The National Pulse

The ANC says it will appeal the judgment of the High Court in Durban which dismissed with costs the governing party’s application to challenge the uMkhonto weSizwe Party’s name and logo. Back in 2008, something like this happened when a court dismissed with costs an application by the ANC to stop a breakaway group from using the name Congress of the People. Political Analyst, Lukhona Mnguni joins...

You may have seen videos of this incident on social media yesterday as it trended all day. If you missed it, a FlySafair flight — flight FA212 from Johannesburg to Cape Town was required to return to Johannesburg after its wheel was damaged during take-off.   GUEST: Phuthego Mojapele, Aviation analyst

As we continue to get more reaction following today’s court ruling. Indonsa Yesizwe Think Tank founder, Professor Musa Xulu says the ANC lawyers failed to interrogate archive material to pick a few pieces that might resonate in some way with the current situation and according to him, they should have done more research before taking the matter to court.   GUEST: Professor Musa Xulu, Founder of In...

The defence counsel in the Senzo Meyiwa murder case in the High Court in Pretoria has alleged that Longwe Twala is the one who murdered the Bafana Bafana captain. Thulani Mgomezulu - who represents accused Muzi Sibiya - has been cross-examining the investigating officer sergeant Batho Mogola. Mngomezulu says Twala - who was in the home of singer Kelly Khumalo's mother on that fateful night - alleg...

Earlier on today, the Durban high court ruled in favour of the uMkhonto we Sizwe (MK) party, dismissing the ANC’s case with costs. The ANC had hauled the MK party to court accusing it of violating the Trademarks Act by using the name and logo similar to that of the governing party’s disbanded uMkhonto weSizwe military wing. For more reaction on this, let’s now speak to….. GUEST: Nhlamumlo Ndhlela,...

Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex has listed the US as his primary country of residence. It is widely reported that he recently updated his residency in a corporate filing. Following this development, some feel that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle may never heal the rift with the Royal Family. For more reaction on this, let’s now speak to….   GUEST: Musa Mdunge (UK, Dundee): Political analyst and Ph...

The Home Affairs Minister Motsoaledi this week briefed the media on the Final White Paper on Citizenship, Immigration and Refugee Protection and mentioned that all spaza shops need to be audited and register to pay tax.   Guest: Rosheda Muller - President of NITASA (NATIONAL INFORMAL TRADERS ALLIANCE OF SA)

Election Watch: According to Eskom, loadshedding will remain suspended until further notice, but South Africa’s lights have not stayed on for this long in a while so, as expected, the sudden switch up has sparked scepticism amid an election season. Abundant electricity or electioneering?   Guest: Chris Yelland - Managing Director - EE Business Intelligence

New research shows that Food Giant Nestle is intentionally exposing young children from developing countries like South Africa to foods containing high levels of sugar.   Guest: Petronell Kruger - programmes manager for The Healthy Living Alliance

The state has called a new witness to testify about the DNA swabs obtained from some of the accused in the Senzo Meyiwa murder trial underway in the Pretoria high court. Mondli Tsie - a detective with the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations (the Hawks) was roped in to assist the National Cold Case in 2020. Tsie testified on the day he went to Johannesburg Prison to obtain the first swabs...

Earlier on today Health Minister Dr Joe Phaahla announced that his department has found a solution to the current difficulty of employing doctors who want to work in the public service. Phaahla was briefing the media on the state of public health service in the country. GUEST: Foster Mohale, Spokesperson for the department of health  

Voting has begun in India’s six-week national election. Nearly 970 million voters, more than 10% of the world’s population, will elect 543 members to the lower house of Parliament for five years. Some analysts believe that this election will test the limits of Modi's political dominance while some expect him to win a rare third term in office. GUEST: Salman Khan, Independent geopolitical analyst f...

The U.S has vetoed a Palestinian request to the United Nations security council for full UN membership. Reacting to this, Riyad Mansour, Permanent Observer of the State of Palestine said the fact that this resolution did not pass will not break their will, and it will not defeat their determination. Following this development, what is even more interesting to observe is that each time such decisio...

Do we care enough for the elderly? Our guest is concerned that from time to time he sees people moving to Australia and New Zealand dumping their parents in old age homes – are you one of them or are you one of those who insist that they will take care of their parents no matter what?   GUEST: David Van Wyk, Lead Researcher at the Bench-Marks Foundation

As we continue with our election chat. Today we hear from Zackie Achmat who will contest the election on the regional ballot in the Western Cape for a seat in the National Assembly. This ballot is new, and it is specific to each province and is designated for the selection of independent candidates or political parties to fill the regional seats reserved in Parliament for that particular region. Z...

Election Watch: With polls predicting that this year’s national and provincial elections will be more hotly contested than ever before. Today we discuss voter disillusionment, asking why do we have so many people who are registered to vote and yet not all of them are keen to exercise their right to vote? Joining us for this conversation is…..   GUEST: Mankone Ntsaba, Kagiso Trust Chairperson

The Gauteng Health Department's security guards at provincial hospitals and clinics have vowed to continue to camp outside the department's offices in the Johannesburg CBD until their demands are met. The security guards who are affiliated to trade union - SACSAAWU say they protesting against issues including the termination of their employment contracts. To tell us more about their demands and al...

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi has been named one of TIME Magazine's 100 Most Influential People for 2024. Kolisi has been described as the embodiment of hope during a time in which many South Africans find it hard to hold on to any. Post this announcement – it is without a doubt that Kolisi is now one of South Africa’s most reliable brands.   GUEST: Tshepo Matseba, MD for ReputationFirst

Tomorrow, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is scheduled to vote on a Palestinian request for full UN membership. A council resolution needs at least nine votes in favour and no vetoes by the U.S, Britain, France, Russia or China to pass. Joining us to outline the significance of tomorrow’s occasion is….   GUEST: Zeenat Adam, Deputy Executive Director at the Afro-Middle East Centre

The United Kingdom Foreign Office has issued a terrorism alert for South Africa and its citizens who are in or planning to travel to South Africa. However, we understand that DIRCO is still waiting for the UK embassy to furnish them with more details. According to the alert, attacks could be indiscriminate and could target public spaces and places visited by locals and foreigners.   GUEST: Andy Ma...

We end the show by talking to Dr Marietjie Lutz who is on a fund-raising mission for students who are facing financial challenges. She and her two sons and daughter are cycling from George to Stellenbosch to achieve their challenging goal of helping the students finish their academic objectives. To find out where she is and also what inspired this initiative, we are joined on the line by… Guest: D...

Good News or Bad News? Users of Whatsapp can now access the new AI feature on the app. This means a user can take action to start the conversation by opening a chat or sending a message to the AI. Meta has cautioned that users should not send messages with information they do not want someone else to know in AI Chat. Also what is even more interesting is the fact that the AI is trained to limit th...

As you heard in the first hour the Labour Party of South Africa is preparing to file an application to the Constitutional Court to compel the Electoral Commission (IEC) to review its election timetable as they argue that the elections will not be free and fair. If their application succeeds, South Africa may be forced to postpone the upcoming election which is due to take place next month. We spok...

For our Election Watch today we speak to Professor Andre Duvenhage, political analyst based at the University of the North West. He is raising the possibility of South Africa becoming a failed state by 2030. This he says may happen if the citizens of this country vote for corrupt politicians in next month’s elections. Professor Duvenhage now joins us on the line to share his thoughts… Guest: Profe...

Pearl Magubane