The Daily Discourse

The KwaZulu-Natal health department says it has significantly reduced the oncology backlogs and waiting times to just a few weeks. The Department says reports of a backlog of 8 000 cancer patients in in the province are untrue and that there is a deliberate and relentless campaign by certain members of the media to ignore the tremendous progress that has been made to expand cancer treatment and on...

The Democratic Alliance (DA) says South Africa needs closed borders and tighter immigration control. The party says South Africa's ports of entry are in a dysfunctional state. In recent months the DA's Johannesburg mayor Herman Mashaba has taken firm stance against illegal immigration in the city, in the same breath, Tshwane mayor, Solly Msimanga, also raised his concerns around the issue in a let...

Time now for our regular Tuesday feature the African Perspective. Today we profile Morocco, which is the most westerly of the North African countries known as the Maghreb - the "Arab West". Arguably one of the most stable countries in the Middle East, Morocco is a melting pot of indigenous Berber, African, Arab and European influences. For more on the country we are now joined in studio by.... GUE...

The Judicial Inspectorate for Correctional Services (JICS) released its report on Thursday and it describes a situation of overcrowding and funding shortages for the inspectorate to do its job. The release of the report has put in the spotlight again the state of our prisons. This morning we ask: Are our prisons effective, what are we aiming to achieve with incarcerations? GUEST: Lukas Muntingh -...

Today is World Food Day. The United Nations aim to raise awareness and to gather support and understanding to approaches that can help reduce world hunger. According to statistics 870 million in the world are undernourished, most of them in rural areas where the main source of income is agriculture. World Food Day is commemorated annually on 16 October to create public awareness of the world food...

Former Hawks spokesperson, McIntosh Polela says he warned Sunday Times journalists that they were being fed false information but he was ignored. In a series of Tweets, McIntosh Polela says It's not enough for the Sunday Times newspaper to apologize and return awards for their false reports as Generals Sibiya, Dramat and others have suffered huge financial losses and had their careers and lives ru...

A Johannesburg workshop on Obesity Prevention has heard how non communicable diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure are killing more South Africans than HIV. These diseases are as a result of a poor diet and lack of exercises and have been linked to obesity. This comes as the world observed Obesity Day last week Thursday. The workshop has also heard that one in five children are overwei...

We are now in conversation with #FeesMustFall movement activist‚ Fasiha Hassan. Fasiha has won the Student Peace Prize for her non-violent efforts towards gaining equal access to higher education for students. She now joins me on the line… GUEST: Hashtag FeesMustFall movement activist‚ Fasiha Hassan..

We continue our conversation on the latest Sunday Times saga. The newspaper yesterday acknowledged publishing false reports on allegations into police killings in Cato Manor in Durban; the SARS rogue unit and the illegal deportation of Zimbabweans. The stories were written by a team of senior journalists and published in the newspaper in 2011. The newspaper has apologised and agreed to return all...

Mr Mbhazima Shilowa has taken to Twitter and asked why nobody says white people are corrupt when it comes to theft such as that of Steinhoff. Shilowa says why is it that black people are responsible for the corruption of a few black guys. His tweet is in reaction to the VBS mutual bank scandal. Several individuals have been implicated in the looting of almost two-billion-rand from VBS Mutual Bank....

The Sunday Times newspaper has acknowledged publishing false reports on allegations into police killings in Cato Manor in Durban; the SARS rogue unit and the illegal deportation of Zimbabweans. The stories were written by a team of senior journalists and published in the newspaper in 2011. The newspaper has apologized and agreed to return all prize money and awards won for the stories. On the Talk...

Time now for our regular Friday feature the Friday Music Wind Down, today we have the honour of speaking to South African, Grammy award-winning flautist, Wouter Kellerman. Kellerman is recognized as one of South Africa's foremost musicians, with an extensive, and growing, global following. Wouter's passion for music started with a visit to the orchestra at the age of 10. For more on the remarkable...

So yesterday we spoke to a South African man Robert J. Traydon, who will undergo a vasectomy next week Monday, in what he says is his contribution towards the fight against climate change and the soaring global population. The conversation was centered on population control but the issue of vasectomy shifted the focus as listeners wanted to know more about this procedure. So this morning we will b...

The issue of diversity in the engineering sector is still a burning issue, and one in which the South African Institution of Civil Engineering (SAICE) is taking a critical look. Research from late last year indicated that diversity helps businesses to become more innovative and more successful. According to Steven Kaplan, COO of SAICE, while the research was conducted in the USA, there are paralle...

You may be comfortable in your own skin - but did you know there are billions of viruses sharing it, too? Researchers from University of Western Cape’s Institute for Microbial Biotechnology and Metagenomics and identified over 130 of these viruses. Guest: Prof. Maria Trinidad- From the University of Western Cape

Workers Union mother body, Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), called for a national shutdown on Thursday against new financial reforms, as the country plunges into an economic crisis. This comes on the back of President Emmerson Mnangagwa's call that people should brace for pain as the government seeks a new economic path driven on neoliberalism. guest: Maynard Manyowa-Zimbabwean Expert

The is no limit to the abuse in society today - Sexual, emotional, physical, social; in so many ways, with powerful men in powerful have been revealed to be abusers. In the Eastern Cape Durban-based pastor Timothy Omotoso and his co-accused are facing charges including racketeering and sexual assault. While in the same province also, the Eastern Cape Department of Education has placed four provisi...

A South African man Robert J. Traydon will undergo a vasectomy next week Monday, in what he says is his contribution towards the fight against climate change and the soaring global population. The current world population of 7.2 billion is projected to increase by 1 billion over the next 12 years and reach 9.6 billion by 2050, according to a United Nations report. On the Talking Point we will Intr...

October across the world has been termed global ‘Pride’ month by the LGBTIQ+ community. It’s a month were the LGBTIQ+ community seeks to celebrate, empower and educate people about the LGBTIQ+ community. The Thami Dish Foundation is currently hosting a three-day Global Network session, which started yesterday the 10th until the 12th of October at Constitution Hill Johannesburg South Africa. The Co...

Last week on The Talking Point we had a discussion with the founder of Jabu Stone Natural Hair about The mental toll of entrepreneurship. The interview was motivated by businessman SkinnySbu’s tweet where he said “HONESTLY I feel like giving up now - I've used all I have, sold my car to save the business…Things are not as fancy. I'M TIRED, I'M DRAINED, I'M JUST HERE”. This tweet raised so much con...

The Allan Gray Orbis Foundation – an organisation that invests in the development of potential entrepreneurs in Southern Africa –commissioned the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) and Mindcette an entrepreneurial consultancy to establish the true “DNA of a successful entrepreneur”. The mindsets study titled Toward a Comprehensive Measure of Entrepreneurial Mindset, surveyed 3 661 South African...

Pope Francis yesterday compared having an abortion to hiring a "contract killer". In an address to worshippers in the Vatican, Francis said "Interrupting a pregnancy is like eliminating someone.” This morning we get two different takes in reaction to this. The ACDP strongly opposes the public provision of abortion facilities. They consider the current legislation to be a license for promiscuity wi...

So much homework, assignments and extra mural activities and so little time for our kids to be kids. I know many parents who have joined the chorus of complaints about kids drowning in homework and it’s not just the marathon study sessions every night or the extra mural activities, these parents say that there are also never ending assignments as well. On the Talking Point this morning we will dis...

The current unemployment rate in SA sits at 27.2 percent in the second quarter of 2018 from 26.7 percent in the previous period. Today is the second day on the Jobs Summit. The Summit hopes to bring together government, business, labour, and community organisations to advance job creation. Research was conducted on what influences employees’ decisions to stay in jobs. Our guest says she found from...

SASSA SAYS IT WILL RESUME TALKS WITH TRADE UNION NEHAWU TODAY TO AVERT A PLANNED STRIKE. WORKERS AFFILIATED TO THE UNION ARE DEMANDING THAT THE BIOMETRIC ENROLMENT OF BENEFICIARIES BE SUSPENDED SINCE IS NOT PART OF THE JOB DESCRIPTION OF WORKERS, AND THAT JOB EVALUATIONS BE UNDERTAKEN IN GRANTS ADMINISTRATION. GUEST: ZOLA SAPHETHA – NEHAWU’S GENERAL SECRETARY