The Daily Discourse

Are Universities key to the NHI plan? Are Universities key to the NHI plan? It has often been asked if universities have a role to play in dealing with public health-care service delivery challenges. This morning we are in conversation with Dr Wezile Chitha, Assistant Dean for Strategic Affairs for the Faculty of Health Sciences at Wits University about the essential role of universities when it c...

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the current developments around the Public Protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane and his decision to take her report on judicial review will not derail his efforts to fix the government, and the economy. The President was speaking before his departure from Dar es Salaam in Tanzania where he attended the SADEC head of states… GUEST: Xolani Dube - senior researcher at Xubera I...

Time now for our regular Friday Feature the Friday Wind Down. In the spotlight this morning is former Minister in the Presidency responsible for Women and former social development Minister, Bathabile Olive Dlamini. She is the leader of the ANC Women's League and a member of the National Executive Committee of the ANC. For more on her political and social life, she now joins me in studio… GUEST: B...

As we mark the 7th year of the Marikana tragedy, we take a look at the question of how unions bargain with employers. How they reach the point of calling a strike or get into a confrontation as we saw in Marikana. The frustration faced by the worker and also what determines the amount they demand from an employer. Also the people who died on this day, have they changed the course of collective bar...

Chairperson of parliament's Health Committee Sibongiseni Dhlomo says the Committee wants to hear from the State Attorney on the legal advice that office gave the Minister of Health on the constitutionality of the NHI Bill. The DA has threatened to go to court as they believe the Bill is unconstitutional. The Bill was sent to parliament last week after it was approved by cabinet. It aims to give al...

We continue our weekly discussion with the National Lotteries Commission (NLC), which is celebrating 20 years since its existence. Last week we spoke to Mr Philemon Letwaba, chief operating officer (COO) of the National Lotteries Commission about how one can access NLC funding and sectors that are funded. This morning we are in conversation with Professor Alfred Nevhutanda, Chairperson of the Nati...

In the age of technology and digitization, printing may not always be considered worth the paper it's written on. Even though embracing evolution and innovation is key to sustainability, nothing beats quality. This morning we are in conversation with James Sibeko, the owner of Jabatha Paper and Stationers. This is the only big black-owned paper merchant in the industry. GUEST: James Sibeko, the ow...

The KwaZulu-Natal government will hold its first climate change summit following devastating floods that claimed many lives in the recent past. The two-day provincial climate change and sustainable development summit, starts today and will be attended by members of the provincial executive council, senior leaders and officials from all spheres of government, academics and the civil society. GUEST:...

August is Women's Month, so for our business feature this morning we are in conversation with Businesswoman, Tlalane Ntuli, who is the chief operating officer and co-founder of credit life insurer Yalu, who joins me now in studio to share her story on entrepreneurship and women empowerment and how to motivate and encourage other women to pursue their dreams no matter how big or small. GUEST : Busi...

Many foreign-owned shops in Soweto have been looted. Residents say this was done in retaliation for the recent attack on police in the Johannesburg CBD by foreign nationals. Meanwhile, the mayor of the City of Johannesburg, Herman Mashaba, says the looting of foreign owned shops in Soweto is as a result of the government's failure to secure the country's borders. He says some foreigner shop owners...

Former EFF members are launching a political party called the African Federal Convention. Babayi Vusi Mathe launched the African Federal Convention, AFCO, in Johannesburg on Wednesday. Mathe was the EFF's former Head of Intelligence in KwaZulu-Natal. In its reaction to the new party, the EFF has branded Mathe as just a disgruntled former party member. GUEST: Babayi Vusi Mathe, Leader of the Africa...

For the past few days we’ve been discussing issues around job creation and trying to find answers for the main reasons for our unemployment situation. Yesterday we spoke to experts in the human resources, graduate placement and economic sector. To take the discussion forward we here from the Minister of Employment and Labour… GUEST: Thulas Nxesi – National minister of Employment and Labour

This morning we will look at leading women gaming executives from across the international landscape. Clarion Gaming is promoting the role of women within the industry via the #WomenDiverse social media campaign which is running throughout the month of August. On the Talking Point this morning, we will look at the role of advancing women within the Casino or Gaming industry, where women are still...

We are now in conversation with Enterprise iLembe, which is an Economic Development Agency for the iLembe District Municipality, on the east coast of KwaZulu-Natal. Enterprise iLembe held a Business Engagement Breakfast Session at the Fairmont Zimbali Resort yesterday, targeting local business, and representatives from government at provincial and local level, sector departments and SMMEs to addre...

In this week’s show we look at and discuss Women in Labour. That is what the role and situation of women is in the economy and how well their interests are represented by the trade union movement. We look closely at to what extent is discrimination against women in the economy still rife and what are the trade union responses to this? It is well known that women are marginalized and oppressed at v...

The latest unemployment stats which put the figure at 29% got many of us worried. We were worried about what more to expect seeing that many institutions are laying people off. The SOE’s are also not helping as they are also mismanaged and laying people off. We will be doing a series of discussion along economic lines. But today we look at the employment side of things. Where are we going wrong? A...

The South African Communist Party, SACP want funders of all presidential candidates who contested the ANC's Nasrec elective conference in 2017 to be disclosed. Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane has found that President Cyril Ramaphosa deliberately misled parliament on a 500-thousand BOSASA donation to his campaign for the ANC presidency in 2017. However, yesterday's interim court order has inter...

As per usual on a Tuesday we look at issues on the African continent. We will continue our discussions around peace and stability in countries within the Horn of Africa. This morning the spotlight is on Somalia, which has been plagued by political, economic and human rights challenges, including terrorism by extremist group al-Shabab who regularly conduct attacks and control vast segments of Somal...

Core inflation and consumer inflation is very different. To achieve long term growth, investors have to take on risk; however, there are different types of risk that investors need to be aware of. GUEST: Bryan Hirsch, Chairperson of Bryan Hirsch, Colley & Associates (Pty) Limited

Last week we spoke to an economist for about five minutes to explain what it means when a currency is devalued. It was one of those issues one picks up during the market update with no real explanation. Interestingly, Michael Kruger who is an investment analyst at Morningstar Investment Management SA penned an article where he picks up on how the level of the rand is being used to paint a picture...

There has been a lot of opposition against the roll out of the National Health Insurance (NHI), a system aimed at providing essential healthcare to all South Africans irrespective of their financial status. Yesterday we spoke to Professor Alex van den Heever, Chair of Social Security Systems Administration and Management studies at Wits School of Governance who says the NHI may turn into another v...

Time now for our regular Monday feature, Legally Speaking, this morning we are going to slightly divert from our usual legal or law related topics by speaking to Julia Mashele, a businesswoman and author of Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied. Julia Mashele is renowned for being South Africa's longest-serving female awaiting trial prisoner. We are going to speak to her about the work she does to hel...

The Western Cape has been in the news in the past year for the all the wrong reasons regarding water shortage due to drought. We've seen many organisations trying to come up with different solutions to the problem. But now that they are receiving good rains, the problems changes to how overflowing dams are managed. Dr Kevin Winter from the University of Cape Town has raised some concerns over this...

Over the years NPO's have been in the news for all the wrong reasons. Be it that of them receiving social grants fraudulently, or battling to raise funds for their projects simply because they don't comply. Well, there is light at the end of the tunnel as the Department of Social Development embarks on a nationwide roadshow campaign targeted at all organisations registered in terms of the Non-Prof...

The Freedom Front Plus says government's plans to forge ahead with the National Health Insurance will cost South Africa dearly. It says it warned government against the NHI, saying it will force experienced medical professionals to leave the country. The party has been reacting to the tabling of the NHI bill in Parliament last week. GUEST : Professor Alex van den Heever, Chair of Social Security S...