The Daily Discourse

Transport Minister, Fikile Mbalula, has stressed the importance of unity in the taxi industry - saying violence and conflict among stakeholders must be stopped. Mbalula was speaking at the opening of the National Taxi Lekgotla - which will encourage engagement with taxi stakeholders to debate and discuss how to create a safe and sustainable taxi industry. Mbalula will, over the next few days, lead...

It’s time for our regular UIF feature where Makhosonke Buthelezi 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

It’s only a matter of months until the United Kingdom officially becomes a non-EU Member State. In light of this, the British government has introduced a new points-based visa route which commentators say will make it easier for South African students to study abroad. To make us understand which is the easy part and what some of the new requirements are. Guest: Rebecca Pretorius, Country Manager a...

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni did not say much regarding the SMME sector and neither did he allocate funds for it. He however spoke about ways to make it easier for business people to invest in the country…. Guest: Tebogo Khaas - President of the Small Medium and Micro-sized Federations

Finance Minister Tito Mboweni has announced provisional funding allocations to some state-owned enterprises. Presenting the medium term budget policy statement in Cape Town, Mboweni says allocations to SAA, Eskom and Icasa were mainly funded through reprioritisation by reducing the baseline of national departments and their entities as well as provincial and municipal conditional grants…. Guest: D...

Many sectors that have suffered under the lockdown are hoping a favourable slice from what Finance Minister Tito Mboweni will be dishing out this afternoon. Mboweni will be tabling the Medium Term Budget in parliament around 2pm. Let’s listen to what some of the industry players are hoping for….. Guest: Somaya Kahki – Director for Tax at the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants

When one thinks of non-profit organisations, we always remember the wonderful work they do for communities in need. But what we don’t know is the stress and depression they are going through especially under the current lockdown situation. In light of this, the South African Depression and Anxiety Group in partnership with shikululu Social Investments have come up with Non-Profit Organisation (NPO...

The Department of Human Settlements is using the Rapid Land Release programme to deal with housing issues in urban areas as more people are moving to cities. Guest: Neville Chainee - DDG Strategy and Planning Human Settlements

The family of footballer Senzo Meyiwa says they want to know who orchestrated his murder. Five men arrested in connection with Meyiwa's murder appeared in the Boksburg Magistrates Court on Gauteng's Eastrand yesterday. They are facing charges of murder, attempted murder, robbery with aggravating circumstances and possession of an unlicensed firearm and ammunition. The case has been postponed to th...

There has been mixed reaction coming out of parliament around President Cyril Ramaphosa’s signing of the Civil Union Amendment bill into law. The bill prevents marriage officers from refusing to preside over same sex marriages. Let’s listen to what the parties had to say…. CLIP-PARTIES-CIVIL LINK: The big question then focuses on the rights of the officers as this may go against their beliefs. Wha...

David Letsoalo has written an interesting piece outlining how freedom of expression is repressed in our day under a democratic government. Under the apartheid regime one would see things like banning, arrests and so forth, but under the so called freedom era, it is done subtly. What is the deception around freedom of speech today as far as he’s concerned? Guest: David Letsoalo – A Sankarist, activ...

We close the show off with a remarkable leader who comes from a very humbling beginning and today sits at the top of Investec. Who is he and how did he make it this far? What are his thoughts around leadership and the state of the economy? Guest: Fani Titi – CEO and Executive Director at Investec PLC

Many businesses have suffered a lot under the Covid-19 lockdown restrictions. President Cyril Ramaphosa tried to get banks and other financial institutions to work together during this period, but on the ground the story is different. The Free State Black Business Chamber is calling on the Consumer Protector to help them against landlords who are demanding rent due to them from March and to tell u...

There’s been a lot of clashes in the Ivory Coast as the country gears up for elections on the 31st of October. A house belonging to one of the presidential candidates was set alight with some reports suggesting that supporters of President Alassane Ouattara were behind the attack. Last week Ivorians living in South Africa vowed to intensify their call for President Ouattara not to contest that cou...

United States President Donald Trump and rival Joe Biden met in a final face-to-face debate last night which gave American voters a last look at them on the same stage just a few days before election day. Polls consistently gave the Democratic challenger an edge both nationally and in multiple swing states. Let’s listen to some of the highlights of the debate… LINK: What is it about the American p...

There was mixed reactions yesterday in parliament as MP’s and premiers gave their input to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan which he announced last week. Some political parties were more worried about how realistic this plan is going to be as they feel there’s nothing new to it. Let’s listen to what some of the parties had to say… CLIP-PARTIES LINK: What Cosatu...

We speak now to Tanya van Lill - CEO of the Southern African Venture Capital and Private Equity Association. She is coming up with solutions that could same the SMME sector that has been severely affected by the Covid-19 lockdown. She is pointing to what she says is a “simple” amendment to Regulation 28 – a regulation in terms of the Pension Funds Act that specifies ceilings for exposures to diffe...

The actual day for Black Wednesday was on Monday the 19th of October and since it is a special day that shaped the course of the media in our country, we thought to allocate it enough time looking at the role the media played in contributing to our democracy. Back in1977 just after the death of Steve Biko, the government of the day decided to crackdown on the media targeting publications that were...

Today being Tuesday, it’s time for our regular UIF feature where Tsiamo Molema 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: Tshiamo Molema – Manager for Monitoring and Evaluation in the Commissioner’s Office

Last week we received a call from two inmates based at the Kutama Sinthumule Correctional Centre, from a gentleman by the name Rasekwai who was calling on his fellow inmate’s behalf, Mr Nkomo. He was seeking advice for his health condition as. Let’s listen to what he had to say…. CLIP-PRISON-CALLER LINK: For a response on this and also to find out what sort of medical assistance the Department of...

Today Bryan looks at the cost of medical aid which makes up a large part of one’s expenses, however, before the end of the year members do have choices. Bryan is also giving a report back on the Means Test question from last week…. GUEST: Bryan Hirsch, Chairperson of Bryan Hirsch, Colley & Associates (Pty) Limited

There has been a positive response so far to the news that Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has gazetted amendments to the Electricity Regulations on New Generation Capacity. This will allow municipalities to embark on their own power generation projects. However, this only applies to municipalities with good standing. For a perspective on this, Guest: Nhlanhla Ngidi – Head of...

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that the Special Covid-19 Grant will be extended further by three months. The President was unveiling government's reconstruction and economic recovery plan during a joint sitting of Parliament. The plan consists of four priority interventions which include massive rollout of infrastructure, energy generation, employment stimulus and industrial growth. The P...

South Africa is in a far better position in terms of media freedom compared to Apartheid days. However the South African media industry still faces serious challenges including journalists being harassed by police and the community whilst covering news stories. The impact of Covid-19 on the economy has also resulted in some 700 journalists losing their jobs as media companies shut down operations...

The situation in Senekal has raised many issues about the state of agriculture and farming in the Free State. The MEC responsible for Agriculture and Rural Development met with some of the farming communities. The idea was to talk about forging a better working relationship with organized agriculture. The MEC now joins us on the line to talk about the challenges faced by farmers and how he plans t...