The Daily Discourse

MEC for Basic Education in the North West Province yesterday (Monday) concluded her consultations with parents of Tirelong Secondary School near Rustenburg where the school have been vandalised a couple of times. The challenge is that the learners will have to be relocated to other schools ahead of tomorrow’s opening. To tell us how the process will work and how the meeting with the parents...

The distraught family of alleged national Parliament arsonist Zandile Mafe, says it is impossible that he had ever received any secret military training in Russia. Mafe grew up in Mahikeng in the North West and left for job opportunities in Cape Town some years ago. The family rubbished reports that questioned Mafe's identity and that allege that he had extensive military training overseas. Sylves...

The South African Local Government Association last year revealed that 62% of councillors lacked basic computer skills to perform tasks such as passing municipal budgets. This is very scary as municipalities are battling to provide basic service to their communities.  One of the tasks that SALGA deals with is that after every municipal election, they conduct a nationwide councillor induction...

Africa’s oldest liberation movement, ANC was this past Saturday celebrating 110 years of existence. The celebrations came as the party was licking its wounds after performing badly at last year’s local government elections. Party president Cyril Ramaphosa, his deputy David Mabuza and other speakers tried their best to form a united front and preach a message of putting people first and...

As schools are about to open in a few days, Youth-focused non-profit organisation, LoveLife says that South Africans should walk the talk when it comes to the new policies gazetted by the Department of Basic Education on learners who fall pregnant whilst at school. We have heard so many arguments from different entities on this policy with some believing too much responsibility is being put on tea...

South African civil society group, Public Interest SA says that it has formed a formal criminal complaint against Bain & Company to the US Department of Justice. This follows last week’s release of part 1 of the Zondo report of into state capture where the evidence was linked between Bain, former President Zuma and the SA Revenue Service. To tell us more on this and why they decided to g...

US President Joe Biden and former president Barack Obama are among a host politicians and celebrities that have paid tribute to actor Sydney Poitier who has died at the age of 94. Poitier was the first black man to win an Oscar for best actor. He also paved the way for a generation of black stars. Let’s listen now to this report by the BBC’s Lizo Mzimba….. Guest: James Ngcobo &n...

As we all look forward to the weekend after a long week of politics, parliament burning and the Zondo report being released, Khanyo Maphumulo takes us into the weekend with her soothing sounds. She has recently released a new album entitled "Khumbul'ekhaya”. She now joins us via Zoom to talk about her journey and what she’s been up to lately…. Guest: Khanyo Maphumulo – Sou...

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme has extended applications for this year’s academic year to the 21st of January. This means applicants and their parents have a bit of time to fix whatever documents were still outstanding. To talk more on this and what they foresee and also what it is that parents and applicants should know, we are joined on the line by… Guest: Kagisho Mamabol...

Last night the University of Limpopo in partnership with the Charlotte Mannya-Maxeke Institute and the Department of Sport, Arts & Culture hosted, a dialogue entitled ‘The Future of The Women’s Movement in South Africa’. One may wonder why the need for such a dialogue in a democratic South Africa seeing the powerful role women played in changing the politics of the country. T...

Today (Thursday) marks 27 years since the passing of Joe Slovo who was the country’s first housing minister post 1994. He was SACP secretary general in the early 90’s and also ANC national executive committee member in 1991. Many of our young people may know very little about him and his contribution to the freedom we are enjoying today. So let’s speak now about his legacy, contr...

As some companies are still allowing their staff to work from home, those in the technology space are warning that this has created cybersecurity vulnerabilities that have left many enterprise networks exposed to an unprecedented level of attack. They say that it has become critical for organisations to deploy remote access control solutions with stricter levels of security. To explain what this m...

    Let’s bring you an update now on the Madiba cell key which was to be auctioned in New York. The good news is that the auction has been suspended. To get clarity as to what happens next and also whether the key will be returned, we are joined on the line by….   Guest: JP Louw - Chief of Staff at the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture

As we start the year on our SMME feature today we speak to Tara Turkington who is CEO of Flow Communications. She has come up with 16 tips which will help you develop a strong business strategy. She says that whether you are leading a business or a business unit, or working as a freelancer, mastering a business strategy is key to your success. She goes on to say that the end of a year and the star...

    As a nation, we started the year on a challenging note with first the burial of one of the most outstanding moral voices to the burning of parliament. Many of you who called or sent voice notes have expressed anger against the leadership of the country. Poverty, corruption, crime and other societal issues are of major concerns as many of us are worried as to how these may be resolved...

    Last week Friday, the Constitutional Court handed down judgement in a case where the applicant lived together with the deceased in a romantic relationship. The man who passed way nominated his mother as the only heir to his estate. He died two months before they were to start lobola negotiations. The conclusion of the matter is that the court said that permanent life partnerships wer...

    The Covid-19 pandemic accompanied by the lockdown has seen many schools battling financially and having to cut budgets as many parents were unable to pay school fees. As much as the schools did suffer financially, it’s not all doom and gloom as there is a way that schools can get parents to pay and recover some of the bad debt. Well, to tell us more on this, we are joined on th...

The first part of the much-anticipated State Capture report handed over to President Cyril Ramaphosa  by Acting Chief Justice, Raymond Zondo at the Union Buildings in Pretoria yesterday. The 874-page document focuses on South African Airways, The New Age and the South African Revenue Services. The second part of the report will be given to the President at the end of the month while the final...

  Let’s tell you now about the recently launched Study Buddy Fund. It has committed itself to provide access to further education and training, by not only supporting students financially, but also providing a refreshing perspective on education. For the 2022 academic year, the higher education support fund will pay for the tuition and accommodation fees of 70 academically deserving stu...

    President Cyril Ramaphosa is today expected to formally receive the first part of the interim report into allegations of State Capture. But this may not happen as the Johannesburg High Court is also expected to hear an application by Democracy In Action (DIA) to oppose the handover of the state capture report. According to them,  President Cyril Ramaphosa should not be supplied...

  As many of us who are blessed to have jobs are slowly going back to our posts of duty, experts are highlighting the fact that most people are unhappy to go back to work. This is mainly due to getting used to working from home thanks to the lockdown regulations. The pandemic is said to have shifted the way many of those who have been working from home are thinking. They are now looking for b...

18 African countries will hold elections this year. However, the stakes are high in three particular ones which are Kenya, Angola and Senegal. To get more clarity on what is expected to unfold on the continent in 2022 we are joined on the line by…   Guest: Advocate Sipho Mantula – Researcher at the Thabo Mbeki African School on Public and International Affairs at UNISA

The Communist Party of Swaziland says the people of eSwatini must intensify the fight for democracy in that country. It has urged the African Union and SADC to stop handling the government with kids gloved and to demand from Africa’s last absolute monarchy, the unbanning of political parties, the protection of media freedom and the establishment of a representative interim government, amongs...

It is feared that important historical artifacts could have been severely damaged during yesterday’s fire in Parliament.  The oldest building in the Houses of Parliament is said be more than 100 years old and there are more than 4000 items of artistic value in Parliament. For more on the kinds of artefacts being stored there and their relevance, we are joined on the line by… &nbs...

A 49-year-old man has been arrested on charges relating to the fire that broke out in Parliament early yesterday morning (Sunday). It has emerged that the suspect was caught on camera roaming in the premises. Public Works Minister and Infrastructure Patricia De Lille has told the media that a water sprinkler was closed but it is not clear why.   Guest: Dr. Richard Walls – Head of Fire E...