The National Pulse

The uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MK) has confirmed that it has filed urgent papers in the High Court in Johannesburg to challenge the SABC’s use of the term “Government of National Unity”. The party is of the view that the SABC’s use of the term is unconstitutional. For further clarity on this, we are joined by…. GUEST: Nhlamulo Ndhlela, MK Party spokesperson

    Jacqueline Sedibe is an 11-year-old girl residing at Slovo informal settlement outside Crosby. In March 2024, the Johannesburg Zoo turned 120 years old. The Barefoot Facilitator offered the members of the Slovo Digital Skills Hub an opportunity to visit the Zoo together. Jacqueline hand-designed a book that captured the experience.   GUEST: Jacqueline Sedibe, 11-year-old from Slovo Informal se...

    Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu has promised to take strong action against rising crime levels in the country, citing that crime levels are “increasing and intolerable”. Mchunu made these remarks in outlining the priorities of the Police Ministry for the 7th administration, at Tshedimosetso House, Hatfield in Pretoria earlier today.   GUEST: Willem Els, Institute for Security Studies  

  Political analyst Sipho Seepe says South Africa should not expect much from President Cyril Ramaphosa’s speech at the opening of parliament. Ramaphosa called for the opening of parliament to take place on 18 July 2024. This year’s opening of parliament will be the first under the government of national unity (GNU). Seepe said over the years, presidential speeches under the ANC government have lo...

In conversation with the new Minister of Home Affairs Leon Schreiber who says home affairs will continue to address the issue of illegal employment in the country as they intend to intensify their inspection programme at restaurants and farms. According to him, anyone who knowingly employs an illegal foreigner shall be guilty of an offence. He joins us now to elaborate further on this….. GUEST: Le...

    President Cyril Ramaphosa says that South Africa needs to accelerate its transition to a cleaner economy, warning that extreme weather events are becoming more frequent and intense while the country’s biggest trading partners are shopping around for ‘greener’ pastures. While these events have a devastating impact on human lives, health and safety, they also carry massive risks for economic act...

  Phillip Truter, the first person to be sentenced for his role in the grand looting of VBS Mutual Bank, was released on parole, the Department of Correctional Services revealed. Truter, who was the doomed bank’s chief financial officer, admitted that he was part of the group of people who were involved in the massive theft of VBS Mutual Bank funds. In 2020, Truter was sentenced to 10 years in pri...

The Health and Allied Workers Indaba Trade Union is calling on government to exclude the private healthcare sector from its National Health Insurance Plan (NHI). This as they argue that the private sector is more motivated by the need to accumulate profit rather than the interests of South African citizens. To elaborate further on this, we are joined by….   GUEST: Lerato Mthunzi, General Secretary...

Anita Powell from the Voice of America gives us an update post Donald Trump’s assassination attempt. This as the U.S. Secret Service is investigating how a gunman armed with an AR-style rifle was able to get close enough to shoot and injure former President Donald Trump at a rally Saturday in Pennsylvania.   GUEST (US): Anita Powell, Voice of America White House correspondent

The Global Watch: As the US reels from the attempted assassination of Donald Trump, we hear from the Republican strategist Douglas Heye. This as you may know that an inquiry has been ordered into security at the rally as investigators look for the motives of the 20-year-old shooter - Thomas Matthew Crooks.   GUEST: Doug Heye is former Communications Director, for the Republican National Committee

I saw this story earlier this week on one Raymond Maboya’s X timeline. The story starts with Ray narrating how a few years ago, they took over an abandoned facility in Vereeniging CBD that housed narcotics addicts and was declared a No-Go area due to crime. Little did they know that this abandoned facility will give birth to future South African soccer stars through the Remember Elite Sports Acade...

The Innovation Hub: In conversation with Professor Blade Nzimande: How will science, technology and innovation contribute to the development of this country under his leadership and how will he shape innovation activities going forward? The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Professor Blade Nzimande joins us to outline his vision for his department. This as you may be probably aware t...

The NPA put out a statement around 1PM this afternoon strongly condemning the unlawful leaking of an affidavit in the VBS case. The said affidavit made explosive allegations against some high-profile politicians. Earlier this week, former chairperson of the now-defunct VBS Mutual Bank board, Tshifhiwa Matodzi, was sentenced to an effective 15-years in prison by the Pretoria high court after he ple...

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa has noted that the ongoing strike at Gautrain is having a very negative impact on the efficiency of the service, as a result of the NUMSA strike. A series of angry posts from frustrated commuters on X is evidence that the strike by NUMSA members is disrupting services. It is disappointing that the management of Gautrain continues to gamble with th...

In an explosive 70-page “witness statement”, former VBS chairperson Tshifhiwa Matodzi has laid bare the corruption that rotted the bank from within. Although he does preface his statement with an apology to all those affected, including depositors, stakeholders, shareholders, staff, members of the public and taxpayers, the statement is devoid of emotion. As early as page six, he flatly states: “We...

Cultural strategist who was also under the employ of the ministry of sport, arts and culture during the Covid-19 period, Dr Sipho Sithole joins us now to share his side of the story in relation to the Covid-19 relief 2020-2021 beneficiaries list that the department of sport, arts and culture recently published. Sithole will also talk to us about his work at Howard University in the US.     GUEST (...

The Global Watch: As Rwandans will cast their vote on Monday. Rights groups continue to raise alarm over harsh restrictions on human rights, including freedom of association. Interestingly as well is that Paul Kagame first came into power in 1994 after he led the Rwandan Patriotic Front rebel group to defeat Hutu extremist forces and end the genocide that killed more than 800,000 people, mostly me...

On Monday Rwandans will vote in an election that most people say will certainly extend the long rule of President Paul Kagame, who is running virtually unopposed after three decades in power. But what about opposition leaders in Rwanda – don’t they have a say in this upcoming election? We find out from Victoire Ingabire Umuhoza who unfortunately is not allowed to take part in this year’s election....

Earlier this week we spoke to an energy expert, Crown Prince Adil Nchabeleng about the Electricity Minister’s plans on nuclear energy. I was quite please to see there’s a session on Africa’s energy solution at the Standard Bank Business and Commercial Banking Conference, Unlocking Africa’s Growth. To get an idea of what this session was all about, I am now joined by…   GUESTS:

Dr. Stavros Nicolaou, Senior Executive: Strategic Trade Aspen Pharmacare Holdings Limited

  The highly anticipated cabinet lekgotla, which was initially scheduled to take place today and tomorrow, has been moved to the weekend. Eleven political parties that form part of the Government of National Unity will set out the government’s plan of action for the next five years.   GUEST: Professor Themba Maseko, Head of Wits School of Governance

We examine the World Benchmarking Alliance report that was released recently. According to the findings of the report, 90 percent of the world’s 2, 000 most influential companies are failing to safeguard human rights, decent work and ethical conduct. What is even more disturbing is that some of these companies are not even attempting to turn things around. Joining us to talk about the influence of...

As I mentioned earlier, I attended some of the sessions held at the Standard Bank Business and Commercial Banking Conference, Unlocking Africa’s Growth, and I managed to meet and network with a number of great people in the business world. Some of whom are Standard Bank Clients so why not get a sense of how this conference is going from their perspective. I am now joined by…   GUESTS: RovD Enginee...

Equal Education strongly condemns the nomination of corruption-accused Ncediso Goodenough “Zizi” Kodwa to serve as a member of the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education. The organisation has written to ANC Chief Whip, Mdumiseni Ntuli, to register their concerns and to call on the ANC to immediately withdraw the nomination of Zizi Kodwa to the Portfolio Committee on Basic Education, and initiate t...

The MK Party has reinstated party secretary-general, Arthur Zwane with immediate effect. The party has revealed that its leader, Jacob Zuma, has rejected Zwane’s request for a part time position in the party and has ordered him back to work. For more analysis on what this means, we are joined by….   GUEST: Professor Ntsikelelo Breakfast, Director of the Center for Security, Peace and Conflict Reso...