The Daily Discourse

The Matjhabeng Municipality in Welkom in the Free State is under siege. The crisis-ridden municipality has lost millions of rand combating rampant infrastructure vandalism and cable theft. More than 200 cases of cable theft and infrastructure vandalism have been reported since March last year.  Guest: Cllr Nkosinjani Speelman –Executive Mayor at the Matjhabeng Local Municipality  ...

September being Spring Month we thought to talk a bit about spring cleaning, not only for your house, but your personal pace in general, be it work or home. How much does a clean environment contribute to a positive attitude? To help us around this issue, we are joined on the line by… Guest: Sir Max – Knowledgepreneur, Speaker and author

Yesterday (Monday) many of you could not ask your questions on time regarding organising your will. So today is your chance to engage Bryan on the issue. Remember that  this week is National Wills Week. Welcome back Bryan…. Guest: Bryan Hirsch, Chairperson of Bryan Hirsch, Colley & Associates (Pty) Limited

The ANC has its hands full as their nomination process for prospective councillors in the upcoming local government elections has turned violent. At least three people were killed at a party meeting in Inanda north of Durban over the weekend. On the other hand branches are protesting outsight the its headquarters Luthuli House in Johannesburg expressing their unhappiness over imposed candidates. F...

Police say investigations are under way following an incident in which a grade nine learner died in hospital after being stabbed by a fellow learner at Pholosho secondary school in Alexandra north of Johannesburg. The incident happened last week Thursday in the evening. Two weeks ago, 16-year-old, Qayiya Mgaye, was stabbed to death, allegedly by a fellow learner at the same school. So these are tw...

South Africans last week expressed mixed reactions over children taking part in the SINOVAC COVID-19 trial. On Friday, the first group of children took part in the trial at the Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University in Pretoria. On the other hand, the South African Health Products Authority, SAHPRA, says it has approved the use of the Pfizer vaccine for children 12 years and over. Let’s...

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development is this week embarking on an educational drive focusing on Wills and the Administration of Deceased Estates. This is part of highlighting National Wills Week which starts today (Monday). What is it that you should know about drafting a will and also not leaving a headache for loved ones when you die. Guest: Adv Preesha seetal- assistant mast...

A report released by Amnesty international this morning (Monday) has revealed very disturbing developments around child kidnapping and killings in the Sahel’s tri-border area. Some of these children have been recruited by armed groups while others are killed in the process. Villages are also reportedly under attack from these armed groups. Guest: Janine Morna - Research Consultant, Chil...

This morning we pay special attention to men feeling that their abuse is not being taken seriously.  Some men who are in abusive relationships are said to be afraid to speak out as society and the police don’t take them seriously. On Monday, the conversation was sparked by a caller who goes by the name Active Citizen and this is what he had to say…. Guest: Prof Tsoaledi Thobejane...

September being Heritage Month, museums and heritage sites are eagerly inviting members of the public to pay them a visit to see some of the country’s wonderful offerings. The Javert-UP Art Centre in Pretoria is launching their September Public Programme with historically significantly artefacts from Mapungubwe and other cultural activities. To find out more on this and also why it’s i...

The IEC yesterday revealed that only 3 political parties declared donations that were above R100-thousand. The commission released the information in its quarterly report which is in line with the political provisions of the Political Party Funding Act. To understand what this means and also what it says about the effectiveness of the Act, we are joined on the line by…   Guest: Lulu Wh...

The Credo Mutwa Foundation, family members and the Sol Plaatje University together with other institutions are this week hosting the 2nd intergenerational colloquium in his honour. This year’s theme is ‘Retracing the footsteps /legacy of mkhulu Vusamazulu Credo Mutwa’. How do we use his beliefs to better the society we live in today? Could some of his teachings be used to re...

Bontle Tshole is a young entrepreneur who started her own business, in the health sector. As a student, she was not too happy with what was offered by restaurants in terms of healthy food. This then gave her an idea to start her business where she will serve healthier options. She now joins us on the line to talk about her business….    Guests: Bontle Tshole – Owner of Baaa...

Let’s tell you now about a study by the Stellenbosch Business School that has shown that an Artificial Intelligence coach is just as effective as a human coach. The research showed that the chatbot Vici helped users to achieve their goals at double the rate of a control group attempting to reach their goals on their own. To explain how this works and why the researchers decided to look into...

Let’s speak now to the KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Sipho Hlomuka who promised to come back on the show to explain how he’s dealing with the borehole water problem in his province. One of the issues we touched on with him was pricing. To try and understand how pricing works around the drilling of boreholes, we had a brief chat with Collin Rice, D...

The Competition Commission says the latest Essential Food Pricing Report shows that there is a decline in the number of farmers operating, while at the same time the value chain has become concentrated. To cite just one example, there were nearly 4000 dairy farmers in January 2007 but there was just over a 1000 this year. The report tracks the effects of the covid-19 pandemic on food markets. For...

Today being International Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder Awareness Day, government and interest groups are spreading the message warning pregnant women against drinking while pregnant. Social Development Deputy Minister, Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu launched the 999 Foetal Alcohol Syndrome campaign earlier in the week and one of the major areas of concerns was the Eastern Cape where it is said to be...

If you have problems with your meter reading and billing company, this may come in handy for you.   Guest: Matsotso Vuso – Deputy Chairperson of the South African Metering Industry Association

Dementia is a serious condition which involves memory loss and the elderly are most at risk. It is being reported that this is becoming an increasing problem in South Africa. So, what is dementia, is it preventable or even curable? For more on this we are joined on the line by… Guest: Professor Felix Potocnik-Geriatric Psychologist who has a special focus on dementia Guest: Karen Borochowit...

We speak now to the South African Social Security Agency about some of the problems they have been facing regarding paying out some of the R350 grants. Many of you have been complaining and not understanding what is going on. Well let’s welcome… Guest: Fanie Sethokga – General Manager for Grants Operations at SASSA

Today marks World Literacy Day. Although literacy levels have been improving in South Africa, there is still a huge concern about the reading ability of many children at primary school level. There has also been a debate around the issue of using mother-tongue language at schools and multilingualism. For more on this we are joined on the line by… Guest: Lorato Trok - Author and Specialist M...

Newly elected North West Premier Bushy Maape says he will prioritise issues of service delivery during his tenure. He won 21 votes while the DA’s candidate Winton Rabotapi received only five yesterday. The North West province has municipalities that are barely functional that have had to be placed under administration in recent years with negative reports from the Auditor-General. So, who is...

This morning we take you to the Makana Local Municipality. They have been having problems around drought which affected water supply. Residents complained about service delivery. Around June this year, the municipality obtained an  interim interdict  preventing protesting residents from gathering in violation of Covid-19. Guest: Mzukisi Mphahlwa – Mayor of Makana Local Municipality...

Last week when we spoke to Bryan Hirsch about withdrawing your pension, many of you raised the issue of paying high interest. Many of you asked about how much interest is too high and how much is reasonable. Well, this morning we invited an expert to talk about this issue of interest and to educate us on the subject, we are joined on the line by… Guest: Mariette Tappan - Independent Certifi...

The IEC insists that it's decision to reopen registration for election candidates is based on legal advise. The elections body has been criticised for this with some opposition parties saying that this move was meant to purely benefit the ANC which failed to meet the deadline which saw it fail to register more than 90 of its candidates ahead of the upcoming local government elections. The IEC made...