The Daily Discourse

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...

We wrap up the show now with one of not just South Africa, but Africa’s greatest musicians of all time. Umqombothi is still one of her biggest hit across the continent. What has she been up to and what is she busy with these days? Guest: Yvonne Chaka Chaka – South African legendary musician

Dr Pali Lehohla gives his reflections on the outcomes of the elections. He wrote an article before voting day reminding South Africans of what to consider when casting your vote. Now that the final results have been announced, what are his views about the outcomes and also what message would he say was sent out by voters seeing that many parties did not get a majority outcome? Guest: Dr Pali Lehoh...

Exiting news in the world of science is the discovery of partial remains of a Homo Naledi child’s skull and teeth. The discovery was made on a limestone shelf deep within the Rising Star cave system. This is the same area where the first Homo Naledi remains were discovered a few tears ago. To find out what this discovery means and what it teaches us about the origins of humans, we are joined...

  Let’s look at ourselves as the media in terms of how we covered the elections. Compared to over the years, did the media reflect a true picture of what was happening on the ground? As a citizen of the country, are you happy at how the stories were brought to you? To give us a sense, we are joined on the line by… Guest: Nomshado Lubisi – Head of Communications at Media Mon...

As we start National Disability Month, we use the last hour of the show to talk about some of the difficulties this community is facing. As we built up to the elections, some even pointed out that many political party manifestos said very little about issues of disability. 27 years into our democracy, many people living with disabilities feel excluded from education, workplace and other entities....

Biodata has become the first South African company to receive approval to conduct an observational research trial which they say is aimed at uncovering the opportunity to replace opioids with medical cannabis in the management of chronic pain. Now if you remember how much of a debate medical cannabis was in parliament for many years. To help us understand what this trial means and also how it will...

As SMMEs are still battling to get back on their feet after the hard lockdown period, our guest say that they should consider utilising third-party service providers. He goes on to say that the lock down presents an opportunity for organisations to streamline their processes and delegate to independent providers whatever functions fall outside of their core business ambit. To talk more on this, we...

Most of the political parties contesting the elections are now coalition with each other. They have indicated willingness to talk. The ANC on the other hand has appointed a coalition task team headed by former minister Jeff Radebe. What can we read into this and is it not a betrayal to the electorate? For a perspective on this, we are joined on the line by… Guest:  Dr Mcebisi Ndletyana...

Let’s focus now on epilepsy. According to medical journals, it is a central nervous system disorder in which brain activity becomes abnormal. This then leads to seizures or periods of unusual behaviour. Sadly though, medical experts say that it can affect anyone regardless of gender or race. Looks look at the main causes and whether there are preventative measures to deal with it as we...

With all focus on the outcomes of the local government elections, we now talk about people losing trust in government. Some of the revelations that came out as we were building toward the election is how people were disgruntled by promises made by government and the lack of service delivery. Another issue that was raise is the unfinished projects where monies were spent with no benefit to the citi...

Throughout yesterday, the ANC and the DA were neck to neck in the hotly contested Nelson Mandela Bay. The party was said to have picked up some key wards in the area. As the results are still coming in, let’s take a look now at the dynamics of the Nelson Mandela Bay and why the ANC seems to be doing well in the Eastern Cape… Guest:  Dr Ntsikelelo Breakfast – Senior Lecturer...

Last week being the last Tuesday of the month, the feature is always devoted to answering questions that have been submitted to Bryan during the month. This is where he picks out all those questions of a similar nature and deal with them. But remember that you can still ask other financially related questions… GUEST: Bryan Hirsch, Chairperson of Bryan Hirsch, Colley & Associates (Pt...

Often the question is asked about why people keep voting for the same parties with the hope that their lives will change. For our personal development feature today, we look at the subject of hope. What is hope and why do voters keep hoping for a different outcome even when they vote for the same people? What is hope exactly and is it a good thing to base one’s life on? To help us understand...

Let’s kick off the show by talking about the Municipal Structures Amendment Act . It is hailed as something that will ensuring newly elected officials are held accountable during their term of office. According to researchers, one of the things it’s aimed at doing is to empower the municipal council speaker with additional functions to ensure that the council effectively fulfils its va...

It appears that coalition governments are the future as political parties struggle to get a clear majority at local government level. Analysts warn that all indications are that even after today’s election, parties will be forced to co-govern as was the case previously. However, these arrangements have often gone wrong in many municipalities. The emergence of scores of new parties has a...

Some of you might have gone voting already. But what happens now that you’ve put that cross on the ballot paper? What does your vote translate to and most importantly, how do you hold the person or party you voted for accountable? For more on this we are joined on the line by… Guest: Sheilan Clarke – Communications Officer at My Vote Counts

Political Economy analyst Daniel Silke has warned that today’s elections could change the status quo. He says it is very difficult to predict which way people will vote and says the situation will likely be messy leading to smaller parties being kingmakers. Silke has also warned of a low turnout. For more on his reflections, he joins us now on the line… Guest: Daniel Silke – Pol...

Today marks the start of Domestic Worker Week which is used to highlight the plight of these important yet vulnerable workers. In South Africa all workers are protected by the law, however, this particular group, often isolated, does not always enjoy these rights. They were also not spared by the devastating impact of covid-19 with hundreds having lost their jobs. President Cyril Ramaphosa who add...

The four Moti brothers who were kidnapped last week in Polokwane, Limpopo are yet to be found. They were dragged out of a vehicle being used to take them to school by a group of armed men. Their driver was unharmed. The boys are aged between 6 and 15. In a recent incident…A three-year old boy was kidnapped in Bainsvlei in the Free State ON Monday also by men carrying arms who are said to ha...

Those in the townships and soccer supporters would know our guest better. In the prime days of apartheid, she will be performing in the township. She was given the name Thandeka because people just loved her so much. She’s one of those legendary musicians who knows how to work a live crowd at a festival leaving you with no choice, but to dance… Guest: PJ Powers – South African l...