The Daily Discourse

We live fast-paced lives and sometimes, there are moments when we drop the ball. We cancel appointments at the last minute and sometimes, our approach comes off as blowing people off. Our next guest raises important questions surrounding how we show the people in our lives that their relationships are of high value to us. Conversely, she also raises the question surrounding how we build the vocabu...

New police commissioner, Fannie Masemola, has committed to addressing the backlog in DNA testing in understaffed forensic laboratories. As of September 2021, the backlog stands at 240 000 DNA cases that still needed to be processed and Minister of Police, Bheki Cele said in a media briefing back in February 2022 that this backlog would be cleared within six months. Advocacy group, Action Society i...

 82% of South African doctors, nurses and allied health professionals believe that there is a stigma attached to them for asking for help with their own mental health. This is according to research conducted by the Healthcare Workers Care Network. The network was set-up in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic when they anticipated added stresses on healthcare workers during that period.&nb...

 Whenever we switch on a radio or television, we often hear stories of heinous crimes committed at the hands of men. However, we don't interrogate the root of the destructive behaviour and what leads to their violent reaction. Our next guest argues that if we are to overcome GBVF, we need to include men in the conversation not just as perpetrators. She argues that we need to prioritize the de...

Focus: As the 5th edition of the Elimination of Child Labour conference is underway, we take a look at the state of child labour in our own country. Last year, a report entitled the ‘2020 Findings on the Worst forms of Child labour’ has revealed that children in South Africa are subjected to the worst forms of child labour, including in commercial sexual exploitation and forced begging...

The Western Cape Education Department drafted guidelines on Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation in Public Schools. The guidelines would encourage schools to develop more accommodative dress code requirements to allow for LGBTQI learners to express their gender. Some of the other guidelines include introducing gender neutral bathrooms, bringing their partners to school functions (Matric Dance) a...

From her humble beginnings in the township of KwaMashu, Swazi Dlamini started her music career as a vocalist for the gospel group, Joyous Celebration. In 2003, her debut album: My First Love was awarded the 2004 SAMA for Best Female Artist. In 2004, she won a Kora Award for Most Promising African Female Artist. Her second album: Dance with Me showed off her voice by covering a range of styles, inc...

As new cases of COVID-19 surpass the 10 000 mark, the country seems to be heading towards a fifth wave in the winter. With the positivity rate at 25%, our next guest suggests that our relaxed social measures had a role to play in the new sub-variant. Further, he recommends that we become more vigilant to the symptoms. To unpack how this spike and how it has impacted the higher education sector as...

Housing advocacy group, Ndifuna Ukwazi has criticised National Minister of Human Settlements Mmamoloko Kubayi’s 2022 Human Settlements Budget Vote. Kubayi’s speech stipulated how the South African government will deliver government-subsidised housing across all provinces. They described the budget vote as disappointing, lacking any clear vision for how to address the critical failure o...

 Today marks International Nurses Day which celebrates the role nurses play in society. The day also marks the anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth. What would hospitals and doctors be without nurses? To give us a glimpse of what a typical day is like for a nurse and also where the profession is today,  Nonkonzo - Nurse at the Nelson Mandela Academic Hospital (Umtata) The Yo...

Guest: Cameron Dugmore - Opposition Leader of the Western Cape legislature (ANC) Guest: Brett Herron – Member of parliament and secretary general of Good Party

Last week Friday as part of the Africa Month celebrations, Wamkele Mene, Secretary General of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area, addressed a webinar themed ‘the role of trade and investment promotion in advancing the AFCFTA’. One of the issues he highlighted in his address was the fact that African countries trade less with each other compared to other continents. He believes that...

Advocacy group, My Vote Counts has raised concerns that budget cuts to the Electoral Commission of almost R800-million over the next three years poses a threat to democracy.  Guest: Letlhogonolo Letshele - Electoral Systems Researcher at My Vote Counts

At the back of World Asthma Day last week we are reminded about how much education is still needed around this chronic condition.  Guest: Trevor Brewer - Managing Director of Air Treatment Specialists Solenco Guest: Dr Candice Royal – Allergist from the KidsAllergy Paediatric and Allergy Centre    

In today’s municipal watch, we take a different approach by interrogating the state of our municipal sphere of governance.  Guest: Sithole Mbanga - Chief Executive Officer of the SA Cities Networks  

When you take out life cover, many may think of it as just another monthly premium or even a grudge purchase. What if it could be part of growing your wealth?  Guest: Sinenhlanhla Nzama - Head Product Actuary at Investec Life

Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula yesterday (Monday) launched the National Railway Policy white paper which outlines how passenger and cargo rail will be rolled out and managed in the short-to-medium and long term future. Guest: Ngwako Makaepea – Deputy Director General: Rail transport

This morning for our personal development feature we go all the way to the Netherlands where we are joined by Tinashe Ruzane, CEO of FlexClub. Guest(Netherlands): Tinashe Ruzane – Chief Executive Officer of FlexClub

On Friday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said that the launch of the nuGen hydrogen powered truck is a remarkable milestone which will lead to the creation of new industries in South Africa and an economy that is more sustainable. He was speaking at the Mogalakwena PGM mine in Mokopane, Limpopo where the launch was happening and one of the things he said is that communities and mine employees won&rsqu...

Let’s speak now to Dr Pali Lehohla, former Statistician General about an article he wrote calling for an administered pricing system. This is something he has been calling for during the time when he was in office. Seeing how the petrol and electricity prices are currently making us all upset and bodies like NERSA given full power to decide when terrify prices can be increased without us as...

The Department of Social Development in KwaZulu-Natal is currently at the forefront of providing relief to thousands of the province’s citizens who lost their homes during the recent floods. On Friday, MEC Nonhlanhla Khoza. Tabled her Budget Speech where she was concerned about the impact the budget cuts may have in rendering the much needed service. She now joins us on the line to tell us m...

MEC for Human Settlements in KZN, Jomo Sibiya also tabled his Budget Speech where he outlined how he hopes to deal with the massive destruction caused by the heavy floods. Thousands of people were displaced after they houses either sunk or demolished by the floods. Where is he hoping to start?  Guest: Ndabezinhle Sibiya – Spokesperson of KZN MEC for Human Settlement

As you’ve heard in the news that voting is under way at the Eastern Cape 9th ANC Provincial conference which nearly hit a snag after delegates disagreed over the adoption of credentials. The hold-up was reportedly caused by disagreements around the inclusion of ten branches from the Doctor WB Rubusana region who had failed meet the requirements to participate in the conference. They also had...

The ANC in KZN has raised concerns surrounding the pace at which the cases of political killings in the province are reaching the courts. According to officials, they have not received an update from the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Political Killings since February. The province says it is not concerned of any immediate threats to political violence ahead of its upcoming provincial electoral co...

Guest: McCoy Mrubata, Award winning saxophonist