The Daily Discourse

Efforts are under way to help thousands of people left destitute following a fire at the Masiphumelele informal settlement near Fish Hoek in Cape Town. The fire which broke out on Thursday destroyed more than 1000 shacks. The problem of shack fires has been with us for many years. Guest: Prof Richard Walls – Head of the Fire Engineering Research Unit at Stellenbosch University

Usually this time of the year those who managed to invest in stokvels enjoy the dividends. Stokvels have been with us for so many years that banks started noting how much money they contribute and therefore set up packages that would suit them. GUEST: Andrew Lukhele – Chairman of the National Stokvel Association of South Africa

The festive season is hear already with many of us taking a bit of a break away from everything especially a heavy year like the current one. Depression is on the high as many people lost their jobs and businesses. Well health experts say that exercise has the ability to treat mild to moderate bouts of depression with as little as running just 15 minutes a day or walking for an hour, which has bee...

South Africa fought a battle for many years over who owns the name of Rooibos. This time around the name ‘biltong’ is again being internationally contested as fears rise that the Namibians could also claim it as theirs. We use this opportunity now to find out how important owning the name is important for the country and the industry as we welcome…. GUEST: Joseph Kau – Agricultural Economist at th...

We speak now to the Department of Public Enterprises about whether SAA employees who were given until yesterday to accept a final offer by the Department of Public Enterprises have done so. The workers have not been paid for eight months and to get some clarity on the issue, Guest: Kgathatso Tlhakudi – DG Public Enterprises

It is unclear at this stage whether SAA employees who were given until yesterday to accept a final offer by the Department of Public Enterprises have done so. The workers have not been paid for eight months. For the latest on the developments, we are joined on the line by…. Guest: Zazi Sibanyoni-Mugambi - President of the South African Cabin Crew Association (Sacca)

The 2021 local government elections will see a lot of new independent players join the race for municipality domination. The Eastern Cape just got its new entrant, a formation of a residents movement called Abantu Integrity Movement founded by Mkhuseli “Khusta” Jack. We use this opportunity now to talk about what these new parties and formations are bringing to our democracy and whether we need th...

We feature Dr Zama Tladi, owner and founder of Nubian Medical Aesthetics. She is in the business of skin treatment where she treats her patients with the latest non-invasive medical anti-ageing, beauty and aesthetic skin care methods. She specialises in treating African skins and to find out why she decided to go this route and where it all started for her, she now joins us on the line…. Guest: Dr...

The DA yesterday granted government an extension on the deadline to justify the closure of beaches along the Garden Route in the Western Cape. This after the party said that it received a response from the Presidency requesting an extension. However, they have given till 10am this (Thursday) morning. Guest: Unathi Sonwabile Henana – Tourism lecturer at the Tshwane University of Technology

The holiday season having started on a heavy note with Covid-19 numbers going up, we thought to turn our focus on the Kruger National Park looking at the impact this had on them. Also finding out what new measures they have put in place for visitors to the park as it is still operating and to tell us more on this, we are joined on the line by… Guest: Ike Phaahla – Spokesperson for the Kruger Natio...

December the 16th is the day that the Zulu army under King Dingaan took on the Voortrekkers at Ncome River in KwaZulu Natal in December of 1838. There’s been so many versions and interpretations of what really happened on that day. Let’s first listen to the version of Christo Rabie, Head of Education at the Voortrekker monument who was talking to Nina Oosthuizen ……. Guest: Prof Jabulani Maphalala...

The National Prosecuting Authority has confirmed that Public Protector Advocate Busisiswe Mkhwebane is facing three counts of perjury and will appear in the Pretoria Magistrate's Court on Monday. The NPA says it has taken the decision to prosecute after it carefully assessed the evidence the Hawks presented to it. The Hawks received summons last night. Guest: Karyn Maghn-Journalist News24

The build-up to 1994 was no doubt a very busy and troublesome period for the country. The political leadership on all sides were doing all they can to push bring stability to the country and getting the nation to be one and reconcile. We saw how Madiba lifted the Rugby World Cup trophy with Francois Pienaar in 1995 as South Africans cheered. But now commentators are starting to ask what happened t...

Today being Tuesday, it’s usually time for our regular UIF feature where Makhosonke Buthelezi addresses all your questions. But today we host Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi on UIF and other labour related matters that have been in the public domain and troubling you…. GUEST: Thulas Nxesi – Minister of Employment and Labour

The Eastern Cape is again in the news for all the wrong reasons. This time around reports indicate that the province’s hospitals are not coping. The health staff are said to be overworked. Let’s listen to a snippet from a paramedic, patient and a doctor at one of the private hospitals in Buffalo City giving us their own experience… Guest: Dr Sibongile Zungu - HOD in the Eastern Cape Health Departm...

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced further restrictions that will come into effect at midnight tonight across the country. This as the country experiences a second wave of coronavirus infections. Addressing the nation from the Union Buildings in Pretoria, the President says part of the new restrictions is the limitation on the number of people attending large gatherings to 100 people for indo...

Gift of the Givers has heeded the desperate call for help in the Eastern Cape. As you may have heard in the news over the past few weeks how that hospitals are not coping as health workers are overworked due to an increasing number of patients. Guest: Imtiaz Sooliman – Founder of Gift of the Givers

We talk now about how Covid-19 has changed the future of corporate real estate. We’ve seen during the lockdown how people worked from home and making companies go the route of remote working. To get an understanding of these changes and look ahead to what we can expect in the coming years. Also if I’m a business person in the corporate real estate, what must a brace myself for? Guest: John Jack -...

We turn our attention now to issues pertaining to youth on the African continent. They came together as a collective from six different countries across the continent calling on African Union Heads of State and Governments to urgently work with young people to address the systemic issues that have disempowered this generation. In their statement they say that they are stuck in a period of that the...

Focus: David Letsoalo has penned an article questions why a country like South Africa which accommodates all religions gives special attention to Christian holidays. He says this is also happening within the judiciary as courts also close on these days. He goes on to say that the country has zero regard for African spirituality despite this being an African country. He joins us now on the line to...

This morning we feature South Africa’s most celebrated cartoonist, Zapiro. We talk to him about his annual collection of cartoons throughout the year. This is one of those must have souvenirs that summarize all that we went through in 2020. This one is called the Do the Macorona and to tell us more…. Guest: Jonathan Shapiro, better known as Zapiro

Earthlife Africa yesterday (Thursday) planned to march through the Johannesburg CBD against climate change. They wanted to highlight how the world was running out of time to keep temperatures down. Scary as it sounds, are governments paying attention? Guest: Thabo Sibeko - Earthlife Africa's anti-Coal Campaigner

North West Premier Job Mokgoro has come under a lot of fire for his appointment of Mmoloki Cwaile as MEC for Cooperative Governance, Human Settlements and Traditional Affairs. The provinces municipalities are not in a good state on the other hand there are allegations of collusion with companies that are always scoring lucrative construction contracts. Where is the newly appointed MEC going to sta...

A very worrying study by the University of Cape Town has found that some protective facial masks don’t meet the required safety standards. The scary part is that these are the masks worn by health practitioners. Let’s find out now about quality control as far as these masks are concerned. What scrutiny do they go through before they are given to the users? Should we also be worried about the ones...

Our regular UIF feature comes to you today as Makhosonke Buthelezi was not able to be with us on Tuesday. He’s here to addresses all your questions. Please remember to keep your questions very brief and listen on the radio for answers. Also keep your voice notes short and to the point….. GUEST: Makhosonke Buthelezi – Director of Communications and Marketing at UIF