The Daily Discourse

Some academics have called on unions and parents to get behind Education Minister Angie Motshekga’s decision to re-open schools so that learning can continue…but what can parents do? How can unions come on board while also addressing their members’ concerns? How can the academic year be saved without compromising the quality of education? Guest: Professor le Cordeur- Head of the Department of Curr...

Life is going almost back to normal today with an estimated 8 million people going back to their workplaces and most of the industries resuming production. Alcohol is open to be sold under strict conditions, but cigarettes are still not for sale. Restaurants on the other hand are meeting with government while hair salons are not allowed to open. Is government taking the correct approach? Guest: Le...

Going back to work on Monday gives one that feeling between December and January. That period where you try to look good for work after knowingly having eaten wrong food. Now that we are coming out of level four and going into level three of the lockdown, still under Covid-19, what advice can we get from dieticians? Guest: Omy Naidoo – Dietician at Diet-SA

By now we’ve all heard from authorities about social distancing, washing of hands and wearing of masks. We are told also about looking out flu-like symptoms. But just how much do we know about the virus? If I’m an elderly person or living with one, what must I know? What about children, how prone are they to this virus? Now that we are entering the flu season, how are we going to notice the differ...

I guess for many people the one thing they were worried about is the alcohol sales part of the conditions. Well, it was confirmed indeed, but under strict conditions. Trade and Industry Minister Ebrahim Patel says shebeens, restaurants and taverns will be allowed to sell alcohol but only for consumers to take home. Alcohol will be permitted to be sold only from Monday to Thursday between 9am and 5...

The province of the Free State has been in the news mostly for bad publicity related to service delivery. Even on this very programme, many residents have been calling to complain about service delivery issues, mostly water and electricity. Corruption is also highlighted as one of the major problems in that province. Politicians have been making promises to fix this and that while communities on t...

This morning we bring to you Khumbudzo Ntshavheni who is the minister of Small Business Development. Since the lockdown was announced in its first level which was level 5 at the time, many of you in the business sector have been calling us to find out how to access the funds promised by the department and also other issues that are affecting your small business, well this is your chance to get som...

We’ve heard about the other things like computers and so on being stolen, but why PPEs? What is it about these thugs? Are they stealing for the sake of stealing or is it because there’s a market for this? Is society to blame for buying stolen property? What should we read into why schools are becoming easy targets? Is it a sign that the moral decay is so bad that we don’t know what to say or do ab...

Death is one of the heaviest burdens human have to deal with one way or the other. The world is in mourning as people are dying in big numbers due to the pandemic. Now, how does one hold it together, where do you start? Guest: Dr Helena Dolny – Author, Executive coach and co-founder of Love Legacy Dignity Guest: Mapi Mhlangu – Media Strategist and co-founder of Love Legacy Dignity

Superiate calls itself a boutique marketing consultancy and project management agency. They have done a survey among principals and independent school leaders to get their views on the proposed opening of schools. According to what they have found, principals seem optimistic that all will go well. To tell us more on this, we are joined on the line by… Guest: Brad Stern - Founder and Chief Marketin...

Andile Lungisa - ANC councillor and a member of the mayoral committee at the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro responds to Nqaba Bhanga - Eastern Cape provincial DA leader and mayoral candidate at the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality about the water situation at the metro…

As the country is faced with the Covid-19 pandemic, the Nelson Mandela Bay Metro is also facing a problem of water supply. According to reports, the Metro is facing a fight against a looming Day Zero regarding the water supply. The supply dams have an average capacity of 22 percent, and there is no rain forecast for the near future. They have about just over a month’s supply of water left. Let’s l...

After the 1st of June, many companies will be opening following the President Ramaphosa’s announcement that the country will move level 3. The president left it up to companies to follow stringent safety measures. But then, looking at legalities, what is a company’s legal obligation under the current situation? Guest: Bheki Nhlapho - Senior Associate in Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr’s Employment practice

Scary news indeed seeing how high our unemployment figures may climb to levels that we’ve never seen before. Just how bad could it get and what sort of scenario could we see as many people have already received messages from their places of employment informing them either that they will have to take a salary cut, or that the company is closing. Guest: Duma Gqubule - Founding Director at the Centr...

Today being Tuesday, we continue bringing you the UIF representative to field your questions and deal with your problems. Please remember to keep your questions very brief and listen on the radio for answers. GUEST: Simiso Nkosi

The Democratic Alliance is embroiled in another controversy, this time around its to do with the decision to hold their national elective conference in October virtually. But commentators are warning that this may exclude the majority of its black members, who have indicated that they lack internet connectivity. Let’s take a look now at the reliability of virtual voting and its constitutional impl...

The last Tuesday is always devoted to answering questions that have been submitted to Bryan during the month. He picks out all those questions of a similar nature and deal with them. So Bryan, where do we start today GUEST : Bryan Hirsch, Chairperson of Bryan Hirsch, Colley & Associates (Pty) Limited

We go to Cape Town now where Labour federation - SAFTU and its affiliate the National Union of Public Service and Allied Workers, NUPSAW - will be protesting outside the Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town this morning to demand improved health and safety measures at the facility. What are their main concerns? … Guest: André Adams - SAFTU Provincial Secretary in the Western Cape

While scientists around the world are working very hard to find a cure against Covid-19, the debate around traditional medicine is gaining momentum especially after Madagascar announced the use of their herbal cocktail in dealing with the pandemic. Taking the debate forward, the University of KwaZulu-Natal is presenting its 3rd in a series of public webinars discussion entitled: The Role of Indige...

Gender activists around the country have been very worried about the possibility an increase in gender based violence during the current lockdown. Police statistics show that more than 2300 calls were recorded at the national GBV Command Centre during the first week of the lockdown. One hundred-and-48 were immediately registered as criminal cases. Sadly this issue has been with us for many years w...

President Cyril Ramaphosa yesterday dropped the Covid-19 lockdown alert to level three as of the first of June. He was addressing the nation from Pretoria. He went on to say that this will allow for the further opening of the economy – with the continued fight to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Ramaphosa says 429 people have now died from coronavirus and that the number of infections now st...

That song by Bill Withers says it all. It talks about couples and how they can make it if they try. Those who understand the romantic space will give you all sorts of remedies about how to keep a marriage going and how to spice things up. Under the current lockdown, some couples can’t stand each other while other are using the time as a honeymoon period where they reconnect and get to know each ot...

The Consumer Pulse research from GfK South Africa which looks into the behaviours of online consumers during lockdown has revealed that 85% of consumers who usually work full time reported significant impact on their working habits. It goes on to say that nearly half of fulltime employees were able to remotely, 74% of which claim to have worked less than normal. What are we to read into this and h...

We bring you this special feature this hour exploring recovery strategies for organized labour in the era of Vovid-19. What role can organized labour play in contributing towards the country’s socio-economic recovery? What are some of the practical solutions that will benefit all aspects of the economy? To help us navigate through this discussion, we are joined on the line by…. Guest: Dr Petrus De...

This morning’s thinking point comes in the form of a live interview. The idea is to get an idea of what nurses go through on a daily basis especially under the Covid-19 period. What is a typical day like for them? What are their fears? What sort of training are they given in a time like this and can they ever be fully prepared? What are their fears? Guest: Yomelela Mnqabashe – Former Secretary of...