The Daily Discourse

The idea of mandatory vaccinations is slowing gaining the support from the South African public. This is according to University of Joburg and the Human Sciences Research Council Democracy Survey which shows that 54% of South African adults think employers should force employees to get vaccinated. The study also indicates that 51% support vaccine passports for entering certain public areas. For mo...

The South African Health Products Regulatory Authority has approved a third Pfizer covid-19 vaccine dose for those aged 18 and older. Preliminary studies show that three doses of this vaccine do help to neutralise the new omicron variant. So how is the booster shot going to work and who qualifies? Should South Africans be getting a booster shot when we are yet to meet the vaccination targets set b...

  Getting good quality goods is important for our health and safety therefore quality control becomes vital to ensure that customers get goods that are fit for purpose. To talk more about this, we are joined on the line by… Guest: Lerato Magalo – Executive Manager: Technical Services at Agreement South Africa

  The fast-paced world where consumers need goods speedily often without having to leave their work or homes is giving rise to e-commerce. But what are the challenges and joys of running such as business, especially when you are a relatively new kid on the block? We speak to Nhlakanipho Shange who is the of Direct to You Marketplace about what makes his platform different.   Guest: ...

Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke says the R166.8 billion could be higher than what has been recorded. She released the audit outcome for national and provincial government yesterday afternoon during a media briefing. Maluleke also says state-owned entities are struggling to get clean audits. But what needs to change at these SOEs for the situation to improve? For more on this we are joined on the...

In what has led to a series of events in the last week, actress Amanda du Pont has revealed that she was raped by her former entertainer boyfriend Molemo ‘Jub Jub’ Maarohanye during their two-year relationship while du Pont was still a student. Maarohanye has denied the allegation. This has led to a conversation about what spousal or marital rape is. To unpack this form of rape we are...

The Chairperson of the Local Organising Committee of the International Conference for HIV/AIDS and STIs in Africa says South Africa is implementing catch up programmes that will help people living with HIV/AIDS and TB to get back on treatment. Dr. Thembisile Xulu says covid-19 has derailed the HIV programme on the continent. Dr Xulu joins us now on the line as the conference enters its third day&h...

The Public Service Commission says government departments are failing to pay suppliers on time thereby negatively impacting on the sustainability of small businesses. The PSC released its quarterly bulletin for the three months July- September 2021 yesterday. It says government must pay if SMMEs are to survive during the current financial difficulties. The PSC also revealed that it registered near...

She once took her employer, the University of Cape Town, to court over issues of racism and now Professor Elelwani Ramugondo is tasked with transforming the institution. She has been appointed as Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Transformation. This is the first time that the position will be occupied by a black person. Ramugondo is a UCT alumni and has worked in different capacities over the years. So,...

Parliament has failed to pass the Constitutional Amendment Bill which would have seen the expropriation of land without compensation. The ANC managed to secure 200 votes and was supported by smaller parties such as the Al Jamah…but the other parties are not happy with the bill in its current form. What does this mean for the land reform project and where to from here? For more on this we ar...

The  World Health Organization  yesterday (Monday) called for a “massive, urgent” effort to get the new malaria vaccine into the arms of African children. This they said during their annual malaria report warning that that about 180,000 more people were dying annually from the disease than had previously been thought. Another scary revelation is that children in Africa were t...

Late last week the Johannesburg Metro Police made a huge bust in Midrand, not on drugs, but people waiting to be trafficked. An Ethiopian national was arrested and 33 of his countrymen who were victims waiting to be “distributed” to clients were rescued in Glen Austin. As if that’s not bad enough, we also have cases of parent who hire their babies out for R50 a day. Just how big...

KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC Nomagugu Simelane says while HIV is no longer a death sentence, ignorance and stigma remain critical problems in fighting the disease. She was addressing the opening of the International Conference on AIDS and STIs in Africa in Durban. The weeklong Pan African programme brings together scientists, healthcare workers, people living with HIV and government leaders. At the la...

We are heading into the last few weeks of the year when we try to do everything that we haven’t done during the year. Many are asking if they will get a bonus and if you are lucky enough to get one, what should you do with it? Well, let’s allow Bryan to share some wisdom with the lucky ones…. Guest: Bryan Hirsch, Chairperson of Bryan Hirsch, Colley & Associates (Pty) Limited

Environmentalists continue to stage protests against oil and gas giant Shell as it prepares to start with its seismic survey which seeks to find offshore oil and gas reserves. The company was expected to start embarking on a five month study off the Wild Coast in the Eastern Cape last week but was taken to court. It has since been given the green light to start after the Makhanda High Court dismis...

More and more universities are making vaccinations mandatory. Scores of universities including Rhodes University, the University of Joburg, the University of the Western Cape, Wits University and the University of the Free State have this policy in place while other are still consulting. Student bodies are encouraging vaccinations but say making it mandatory may not be the solution. For more on th...

Let’s tell you now about a campaign by the Imbumba Association for the Aged to create widespread public awareness about the Eastern Cape Department of Social Development’s (EC DSD) R56-million spending cut from NPO services providing social care. The Association is warning that the funds are supposed to help NPOs provide services for older persons, child protection services, people liv...

Health experts have appealed to members of the public to remain calm as the number of children admitted to hospital due to covid-19 infections continues to rise. These are mostly children under the age of five. The country has reported a sharp increase in covid-19 related infections with as much as 16 000 cases registered yesterday (Sunday) across the country. The rise is driven by the new om...

Multi award winning musician Berita soothes au into the weekend today. The Zimbabwe-born musician is no stranger to the South African music scene having won a SAMA award. What has she been up to lately? She now joins us in studio to talk about her journey and her latest projects…. Guest: Berita (Gugulethu Khumalo) – Multi-award winning Afro-soul musician

Gauteng Premier David Makhura says he is concerned about the 8 million unvaccinated people in his province. He fears they are the ones who may fall prey to the newly discovered Covid-19 variant, Omicron, and may accelerate its spread. Makhura was briefing the media on the pandemic in the province and outlining government's plans to deal with the forth wave. To tell us more on this, we are joined o...

The South African Association of Freight Forwarders and the Minerals Council South Africa are calling on government to address severe congestion at the Lebombo border post. They say that the cost to the trucking companies is running at R1.3bn in lost revenue so far this year. Many of our listeners who are truck drivers have been raising their frustrations at that border post. To give us an idea of...

As we conclude National Disability Awareness Month today (03 December), let’s tell you about a good initiative by the KwaZulu-Natal Film Commission. They have launched an Audio Description Initiative for the blind and the visually impaired. Today (Friday), they will be screening a myriad of Audio Described film at the KZN Film Commission Cinema. If you are a visually impaired person, what do...

On Tuesday Bryan was answering questions on various financial topics when a voice note came in talking about black tax and how it impacts on one’s personal finances. This then attracted more responses including from other race groups who believe that this does not only apply to black people. Let’s take a listen to what the voice notes were saying…. Guest: Lorraine Sithole -Promo...

  We continue with our discussion with the Small Enterprise Development Agency. Today they are focusing on the Pitch For Funding initiative which they say is a way of affording entrepreneurs an opportunity to test their business ideas to find out if the idea is bankable or not and attractive to investors. Five businesses won the big prises and to explain to us how it works and how it went thi...

  Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi this week officially registered South Africa’s laws against GBV and harassment with the International Labour Organisation. Speaking during a press briefing, Minister Nxesi said that this will go a long way in dealing with the issue of women who are vulnerable to abuse pointing out that working women are mostly vulnerable in terms of their high employment r...