The Daily Discourse

This past Monday was World Brail Day and we thought to visit the subject today to look at how far we are as a country in making it accessible for learners. Our guest is of the view that learners should learn both braille and print for them to be able to communicate with sighted people. Also in 2021, how accessible is braille in all our 11 official languages? Talk to us more on this subject, we are...

Yesterday we spoke to Muzi Hlengwa, President of the National Funeral Practitioners Association of South Africa. He spoke about how people are harassing them demanding to do family rituals during Covid-19 deaths, something that is not allowed under the current restrictions. Guest: Dr. Velaphi VVO Mkhize-Founder and Director of the Umsamo African Institute

Unemployment figures among young people living with disabilities are said to be close to 70 percent, 40 percent more than the figures of the general population. Activists say this is yet another indication of the exclusion of this community which forms 14% of South Africans. So, what are the barriers, what can role players do to improve this situation? Guest: Therina Wentzel-Du Toit-National Direc...

Labour federations Cosatu and Saftu say they are concerned about the safety of their members, many of whom will be returning to work next week. This comes as the number of coronavirus infections peaks during the second wave. Government has published guidelines for employers but are these enough? What happens if companies do not take the necessary precautions. Guest: Attorney and Director at Moni A...

Funeral parlours across the country are facing increasing pressure as the number of covid-19 related deaths spike. The industry says its employees are working long hours and that they now have to fetch the deceased from wards and not hospital mortuaries as has been standard practice for years, because of lack of space. The funeral service industry has called on the public to take safety precaution...

As you’ve heard over the weekend that Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi was not happy with the Independent Examination Board for filing court papers compelling government to fund its private business. The IEB says it can't afford to pay for the assessment services offered by the Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training – UMALUSI. Let’s hear now why the MEC is...

The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) says it is hopeful that the curfew and the ban on alcohol sales over the festive season, will limit the annual holiday carnage on the roads. Holiday makers have begun making their way home as traffic volumes have started building up over the weekend. Let’s talk now about how different things were this under the current Covid-19 rules. The assumption i...

Usually around this time of the year paramedics and law enforcement agencies have their hands full dealing with all sorts of incidents caused by unruliness. But this time around it seems like the curfew helped as some hospitals and medical staff experienced an incident-free celebration period and to get a sense of how things were on the ground, we are joined on the line by…. GUEST: Robert Mulaudzi...

As we close one of the hardest years in our lifetime, we speak to those who are in the forefront of taking care of the poor. Often those of us who are lucky enough to have jobs or have an income forget those who have nothing. We turn to leave it to charities to worry about the poor. We forget that charities do need us to contribute in different ways so that they can be able to feed those in need....

We talk now to Molefe Pooe, author of a book entitled Money Talks. This is one of those topics that is best needed around this time as we look forward to the new year. His book touches in issues of how your environment limits your thinking and how to manage your money among other issues. Guest: Molefe Pooe – Author of Money Talks

Let’s tell you now about exiting news for our music industry after seeing how so our musicians took the world by storm. Jerusalema was no doubt a super hit with many nations. This time around the South African Music Week is collaborating with world-respected Canadian Music Week, in 2021.This will see South Africa and Canada come together to explore ways in which to maximise how music, technology a...

The Department of Basic Education has announced that it will be visiting exam marking centres around the country to make sure that they comply with Covid-19 regulations. So far 1659 teachers have died from Covid-19. Guest: Basil Manual-Executive Director for the National Teachers’ organisation of SA (NAPTOSA)

2020 has no doubt been a very heavy year for all of us. It was a year of great loss for many with lives lost. We speak now to Metropolitan who says that if we don’t speak about it, we won’t learn from it. If we don’t own it, we can’t grow from it. Mental health is a major challenge which many people don’t really talk about. GUEST: Baatseba Mothoa - a healthcare practitioner, specialising as a Psyc...

South Africa will only receive the Covid-19 vaccine during the second quarter of 2021. President Cyril Ramaphosa revealed during his address of the nation on Monday about the country's response to the current surge in coronavirus infections. Ramaphosa also announced the decision to move the country back to adjusted level 3 lockdown as the country surpassed 1 million cumulative Covid-19 infections....

The 2020 AU Continental Teacher Prize was awarded to one of our own teachers. Livhalani Sinyosi who is a Principal at Dzata Secondary School in the Vhembe West District is this year’s winner and to find out more about what attracted the judges to her, Guest: Livhalani Sinyosi – Principal at Dzata Secondary School in the Vhembe West District

The Progressive Professional Forum has added its voice to government’s calls for people to stay away from super spreader events that contribute to the spreading of Covid-19. The biggest worry is New Year’s Eve celebrations where people party in large groups counting down the clock. What then are they suggesting and how should we find the balance? Guest: Kashif Wicomb – President of the Progressive...

Doctors, pharmacists and dentists in Kenya have called off a nationwide strike. The health care workers called on the Kenyan government to provide better working conditions. However, nurses and clinical officers will remain on strike as they say their demands are yet to be addressed. GUEST: Professor Thumbi Ndungu – Deputy Director African Health Research Institute

This year’s Kwanzaa celebrations will have to incorporate Covid-19 regulations and those celebrating it are considering doing it virtually. But then does it lose its meaning and how important is it to celebrate it despite possible disruptions? GUEST: Thando Sipuye – Historian and Social Scientist

The Covid-19 pandemic has no doubt left destruction for the SMME sector with many closing down due to the lockdown. On the other hand there are those businesses that thrived during this period. Let’s talk now about how business can better prepare for situations like this as we welcome…. Guest: Khathutshelo (Khathu) Mufamadi - Computer engineer, founder and CEO of Droppa

Social media has brought us many new things, from social new ways of journalism, social celebrities and now influencers. These are people who get paid as trend setters and become very popular through their activities on the net. To educate us on this and talk about why its becoming popular and why people want to be influencers, Guest: Choaro Motshoeneng – Brand influencer and content creator

The Beitbridge border and the N1 in Musina, Limpopo faced disruptions these past few days as travellers head to various destinations for the festive season holidays. Traffic volumes started increasing over the weekend leaving officials unable to control traffic as trucks and small vehicles heading north towards Zimbabwe occupy both lanes. Let’s listen to what some of the motorists had to say… Gues...

Let’s tell you now about the annual collaboration between Centurion Haven of Hope, Basadi Ba Moshito & Railways Café. They will be hosting The Fathers Table Christmas Lunch for the needy and to tell us more on this and how long it has been running for, Guest: Tebogo Mpufane – Director Centurion Haven of Hope

Doctors in Kenya have joined nurses and clinical officers in a nationwide strike for better working conditions. Concerns are that this could make this worse for the country’s health system. Let’s listen to this report from Sara Kimani…. PKG-KENYA-DOCTORS LINK: Lately we’ve seen some of the leaders on the African continent succumb to Covid-19 which poses the question as to what this pandemic is unm...

Yesterday we received calls and voice note messages about water crisis in some municipalities. Some resident claim not having water for a few days now. Let’s listen to what Thando had to say regarding water at the OR Tambo Municipality… CLIP-THANDO MTHATHA LINK: To get an explanation from the OR Tambo Municipality, we are joined on the line by…. GUEST: Zimkhitha Macingwane – Spokesperson for the O...

President Cyril Ramaphosa last week raised concerns around gatherings during the festive season. He said that the current restrictions on the size of gatherings are not enough in preventing crowding in the current situation where new cases are rising rapidly….. CLIP-RAMAPHOSA-GATHERINGS LINK: We speak now to those in the entertainment industry who are directly affected. One of the major upcoming f...