The National Pulse

Former Justice Minister’s troubles are far from over - following the announcement that the office of the Public Protector will investigate corruption allegations against her. The inquiry follows a complaint lodged by ActionSA in August, accusing Simelane of corruption linked to the collapse of VBS Mutual Bank. GUEST: Athol Trollip, ActionSA Parliamentary Leader

Was President Cyril Ramaphosa correct in deciding to reshuffle former Justice Minister Thembi Simelane or do you think he should have removed her from the Cabinet like some people are suggesting? The key thing to note about this discussion is that Simelane has not been criminally charged.   GUEST: Sandile Swana, Political analyst and Governance expert

Johannesburg City Manager Floyd Brink has been instructed by the High Court in Johannesburg to vacate his office within ten working days. His appointment has been set aside and declared unlawful, the judge also awarded the Democratic Alliance costs in this matter. The case was brought by the DA last year, citing concerns over Brink’s appointment. For more reaction to this, we are joined by…. GUEST...

The University of Johannesburg has been ranked top university in the Sub-Saharan region. According to the Times Higher Education’s 2024 Sub-Saharan Africa University Rankings, UJ was particularly recognised for its high performance in the access and fairness as well as the resources and finance pillars. To explain what this means for the university is…… GUEST: George Mpedi, Vice-Chancellor & P...

Earlier on, I spoke to the CEO of the Black Business Council, Kganki Matabane, about a statement his organization put out calling on Business Unity South Africa to stop claiming to represent all of business in South Africa. To get a reaction from this statement, I am joined on the line by… GUEST: Cas Coovadia, CEO of Business Unity South Africa

South Africa and Nigeria are cementing ties with the 11th session of the Bi-National Commission under way in Cape Town. 11th Bi-National Commission coincides with 30 years of diplomatic ties between the 2 countries. It is also worth noting that Nigeria accounts for approximately 64 percent of South Africa's total trade with West Africa. SABC News Reporter, Lulama Dlepu joins me on the line to brea...

South Africans with credit cards issued by major South African banks are complaining that fraudulent transactions processed by Facebook are draining their accounts. Customers from these banks contacted MyBroadband, complaining that large amounts have been deducted from their cards. They all said that the transaction description contained the contraction “FACEBK”. Jan Vermeulen, My Broad Band edito...

Mary Phadi has returned to MK Party as its Mpumalanga convenor after winning her case against the party. Phadi, who is a renowned businesswoman and president of the Truckers Association of South Africa, was fired for alleged mismanagement of funds and hatching an assassination plot against her rival in the party. SABC News Reporter, Motsebi Monareng, SABC News Reporter was in court and joins me on...

South Africa has officially launched its G20 Presidency, with President Cyril Ramaphosa promising to bring the development priorities of the African continent and the global south more firmly onto the agenda of the G20. South Africa has adopted the theme “Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability” for its G20 Presidency. For more on this significant moment for South Africa and what it means, we are...

Latest figures from Stats SA show that South Africa’s economy unexpectedly contracted in the third quarter. This unexpected slowdown has been largely caused by a big drop in agricultural production, with transport, trade and government services also contributing to it. For further elucidation on this, we are joined by….. GUEST: Risenga Maluleke, Statistician-General of South Africa & Head of S...

We hear from the Black Business Council (BBC) on why they want Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) to stop claiming to be the sole representatives of South Africa’s business interests. They are calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to urgently intervene on this matter as there is no organisation that can claim to represent South Africa without the blessing of the government leadership. For more clar...

South Africa’s major banks will appear before Parliament’s Trade, Industry and Competition Committee next year to explain their policies. This after Parliament’s chairperson of the trade, industry and competition criticised them over credit practices and banking charges, saying that at times banks impose unilateral policies without transparency.   GUEST: Mzwandile Masina, Parliament’s Chairperson...

Today we hear from Professor Thuli Madonsela after her recent selection to serve as a member of the International Council of Arbitration for Sport (ICAS). You may recall as well that last month, Madonsela received the AfricTivistes Champion Award for Governance and Democracy, in recognition of her contributions to the promotion of human rights and social justice in South Africa.   GUEST: Professor...

The South African Communist Party, which has always sided with the ANC, has decided to contest the 2026 Local Government Elections, independently. I’ve been asking throughout the show if this spells the end of the alliance? Political Analyst, Professor Andre Duvenhage joins me on the line to break this down for us... GUEST: Professor Andre Duvenhage, Political Analyst from North West University

We have all heard about “Consistency”. This word shows up in inspirational quotes and speeches all the time and yet only a few of us truly invite it into our lives. In today’s personal growth segment, we are joined by Life Coach, TJ Malamulele who’ll be talking to us about the magic of consistency; taking small steps to create big chances for yourself. GUEST: TJ Malamulele, Life Coach

The Border Management Authority has announced plans to increase capacity at South Africa’s ports of entry to curb the movement of undocumented immigrants and stolen goods during the festive season. BMA Commissioner, Dr. Michael Masiapato joins me on the line to outline measures that will be put in place to handle the anticipated high volume of people and goods, including extended operating hours a...

Yesterday, the Pretoria high court ordered the North West community safety and transport MEC, police and mineral resources minister, along with several other respondents, “within two hours of the court order being handed down, to allow community members, charitable organisations and interested parties to, in an orderly manner, provide humanitarian aid including water, food and medication to the ar...

In conversation with the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) about the 2024 Festive Season Road Safety Campaign. This as South Africa saw 11, 883 people dying last year because of crashes on our country’s roads. GUEST: Simon Zwane, Spokesperson of the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC)

The South African Communist Party has revealed that it will contest the upcoming 2026 local government elections independently. Post this year’s general elections, the party has been criticising the ANC for forming the Government of National Unity with parties like the Democratic Alliance and Freedom Front Plus. But do they have the might to take on the ANC and other serious political contenders?...

Following unverified reports that BRICS countries are trying to move away from the U.S dollar. US President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to impose 100% tariffs. However, Chrispin Phiri, who is the spokesperson for the minister of international relations says “recent misreporting has led to the incorrect narrative that BRICS is planning to create a new currency” and according to him, this is n...

We look at the significance of Joe Biden’s official three-day trip to Angola. Biden’s trip comes right at the end of his presidential term and it is aimed at promoting the Lobito Corridor development in Zambia, Congo and Angola which some view as part of the US attempt to counter China’s influence on the continent.   GUEST: Professor Gilbert Khadiagala, Emeritus Professor of International Relation...

As we continue with our 30 years of democracy theme. Today we hear from another struggle stalwart, SAA Chairperson Derek Hanekom. Interestingly when you speak of his politics today, Hanekom has become one of the faces of resistance against corruption. But how did it all begin for him as an activist? He joins us now to narrate his own story as we continue to tell stories of the South Africa that we...

On Sunday, the BrightSpark Foundation will host a workshop at Henley Business School, and they have invited 70 children from disadvantaged backgrounds to an afternoon of play where they will engage in finding solutions and creating safe spaces of play tailored to their community needs. We know that there are those who always argue that some schools in our country are no longer safe for learners du...

The official launch of the African Innovation Academy x iXperiment Program happened last week in Cape Town at Langa High School. The program is aimed at empowering high school learners with entrepreneurial skills. To tell us more about this program, I am joined on the line by… GUEST: Palesa Nangu, African Innovation Solutions CEO

The Minister of Home Affairs has decided to extend the deadline for Zimbabwean Exemption Permits to November next year. Without the latest extension, ZEP holders may have been at risk of being declared undesirable post today’s deadline. Today’s reprieve simply means that existing ZEPs will remain valid for the next twelve months. To react to this is ….. GUEST: Bongani Mkhwanazi, Spokesperson for t...