The National Pulse

Parents of children that died at Enyobeni Tavern have expressed disappointment on the sentence handed down to the Enyobeni tavern owners by the East London Regional Court in the Eastern Cape. The owners, Siyakhangela and Vuyokazi Ndevu were fined five-thousand rand each or 100 days in prison after they were found guilty of selling liquor to persons under the age of 18 years old. Enyobeni tavern ma...

Legal arguments continue at the International Court of Justice on Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories. So far several countries have made it very clear that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories is unlawful, also adding that it should end immediately. At least 29,514 Palestinians have been killed and 69,616 injured in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. GUEST: Tasne...

Today, the School of Journalism and Media Studies of Rhodes University will for the first time in its academic calendar introduce the Assembly, and guess what - our very own multi-award-winning investigative journalist, Chriselda Zozi Lewis will deliver the inaugural lecture to usher in this new forum. She joins us now to talk about her moment of pride …..but before we speak to her let’s speak to...

As a powerful cadre deployment storm continues to unleash war of words among political parties in South Africa – Xiluva leader Bongani Baloyi says “it is true that the Democratic Alliance practice cadre deployment, when he was Mayor of Midvaal between 2013 and 2021, the municipality couldn’t conclude a senior staff appointment without the approval of FedEx, which is the party’s highest decision-ma...

This afternoon, the African National Congress (ANC) held a media briefing on the state of readiness ahead of the Manifesto Launch to be held at the Moses Mabida Stadium in Durban. The governing party has hosted activations in Kwa-Zulu Natal in the build-up of the Mayihlome Rally to encourage members to attend the Manifesto Launch on Saturday. The ANC President, Cyril Ramaphosa, will speak at 11h00...

As we continue to unpack the manifestos of various political parties, focusing on economic related matters. Today we are joined by the Deputy President of the Economic Freedom Fighters, Mr Floyd Shivhambu who will articulate some of the policy innovations contained in their election manifesto. This as you may probably be aware that election manifestos serve as an important communication tool for p...

Following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement that this year’s elections will take place on the 29th of May. The Electoral Commission has once again reminded South Africans that they have until Friday to register to vote for the upcoming national and provincial elections. According to the commission, unregistered voters and those who need to update their address details can visit the local mu...

Build One South Africa leader Mmusi Maimane sets the record straight on cadre deployment. This after Helen Zille, who is the current Chairperson of the Federal Council of the Democratic Alliance distanced herself from the policy arguing that it was practised under the leadership of Mmusi Maimane. Our discussion with him was largely informed by Bongani Baloyi’s revelations that “it is true that the...

250 municipal police officers have been found with a criminal record in Ekurhuleni. The charges range from rape, murder, assault, housebreaking and fraud. A questions was posed the DA counsellor, Jaco Terblanche at the municipal legislature earlier this month. According to South African Police Act of 1995 and Criminal Procedure Act of 1997, no municipal police officer may have a criminal record. T...

Earlier on today, the Supreme Court of Appeal dismissed with costs the department of home affairs’ bid to appeal the High Court rulings that invalidated Minister Motsoaledi’s 2021 decision to terminate the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit. According to the SCA order, Motsoaledi’s application was dismissed on the grounds that it has no reasonable prospect of success in an appeal and that there is no sou...

Libyan authorities have reached an agreement with militias that will see them vacate the country’s capital city, Tripoli by early April this year. The agreement comes after a series of deadly clashes in the city in recent months. For more on what this latest deal entails and what it means for the stability of the city and the country at large is…..   GUEST: Ebrahim Deen, Researcher & Political...

The National Assembly will go ahead with the vote on the impeachment of Hlophe and retired Judge Nkola Motata. This after the High Court in Cape Town rejected Hlophe’s urgent application to halt the vote on his removal. The court ruled that Hlophe’s application did not meet the requirements of an urgent interdict. For reaction on this, we are joined by….   GUEST: Mbekezeli Benjamin, Researcher @Ju...

GUEST: Vuyo Zungula, ATM leader

As part of the 2024 Budget Speech coverage, we get reflections on the Finance Minister's speech and unpack the alternative revenue sources being made available by the National Treasury for the coming year. To share more about whether the Enoch Godogwana got it right and the pitfalls that remain, we are joined by... GUEST: Dr Gilad Isaacs - Executive Director of the Institute for Economic Justice

The Finance Minister has tabled the Budge Speech. To  hear the reactions from political parties on the Budget Speech, we are joined by...    Guest: Jan de Villiers - DA member of parliament and Deputy Shadow Finance Minister

The Finance Minister has tabled the Budge Speech. To hear the reactions from political parties on the Budget Speech, we are joined by...    Guest: Inkosi Mzamo Buthelezi - IFP Member of Parliament, Deputy President and Spokesperson on Finance

The ANC has welcomed today’s High Court ruling that dismissed the DA’s application to have its cadre deployment policy declared unconstitutional. The party says cadre deployment cannot be faulted in principle, particularly in pursuit of building a united, non-racial, non-sexist, democratic and prosperous society. Post today’s court ruling, the party has also made it clear that it will continue imp...

The mining sector is facing retrenchments as Kumba Iron Ore announced earlier today that section 189A processes are underway. The company has taken this decision in light of the deterioration of Transnet's rail network which has slowed down their production output. The nation's largest iron ore producers will review 160 of its service providers and join Amplats which announced its plans to shed 37...

74 000 South Africans have signed a pledge that is calling for the government to review the shipment of livestock and run a moratorium on the export of live animals. This is in light of a shipment of cattle docked in Cape Town yesterday. The ship is on enroute to the Middle East and is set to depart from the port later today. To share more about the call they have made to the Department of Agricul...

As the world commemorates the Day of Social Justice today, our next guest shares the relationship between social justice and food vulnerability by addressing the persistent challenge of hunger in South Africa and the urgent need for systemic change. His organization has supplied over 53 million nutritious meals delivered since its inception and has called for scalable, evidence-based systemic solu...

Yesterday, we returned to the story of the Grade six learner that shot at the principal and got an update from the Gauteng Department of Education. What emerged from the conversation is the question surrounding how a licensed gun was accessed and what are the regulations regarding who can access a licensed firearm besides the licensed user. To help us clarify yh   Guest: Brigadier PN Sikhakhane - ...

Statistics South Africa has released the unemployment rate for the fourth quarter of 2023, which rose to 32.1% from  31.9% in the third quarter. The industries that contributed to the net employment decline include community and social services, construction, agriculture, trade and manufacturing. Also, according to last year’s fourth quarter results, the youth remain vulnerable in the labour marke...

The recent appointment of Reverend Thulasizwe Buthelezi as the new Prime Minister of the Zulu nation has split public opinion in KwaZulu-Natal and is likely to plunge the Zulu royal family into deeper turmoil. At the centre of the controversy is how Buthelezi was appointed by the Zulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini and some are arguing that he is not the right person for the role as he is neither an i...

As the World Court is continuing with its public hearings on the Israel's occupation of the Palestine territory. South Africa's senior state law adviser, Andre Stemmet has told the International Court of Justice that right of self-determination is inalienable and it's recognized by the United Nations. He says people of Palestine must have permanent sovereignty. He also argued that the United Natio...

In his Budget Speech, Finance Minister Enock Godongwana is expected to indicate whether the austerity measures would remain in place or be lifted. Prof Andre Roux is of the view that tomorrow’s Budget Speech runs the risk of validating the old adage that “you can’t be all things to all people.” He joins us now to elaborate further on this….. Guest: Prof Andre Roux - Economist at Stellenbosch Busin...