The Daily Discourse

Over the weekend we were told that South Africa now ranks 10th in the world in terms of Covid-19 infections. This time around Oxfam says we are emerging as a hunger epicentre. Their report goes on to say that since the lockdown was instituted, unemployment and loss of income had deepened the country's food security crisis. What should we do as a country at the back of such a report and how bad is...

Last week, Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga said that she is surprised that parents are not rushing to register for home schooling. The minister says she expected that parents would take up this option, following the outrage against the decision to open schools. Thousands of learners have gone back to school and more are expected to do so at the end of the month. But, parents say home sch...

Last week we saw some organisations in the trucking industry protesting against the employment of foreign nationals. In trying to appease the angry organizations, Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi wants to look at legislation that will somehow regulate the employment of foreign nationals not only in the trucking business, but other sectors as well. But now legally, what should he be worried about in fi...

Funeral parlours in the Eastern Cape are said to be struggling to cope with the influx of corpses as Covid-19 is hitting the province hard. Some parlour owners are reportedly appealing to premier Oscar Mabuyane to help alleviate the backlog. But they are faced with even more problems like traditional rituals families perform for their dead. Let’s use this opportunity now get an understanding of ho...

The issue of racism especially in the workplace and organisations in general is one that many battle with. Some it seems so innocent to the person committing the trespass, but very hurting to the recipient. Examples are too many to write down, but things like assuming that a black customer automatically works in that shop, or the assumption that a black manager must have a white person above them....

Earlier in the week we hosted a discussion about the state of early childhood development where we featured the different role players including a government representative. One common problem they were pointing to about the problems they were facing was the lack of efficient communications from government…. CLIP-EDC-COMMUNICATION LINK: As you’ve heard some of the views from that sound clip, we th...

Yesterday Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize admitted that medical scooters in the Eastern Cape which cost the taxpayer R10 million – did not meet the basic criteria for patient transport as an ambulance. Dr Mkhize was answering a written Parliamentary question from DA MP Siviwe Gwarube. Interesting, earlier in the week the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) says it's in a process of finalising a Natio...

The SA Bone Marrow Registry is calling for on local donors to come forward. The registry has seen a drop in donor support since the start of the pandemic. Those with blood disorders and in need of stem cell transplants are in great danger. To educate us more on this why it’s important for donors to come forward, we are joined on the line by… Guest: Jane Ward - Harvest Coordinator at South African...

The emergence of Covid-19 and lockdown regulations have exposed the great need for skills upgrade in the workplace. The 4th Industrial Revolution is here and many are going to find themselves left out. All sectors of the economy have to adjust and upskill quickly. Executives and decision makers need to be convinced that the 4IR is here and digital transformation needs to happen now. But where do w...

There’s no doubt that almost all industries have been hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. We’ve been bringing you so many developments around the subject for almost half the year since the outbreak. But now we as the media are now becoming victims of pandemic ourselves. Media24 announcing the closure of some of their publications shook the already battling industry. Media Monitoring Africa's Willia...

The world is currently going through a crisis, and what adds to peoples’ sense of panic and uncertainty is the fact that no one knows when the economy will fully recover. Some experts have even predicted that the country will be in some sort of locked down state until 2021. The environment continues to become challenging while people’s income has been partially or fully impacted. And at the same t...

Ever since President Cyril Ramaphosa announced relief funds for the business sector, all we’ve hear was complaints from the SMME sector about the difficulties they faced in accessing the funds. We thought to invite experts in the field who are pointing out not only the need for the funds but where the problems lie and what happened to some of the business in this process and to give us an idea, Gu...

Yesterday many of you were horrified after a 12-year-old grade 7 learner was turned away because she was not wearing a mask. She was then raped on her way home to fetch the mask. Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga yesterday reacted with anger at the incident. But then let’s use this opportunity to find out where the responsibility of schools start and end under the current Covid-19 laws. Who...

On our health feature today, we get to understand all things about allergies. What are they and how and when does one know if they have an allergy? Also with children, how easy is it to notice if a child is allergic to something? What happens to an allergy if it is not treated? Can one die from it? Well to answer our questions, we are joined on the line by…. GUEST: Dr Adrian Morris of the Cape Tow...

Those who are involved in the Early Childhood Development sector are painting a heart breaking picture of the impact the lockdown has been having on them. In most cases it is the poor who suffered the most as many depend on them for food. Workers and owners are hit hard as parents have not been paying. On Monday the Gauteng High Court ruled in favour of early childhood development centres reopenin...

The South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union (SACCAWU) says it has received a notice of intent to retrench workers at Game stores across the country. The Massmart Group has announced it plans to retrench one-thounsand-800 employees. Earlier in the day Media24 announced that it is considering closing five magazines and two newspapers as well as out-sourcing and reducing the frequ...

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: Tshiamo Molema – Manager for Monitoring and Evaluation in the Commissioner’s Office

Information has been circulating around the country about a planned truck driver strike all trucking companies to remove non-South African drivers and replace them with local drivers. So far the transport department has not said a word and didn’t answer calls from our producer or text messages. Let’s find out now what the issues are as we welcome…. Guest: Siphesihle Mutwa – General Secretary of Na...

Over the last eight weeks Bryan has been dealing with ‘What are the cornerstones of a financial plan?’ This morning he deals with the third principle, which is, Investment Planning…. GUEST: Bryan Hirsch, Chairperson of Bryan Hirsch, Colley & Associates (Pty) Limited

For a few months since the lockdown we have been receiving videos, text and audio messages from those in jail about the harsh conditions they are facing. They complain about overcrowding and prison officials not taking care of them. They’ve also sent pictures of injures prisoners painting a very gloomy picture. Also calling on officials to allow visitations from family members. Let’s hear now from...

Veteran South African Actress, Mary Twala- Mhlongo, has been described as a legend - someone who was good at her craft, with a great sense of humour. Twala- Mhlongo - who was 80 - passed away at the Park Lane Hospital in Johannesburg on Saturday. She had an extensive career in film and TV, and was recently awarded The Order of Ikhamanga in Silver by President Cyril Ramaphosa. Pearl Magubane filed...

The Fair-Trade Independent Tobacco Association is continuing its fight through the courts to force government to lift the ban on the sale of cigarettes. They have applied for leave to appeal the ruling of the Pretoria High Court. Last month the court dismissed the association's application to have the ban on the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products during the lockdown period lifted. The other p...

The incident of Bulalani Qolani, the man who was thrown out of his shack naked got many people angry. The footage was widely circulated on social media and on news bulletins. The City of Cape Town felt justified as they say that piece of land is earmarked for a water project. This incident makes us question the practice of evictions under the lockdown. Was the city correct or should they have wait...

Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga has acknowledged that since the Grade seven and 12 learners went back to school last month - there have been some unfortunate instances where learners, teachers and non-teaching staff have died of Covid-19 related illnesses. Eleven teachers, four non-teaching staff and three learners have died as a result of Covid-19. Motshekga was conducting an online med...

So many of us are feeling down and worried about developments taking place around us. People are losing jobs while the Covid-19 cases continue to rise. Politicians on the other hand are not making the situation better. How then are we expected to remain positive and hopeful? How does one channel your mind to see things differently? Well let’s pose this question to someone who deals with this subje...