The National Briefing

A new report from the University of Cape Town's (UCT) Children's Institute has painted a stark picture of what it means to be a child in South Africa in 2025 - a country where millions continue to grow up with poverty, violence, hunger and neglect. Guest: Prof Shanaaz Mathews: SA Child Gauge 2025 editor and prof within the UCT Faculty of Health Sciences 

The Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative (DAC) and the Science for Africa Foundation (SFA Foundation) hosted a high-level G20 side event — focusing on Brain Health as a Driver of Global Prosperity: A G20 Call to Action. Guest: Dr Mie Rizig:  senior clinical research fellow  at University College London; Institute of Neurology      

Crime Intelligence boss Dumisani Khumalo has disclosed that Stuart James Scharnick, the bodyguard of suspended deputy national police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya, has an extensive criminal record, including multiple convictions. Guest: Canny Maphanga: SABC reporter    

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The Lotus Atteridgeville Saulsville Civic Association (Lasca) has issued a strong warning to the City of Tshwane, threatening to mobilise residents to boycott payment of municipal accounts if the city fails to act against councillors and employees who owe large sums on their own municipal bills. Guest: Tshepo Mahlangu: Leader, THE Lotus Atteridgeville Saulsville Civic Association (Lasca)   &n...

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The Gauteng High Court in Johannesburg has delivered a landmark judgment prohibiting Operation Dudula from blocking foreign nationals’ access to healthcare services and schools. Guest: Mpho Makhubela: Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia member      

Mbhazima Shilowa is now calling for the ousting of suspended Police Minister Senzo Mchunu and argues that President Ramaphosa should be the one to make him go   Guest: Mbhazima Shilowa is the former premier of Gauteng and the former general secretary of Cosatu.      

Amnesty International South Africa’s 2025 report, Flooded and Forgotten: Informal Settlements and the Right to Housing in South Africa, has now found that government is failing millions of people trapped in informal settlements and impacted by the climate crisis Guest: Malavika Vartak: Amnesty International’s Researcher/Adviser on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights    

The Ministry of Water and Sanitation has commended the swift and coordinated response by the City of Tshwane (CoT), the Department of Water and Sanitation (DWS), and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) to the recent typhoid fever cases reported in Hammanskraal, Bronkhorstspruit and the East of Pretoria. Guest: Cllr Eugene Modise: Acting Executive Mayor and MMC for Finance &nbsp...

Africa Update Report with Advocate Sipho Mantula, Researcher: Thabo Mbeki African School of Public & International Affairs: Unisa 5 November 2025 1.    Tanzania – Dar es Salaam Tanzania partially restores internet access, warns against image sharing The government in Tanzania has warned people not to share photos and videos that may cause panic as the internet slowly...

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As South Africa continues to grapple with how to make land reform more productive and sustainable, the Vumelana Advisory Fund — a non-profit that helps land reform beneficiaries use land effectively — says stronger governance within Community Property Associations (CPAs) is crucial to unlocking the full potential of restituted land. Guest: Peter Setou: Vumelana Advisory Fund CEO

Stakeholders at the KwaZulu-Natal Provincial Foot and Mouth Disease Indaba in Durban last week warned that unless urgent interventions are implemented, many farmers—particularly in rural and communal areas—could be forced out of business by the end of the year. Guest: Mbongeni Sikhakhane: KwaZulu-Natal chairperson African Farmers Association of South Africa (Afasa)

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A high court judge has given the City of Johannesburg a two-week deadline to verify, register and allocate spaces to informal traders in the inner city. Guest: Matron Mhlanga, one of the leaders of SA Informal Traders Association    

The Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa (SERI) has hailed a recent Gauteng High Court ruling ordering the City of Johannesburg to fast-track the verification and allocation of trading stalls to informal traders. The court’s decision follows SERI’s legal action against the city for removing traders who were operating without municipal permits. Guest: Deborah Rabuda: An Attor...

More than 62,000 people fled el-Fasher between Sunday and Wednesday after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized the city — the Sudanese army’s last stronghold in Darfur — triggering what aid groups and witnesses describe as mass killings, summary executions and a rapidly worsening humanitarian catastrophe.  Guest: Thembisa Fakude: Director at Africa Asia Dialogues  

KwaZulu-Natal MEC for Transport and Human Settlements, Siboniso Duma, has issued a stern warning to reckless drivers as the province heads into the festive season. He emphasised that law enforcement operations will intensify, following the arrest of 13 motorists for drunk driving in Estcourt on Friday night — bringing the total number of arrests across the province to 909 since mid-August 20...

Africa Update Report with Advocate Sipho Mantula, Researcher: Thabo Mbeki African School of Public & International Affairs: Unisa 04 November 2025 1.    Tanzania – Dododma  SADC Declares Tanzania's Election Flawed After Failing Democracy Test and while Tanzania’s President Samia Suluhu Hassan was sworn in yesterday at a ceremony limited to invited guests (P...

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A powerful 6.3-magnitude earthquake struck northern Afghanistan overnight, killing at least 20 people and injuring more than 500, authorities said Monday. The quake’s epicentre was near Mazar-i-Sharif, one of the country’s largest cities, where residents fled into the streets and the historic Blue Mosque sustained visible damage.  Guest: Simon Gear: Climatologist    

The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) has condemned Mafoko Security Patrol (Pty) Ltd for what it calls the “theft and embezzlement” of workers’ provident fund contributions. SAFTU expressed outrage after court findings confirmed that Mafoko has been deducting money from employees’ wages for the Private Security Sector Provident Fund (PSSPF) but failing to pay...

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