The Daily Discourse

On The Talking Point this morning we will examine the much anticipated Investment conference. President Cyril Ramaphosa, will be hosting the inaugural South African Investment conference in Sandton, north of Johannesburg, from Thursday. Earlier this year Ramaphosa, appointed a team of economic heavyweights to head up an investment drive to try to attract up to 1-point-2-billion-rand in foreign dir...

Time now for our regular Tuesday feature; the African Perspective, where we profile different countries on the African continent. Today the spotlight is on the country of Egypt. Long known for its ancient civilisation, Egypt is the largest Arab country and has played a central role in Middle Eastern politics in modern times GUEST : Second Secretary, Karim El-khashab, from the Political Section of...

Considering where we are as a country, will that matter much? When corruption becomes too widespread and totally out of control, the idea of going into the election with an anti-corruption manifesto is just senseless. This is according to Ralph Mathekga, a Fellow at the SARChI (South African Research Chairs Initiative) Chair: African Diplomacy and Foreign Policy at the University of Johannesburg a...

There have been many conversations about the need to transform SA institutions of higher learning. Are universities in SA conducive to black intellectualism? Do we still have high caliber of black intellectuals in SA universities? GUEST: Professor Barney Pityana - Professor Barney Pityana

Black academia must be defined, claimed and returned to a space that is black-centric and where the groundwork for the struggle meets intellectual blackness. GUEST: Thabi Myeni, the National Secretary For Gender And Sexuality For Black First Land First

The IFP Conference has been postponed due to internal squabbles. It’s believed that there are two factions within the IFP - the young and the old guard. IFP Leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi refuses to step down. The "younger" leaders say it’s time for new leadership ahead of the 2019 Elections. GUEST: Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) national spokesperson, Mkhuleko Hlengwa GUEST: Dr Somadoda Fikeni - Politi...

Political Analyst Mpumelelo Mkhabela asserts that ‘we don't have to make our country "great again". We are actually a great country, but we must realise the potential and turn it into reality. After all, we can't eat potential.’ GUEST: Mpumelelo Mkhabela, who is a political analyst with the Department of Political Sciences at the University of South Africa.

On the Talking Point this morning, we highlight the challenge of calling a place, words and people's names. We examine the growing tendency by many to totally mispronounce names, often causing offence along the way. While none of us like to be corrected, many people would prefer to be made aware of their error, than discover that they have been addressing others incorrectly and in some instances,...

Last week we saw the ANC Women's League (ANCWL) express its dismay that the women seen standing in support of rape accused Timothy Omotoso were wearing ANC regalia outside the Eastern Cape High Court in Port Elizabeth. This spoke largely to women coming out to support Nigerian pastor, Timothy Omotoso. Vusumzi Gqalane is the EFF Ward Secretary in the Nelson Mandela Bay said they see many women are...

The ANC’s integrity commission has come under the spotlight again following the release of the VBS report. Last week the ANC in Limpopo admitted that there were serious transgressions committed by party officials, including at municipalities, in the VBS collapse and looting. ANC provincial secretary Soviet Lekganyane says their case will be handled by the party's integrity commission. This morning...

On our Music feature today we profile, an award winning jazz artist, born and bred in Randfontein, in Johannesburg's West Rand. Henry Philemon is a singer and multi-instrumentalist, who is recognized for his guitar playing skills. He has worked with artists like Condry Ziqubu, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, the late Nana Coyote and Senyaka to mention a few. He now joins us on the line... GUEST : Henry Philem...

Is there such a thing as passive toxic masculinity? How do we deconstruct the idea of what masculinity is? FOCUS: Aggression, dominance, physical strength, and the love of sport, risk-taking, virility, frequent sexual activity and the suppression of emotions are some of the key characteristics of what society have normalized as masculinity. The expression of these behaviors, thoughts and feelings...

Sub-Saharan Africa is the only region in the world where the overall number of extremely poor people is increasing rather than decreasing, this according to the World Bank's latest Poverty and Shared Prosperity report. Dr Esther Ngumbi, however, says eating insects can help fight hunger and food insecurity. She further says eating insects is an ancient practice which is still prevalent today. GUES...

Is there a need for the composition of a new, forward-looking National anthem? Solly Moeng, Brand reputation management adviser and CEO of strategic corporate communications consultancy DonValley Reputation says If South Africa wants a new dawn, maybe it needs to reconsider its country brand - starting with a new national anthem, written from scratch and rooted in the Constitution. Mr Moeng's comm...

A party contesting national and all provincial elections will have to pay a deposit of R605, 000. The Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) has proposed maintaining the R200, 000 deposits for political parties wanting to contest in the national elections. ICE has published a notice inviting comment from interested stakeholders including political parties and members of the public on the propo...

Vodacom CEO, Shameel Joosub says data is more expensive for lower volume customers than higher volume customers because frequent data sales use up more capacity. Joosub was appearing before the Competition Commission Data Services Market Inquiry currently underway in Pretoria, yesterday. The inquiry is focus on whether data prices are higher than they ought to be, causes and remedies for high pric...

Today collective agreements to address sexual offenders within education were reached with teacher unions in the basic education sector. The agreements were presented to the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education today in Parliament. The Education Labour Relations Council (ELRC) told the committee that the collective agreements would go a long way to creating a safe environment for learners as wel...

UN warns that famine could overwhelm country in next three months, with 13 million people at risk of starvation. Yemen has been torn apart by more than three years of civil war between the internationally recognised governments, backed by a Saudi-led military coalition and based in the south, and the Iran-aligned Houthi movement that controls the north, including the capital Sanaa. The nation of s...

According to the department of trade and Industry, the BIS is an incentive of the Black Industrialists Programme that aims to unlock the potential of Black Industrialist companies operating in strategic and productive sectors of the South African economy through deliberate, targeted and well-defined financial and non-financial interventions. This morning we engage the Department of Trade and Indus...

Yesterday we had a conversation with KwaZulu-Natal Health MEC; Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo says the department has significantly reduced the oncology backlogs and waiting times in the province, to just a few weeks. This after the Department dismissed reports of a backlog of 8 000 cancer patients in the province. MEC Dhlomo says the reports are untrue and that there is a deliberate and relentless campaig...

Tom Moyane's lawyer, Eric Mabuza says retired judge Robert Nugent is acting outside the scope of his mandate. Nugent's interim report recommends that President Cyril Ramaphosa should fire Tom Moyane with immediate effect to restore confidence in the organisation. Judge Nugent cited the deterioration in tax revenue collection and the strained relationship between SARS and National Treasury as some...

Minister of Women in the Presidency, Bathabile Dlamini says the trial of controversial pastor; Timothy Omotoso lays bare questions of patriarchy and the law. Minister Dlamini says because of the historical exclusion of women from the justice system, our society has developed a culture of trivializing crimes against women. Omotoso and two others face charges including sexual assault, rape and racke...

Wandile Ngcaweni-Researcher at MISTRA says is his article owned for News 24, that the democratic dispensation did little to confront the traumatic legacies of colonial-apartheid. He continues to say that "People see poverty and joblessness as outcomes of compromises that helped protect the privileged status quo of people who benefited from colonialism and apartheid. GUEST : Wandile Ngcaweni, who i...

The Minister of Mineral Resources, Gwede Mantashe, together with the Mine Health and Safety Council (MHSC), will host the 2018 Occupational Health and Safety Summit ‪on 18 – 19 October 2018. Tripartite stakeholders (government, business and organised labour) will collectively assess progress made in attaining the objective of “Every mineworker returning from work unharmed every day: Striving for z...

It is well known that South Africa enjoys the highest level of inequality in the world with poverty affecting over 50% of the population. In recent months, with the increase in fuel prices, we are likely to see an increase in transport and food costs, which make up a big portion of working class people’s expenses. With the declining strength of trade unions, it also seems that working class organi...