The Daily Discourse

This morning, Bryan shares the dangers of being under insured with Life Assurance and Disability policies.  Guest: Bryan Hirsch, Chairperson of Bryan Hirsch, Colley & Associates (Pty) Limited 

The University of the Witwatersrand, the Presidential Climate Commission and University of Pretoria are hosting leading climate advocate, Amitav Ghosh (USA). Later this afternoon, he is set to give a lunchtime seminar (the Pro-Vice Chancellor seminar) on the Limitations of Apocalyse: Catastrophic and Gradualist Imaginings of the Planetary Future. In this seminar, he will seek to unpack the histori...

This week, two ministries in Cabinet signed a Memeorandum of Understanding that may make a difference. The Minister of Basic Education - Siviwe Gwarube & Minister of Sports, Arts and Culture - Gayton McKenzie announced the implementation of Sports, Arts and Culture programmes in public schools. The programmes are set to make access to coaching, facilities and equipment to schools to assist in...

Focus: South Africa has the sixth highest rate of kidnapping for ransoms in the world, according to insurer OELA. In the last quarter of SAPS crime statistics (2023/24), 3494 cases of kidnapping were reported to police. 135 cases involved the demand of ransom for the abducted. Since January 2024, R390 million has been demanded for ransom purposes. While this may only represent 5% of kidnapping sta...

Taking us to the weekend this morning is the internationally acclaimed Ndlovu Youth Choir. They have travelled to so many countries around the world raising the South African flag very high. They kicked off their Johannesburg tour last night (Thursday) at the Montecasino’s Teatro, which continues till Sunday, then to Cape Town. We have them in the studio now to find out more who they are and what...

The Auditor General’s report has revealed very shocking findings regarding the state of municipalities in the country. The report found that only 34 municipalities obtained clean audits. We thought to use this opportunity to get reaction from the various MEC’s responsible for local government for them to talk about their plans of action to fix some of the problems highlighted by the Auditor Genera...

According to the World Health Organization at the United Nations, one in ten people fall ill due to contaminated food each year. The highest prevalence of food poisoning takes place in Africa. Closer to home, we have noticed a sharp rise in cases of food poisoning, particularly in the economic and urban centres. Earlier this week, the Department of Health in Gauteng announced that  there have been...

In recent weeks, we have seen a rise in cases of extortions around the country. Four provinces make up 73% of crimes related to extortion: Kwa-Zulu Natal, Eastern Cape, Gauteng & Western Cape. Extortion has been linked to basic services, businesses, infrastructure, transport system and Nightlife. Yesterday, the Ministry of Police attended a plenary session to respond to the questions of MPs du...

This week, the latest political party funding report was released for the period of 1 April 2024 to 30 June 2024 disclosing donations for the first quarter of 2024/5 financial year. The report is compiled by the Independent Electoral Commission. Unlike other reports, it highlights donations made in the period of the elections as political parties received just under R190 million in donations. Four...

This morning, Bryan shares the dangers of being under insured with Life Assurance and Disability policies. To tell us more, we are joined by… Guest: Bryan Hirsch, Chairperson of Bryan Hirsch, Colley & Associates (Pty) Limited 

The National Planning Commission and the International Organization for Migration held a forum on migration and development in Southern Africa recently. Under the theme: Migration as a Development Catalyst, it has emerged that the African diaspora plays a critical role in development, sending over 65 billion US Dollars annually to the continent. This surpasses what Africa receives in international...

Teenage pregnancy in the Eastern Cape has been done acting the news most of this year. The scariest thing about it is that the ages are getting younger as the latest stats revealed that about 94 of the young mothers are between the ages of  10 and 14. These are the ones who gave birth at public health facilities since April.  Close to 4-thousand who gave birth around the same time are between the...

Today being the second day of September, which marks the beginning of Heritage Month, where we focus on our history, tourism and just the beauty of our country and it's people. Sadly though, the sentiment on the ground is a bit depressing with many South Africans feeling disgruntled stating a lack of unity and patriotism. How then do we use this month to focus on the positive and sharing the beaut...

We end Women’s Month in style today as one of the country’s great musicians usher’s in the weekend for us. Zama Jobe is marking 20 years of her career in the music industry and we feel honoured to have her in studio to share her journey and highlights of life… .   Guest(Studio): Zama Jobe – South African Afro-soul award-winning musician

As we wrap-up the week, it’s always interesting to get reflect on some of the sentiment’s you’ve shared on the Open Line. One thing we’ve noticed is you anger and frustration against government, be it a minister implicated in corruption, politicians implicated in corruption being sworn into parliament or issues of crime. But then, what about us as South Africans, what is our responsibility in fixi...

This morning, on our Municipal Watch feature, we speak to National Minister of Corporative Governance and Traditional Affairs: Velenkosini Hlabisa to get his response to the Auditor General's report which found that only 34 municipalities obtained clean audits. The Minister has so far promised to look into the different structures running municipalities and will also reveal his plans in a few days...

The latest statistics indicate that approximately 7.06 million people are living with HIV in South Africa. The HIV incidence rate is about 2.70 per 1,000 population across all ages. Additionally, there are around 50,000 deaths due to AIDS annually. We unpack the new vaccine interventions that have been made in recent weeks to make medication accessible to communities affected by HIV/AIDS.  Guest:...

We are joined by the Chief Executive Officer of the Nelson Mandela Museum who will share more on how the Museum is preserving, promoting and protecting the Legacy of Nelson Mandela… Guest: Dr Vuyani Booi - Chief Executive Officer of the Nelson Mandela Museum

The problem of gender-based violence and femicide seems to be getting worse. Judging from news reports, in a space of two months we've heard about so many gruesome murders of women. Just this past Monday a young woman from Mpumalanga who was set alight by her boyfriend succomed to her injuries.  In July, well-known daughter of Dr Letlape was found dead in her home, her boyfriend was arrested.  Sti...

As we conclude our Women’s Month commemoration, we take a look at the construction industry as only 10% of industry is represented by women. The challenges facing women accessing this industry are training opportunities and mentorship. We profile ladies that work tirelessly to ensure that every home, school, roads, public infrastructure and community facilities are built. We also speak to ladies w...

As it is the last Tuesday of the month, this programme is always devoted to answering questions that have been submitted to Bryan during the month. Bryan picks out all those questions of a similar nature and deals with them on the last Tuesday of the month. Guest: Bryan Hirsch, Chairperson of Bryan Hirsch, Colley & Associates (Pty) Limited 

Since last year, we have been receiving calls from many government employees who have been complaining about some of the processes around the Government Employees Pension Fund. Either the process takes too long or they are being sent from pillar to post. So this morning they have agreed to come on to the show to explain their processes and to also point you as their client in the right direction. ...

Over the weekend, Health Minister Dr Aaron Motsoaledi urged lawyers who fraudulently submitted claims to the health department to withdraw them in two weeks so that they can be pardoned. He promised that they won't be punished as long as they withdraw within the two two weeks. Guest:  Kashif Wicomb - President of the Progressive Professionals Forum Guest: Anele Yawa - General-Secretary of the Trea...

As we enter the final week of Women’s Month, we continue to profile trailblazers in their respective industries. This morning, we turn our attention to aviation and how this industry is blossoming in relation to advancing gender equality. In a recent global study, South Africa has emerged as producing 10% of the world’s female pilots and it making strides in diversifying female professionals in op...

Taking us to the weekend this morning is Penelope Jane Dunlop, popularly known as PJ Powers. She really does not need much of an introduction except for the bon-frees. Thandeka is she is affectionately known by many in the townships has been a household name since the 80s up to today and she joins us via zoom to tell us what she’s been busy with and also what sort of changes she’s noticed in the m...