The Daily Discourse

More and more South Africans are struggling with debt. The hike in food and petrol prices has been a major contributing factor to this situation. A study by the National Credit Regulator shows that consumers were likely to use credit cards which carry high interest as they try to make ends meet. Today, Bryan Hirsch will be talking about how to manage debt and how to approach a debt councillor. GUE...

As you’ve heard over the weekend that FW De Klerk’s funeral will take place this coming Sunday the 21st of November. Today we use this opportunity to look at whether the anger that was displayed locally and internationally at his passing was justified? Families of victims feel that he’s taking so many secretes with him to the grave. Let’s listen to a bit of what Lukhanyo Ca...

Research by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research has showed that load-shedding under De Ruyter has been the worst South Africa has ever seen. Over the weekend, Finance minister Enoch Godongwana expressed concern at state of Eskom. The big question remains over whether to remove De Ruyter and what will it solve? To help us answer this question Guest: Professor Sampson Mamphweli - Dire...

Stats SA’s latest report has revealed that KwaZulu-Natal remains the only province which delays in registering birth. According to South African law, all births must be registered within 30 days from the date birth. To find out how this is causing complications at Home Affairs and also how the problem can be solved Guest: Thomas Sigama – Deputy Director General responsible for Civic Se...

Trade union federation, Cosatu is calling for the introduction of new wealth taxes in the country. They were commenting at the back of Finance Minister Enoch Godogwana’s maiden Medium Term Budget Policy Statement last week. They would like the focus to be on people who earn over R1.5 million per year. To tell us about some of the reasons behind the call, we are joined on the line by.. Guest:...

  After dealing with the politics of this country, loadsheding and budget speech reaction, nothing can sooth our hearts and spirits like Wouter Kellerman’s music. He has a new offering and has been keeping very busy performing internationally. He now joins us via Skype to blow us into the weekend..   Guest: Wouter Kellerman – South African Grammy winner

Tributes continue to pour in for South Africa's last Apartheid president, FW De Klerk. He died this morning at his home in Fresnaye in Cape Town at the age of 85. De Klerk was diagnosed with mesothelioma cancer earlier this year and has died of complications, as a result. De Klerk spent the last few years of his life having to field questions from where ever he spoke about his role in apartheid at...

The SA SMME Forum says that it is disappointed at what they term as “a backsliding, lacklustre” medium-term budget speech delivered by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana yesterday. They go on to say that there’s very little to be excited about.     Guest: Tebogo Khaas - President of the SA SMME Forum

The NYDA is one of those organisations that have been criticised over the years by young people. It was meant to help improve the lives of young people in terms of entrepreneurship and other challenges they are facing. Well, they have a new chairperson who is the first female to occupy the position. What new thing is she hoping to bring and how will she turn the organisation’s reputation aro...

We speak now to Janet Jobson, acting CEO of the DG Murray Trust. They are of the view that our solution to equality is on investing more on early childhood development. The other sad reality they say is that many children in South Africa, who are deprived of a quality early childhood development opportunity, later falter in school and eventually drop out. What according to her is the most practica...

The effects of the Covid-19 pandemic continue to show how hard the economy has been hit. The SMME sector is trying very hard to make a comeback, but finances are still a problem for many. This has opened the market for alternative lending which can help those who may need funding not just to rebuild, but also to grow their businesses. But as an entrepreneur, what should one be looking out for when...

NGO’s are keeping a keen eye on Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana this afternoon as he delivers his maiden Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement. Unions are calling on him to abandon government's current fiscal policy of severe budget cuts in social spending. On the other hand Government is proposing a family grant to replace the Covid Social Relief of Distress grant. Economists are asking whe...

  The management of power utility Eskom insists that it will not resign. This, despite calls by labour and business following weeks of loadshedding. The company held a media briefing yesterday where its CEO Andre Ruyter apologised to the public and business community but also called on municipalities to cooperate with Eskom. For more on this we are joined on the line by… Guest:  E...

A new study by research company Ipsos shows that the battle against illicit cigarette trade is far from over. This was the fourth such investigations by the company in 2021. The study shows that such cigarettes are available at more than 4500 shops around the country. For more on this we are joined on the line by…   Guest:   Zacharia Motsumi – Spokesperson for the SA Tobacco...

Bladder infections can cause great discomfort to those who are infected. They are said to be the most common type of urinary tract infections and doctor emphasize that treatment should be sought speedily. For more on this we are joined on the line by…   Guest:  Dr. Kent Pluke – Specialist urologist from the University of Cape in private practise at Melomed Tokai

With so many babies and children abandoned as well as couples struggling to conceive, adoption can be a good option. But some have raised concerns due to cultural and religious beliefs. But people like out next guest have found it to be a fulfilling experience.   Guest: Thabitha Dolamo- Adoptive mother and businesswoman

As municipalities are starting afresh under new leadership after the local government elections, we speak now to some of the community forums to get their reflections on the outcomes. In some communities, the very parties they were protesting against are the ones they voted back while in other areas communities started their own parties. Let’s find out now from them as we welcome… Gue...

Following on from last week’s programme with the petrol price increasing and interest rates likely to rise sooner than we would have liked. Bryan picks up on what consumers should be doing to make their monthly income last longer…. GUEST: Bryan Hirsch, Chairperson of Bryan Hirsch, Colley & Associates (Pty) Limited

Our guest today takes us through 17 tips of becoming a better leader. She describes leadership as that thing you have to do, even when you don’t feel like it. Having been in the communications business for 17 years, she’s going to share with us what she learnt over these years. Let’s welcome…    Guest: Tara Turkington - CEO of Flow Communications

Yesterday (Monday) we spoke to NUM’s Kangela Baloyi on the phasing out of coal as part of the energy mix. So yesterday, the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union, AMCU wrote an open letter to Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe highlighting how unfair the coal deal is to South Africa and the fact that it is too early for us as a country to compare ourselves to industrialised countries...

Tens of thousands of Ethiopians yesterday (Sunday) rallied in the capital Addis Ababa in support of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government. Some were raising their opposition to the United States involvement. Forces loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front have threatened to march on the capital prompting a state of emergency. Commentators say that if the Tigray People's Liberation Front does...

Today (8th of November) is National STEM day which is an international initiative highlighting the importance of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The aim is to encourage young people to advance in these fields which will their chances of employment and skills for the country. Last year the latest findings of the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study revealed that S...

As South Africa is battling to deal with its energy problem, news from Glasgow where the Cop26 climate talks are taking place is that the world is pushing phase out the use of coal. Pretoria has welcomed the deal as it will receive $b.5 billion to help it stop its reliance on coal. But what about the job losses in the coal mines? To get a union’s perspective on this, we are joined on the lin...

Local government elections are done and dusted, now the focus is on the country’s finances. Finance minister Enoch Godongwana’s is expected to table his maiden medium-term budget policy statement on Thursday. Some commentators are asking whether he will keep to Tito Mboweni’s policies.  Some reports last week said that he may propose that Covid-19 social relief of distress g...

Over the weekend, some of the opposition party leaders were turning their back on any possibility of working with the ANC and coalition governance. Interestingly, they started talking about the race for 2024 openly declaring that their parties are aiming to rule then. Looking back to the performance of the individual candidates, is it encouraging for 2024 and could we really see the ANC out of pow...