve...

We are back to load shedding again as Eskom announces that stage 3 load shedding will be implemented from today until Monday next week. The power utility says their decision comes after a loss of 2700MW in the past 14 hours. But what are some of the major contributing factors to this? For more on this, we are joined by….. GUEST: Craig Morkel, Chair of the Gas Economy Leadership Team at the...

Earlier on, I spoke to Wayne Duvenage, OUTA CEO, about some of the interesting proposals the organisation came up with to potentially resolve the country’s budget impasse without squeezing taxpayers further. I’ll discuss some of these with my next guest and maybe get an idea on what he, Xhanti Payi, thinks needs to be done to deal with this budget impasse. GUEST: Xhanti Payi, Economist

The Concerned Makhanda Residents will meet at the Makhanda police station at 12 noon tomorrow to travel to Vergenoeg, one of the town's working class and impoverished communities, which has been without water for weeks. For more on this, I am joined on the line by… GUEST: Archbishop Nkosinathi Ngesi

Kevin Allan, MD of Municipal IQ, joins me on the line to react to some of the comments the President made about the City of Joburg and Gauteng Metros… GUEST: Kevin Allan, MD of Municipal IQ

In the next four days, the Electoral Commission will host a three-day e-voting conference in Cape Town to start a public conversation about the prospect of electronic voting, during South African elections. To outline some of the key issues that are going to be discussed during this important meeting is….. GUEST: Mr Masego Sheburi, IEC’s Deputy Chief Electoral Officer  

As trade tensions rise between China and the United States of America. Beijing has made it clear that it will do whatever is necessary to firmly safeguard its legitimate interests. This after revealing that they are going to impose additional tariffs of up to 15% on some US goods from the 10th of this month. The retaliatory measures were announced soon after U.S tariffs took effect on Chinese good...