The National Pulse

We have also seen the rise of serial entrepreneurs and side hustles becoming a prominent feature in how ordinary South Africans find a way to make ends meet. Guest: Dion Chang - Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Flux Trends

Wits Professor of Vaccinology, Professor Shabir Madhi has welcomed his appointment as an honorary Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) by King Charles III. Madhi recently received the Order in recognition of his services to science and public health in a global pandemic. GUEST: Professor Shabir Madhi –Professor of Vaccinology at Wits University

The South African Human Rights Commission is taking Belinda Magor to the Equality Court. You may remember Magor as the woman who sent a racist voicenote to a WhatsApp group that described black men as monstrous rapists and wanted black women's uteruses to be removed. Magor has refused to issue a public apology and pay the R150 000 fine after being found guilty of hate speech by the SA Human Rights...

The South African National Defence Force, SANDF says it will use its powers to arrest anyone in possession of the Defence Force material under the Defence Act 42 of 2002. This comes after a video went viral on social media showing a foreign national sewing SANDF camouflage attire with the army's artefacts on. So, can foreign nationals use the SANDF uniform to cross the SA border illegally? What ar...

Mario Guisti, Free State’s IT professional has been sentenced to 8, 400 years imprisonment for rape, human trafficking and creating child pornography. According to Free State police, Guisti used to lure boys between the ages of eight and 10, with computer games. Let's now get reaction from Not In My Name SA as they have welcomed Guisti's sentencing......   GUEST: Themba Masango, Secretary General...

Former radio presenter Ngizwe Mchunu, says justice has been served after he was found not guilty on charges of incitement to commit public violence and contravention of the Disaster Management Act by the Randburg Magistrates court in Johannesburg. Mchunu was arrested following the July 2021 unrest in the wake of the incarceration of former President Jacob Zuma. Several parts of KwaZulu Natal and G...

Rwandan President Paul Kagame has announced visa-free travel for all Africans, making Rwanda the fourth African country to do so.   We understand that the move is aimed at capitalizing on Africa’s growing tourism market, driven by the continent’s growing middle class.   Rwanda now joins Seychelles, The Gambia and Benin, the only African countries that provide visa-free entry for all African citize...

Today is the second day of the AGOA Forum that is currently underway in Nasrec. Right now, we are joined by Standard Bank’s Phillip Myburgh who is going to give us an update on the proceedings and also tell us more about some of the key emerging themes from the discussions so far.   GUEST: Phillip Myburgh, Head of Trade at Standard Bank

Following her recent appointment as South Africa’s new Public Protector – Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka joins us to talk about her new role and also to explain how she hopes to use her new position to promote South Africa’s constitutional democracy, good governance, efficient administration and the protection of human rights. Prior to her appointment, you may recall that Gcaleka, was initially appointe...

As we continue with our AGOA theme, we are now joined by Standard Bank’s Phillip Myburgh who will talk to us about the role of AGOA in supporting greater trade and investment ties between the US and Africa.   GUEST: Phillip Myburgh: Head of Trade, Business and Commercial Banking at Standard Bank

Standard Bank has emerged as the leading renewable investor in the country, demonstrating its dedication to sustainable development and a just energy transition for the whole continent. Joining us to tell us more about Standard Bank’s approach in this regard is…… GUEST: Deerosh Maharaj, Head of Power & Sustainable Solutions for Business and Commercial Banking at Standard Bank

We continue with our live coverage of the AGOA Forum and right now we are joined by Mokhethi Shelile -the Minister of Trade Industry Business Development and Tourism in Lesotho. He will tell us more about his country’s expectations and contribution.   GUEST: Mokhethi Shelile -the Minister of Trade Industry Business Development and Tourism in Lesotho  

As the Springboks begin their national Webb Ellis Trophy tour today. Our guests help us understand the significance of ‘Sports Diplomacy’ and how it can be used as a tool to build bridges, promote dialogue, and foster cooperation among different countries, cultures and communities. But most importantly – we are looking at the Boks recent victory and what it means for the African continent, this as...

Today marks day one of the AGOA Forum that is currently taking place here in Nasrec and once again we speak to Standard Bank about their involvement and support of the US Africa trade and investment.   GUEST: Bill Blackie, Chief Executive Business and Commercial Banking Standard Bank

Many civil society organizations have voiced their concerns surrounding the impact of budget cuts on service delivery and isolating vulnerable citizens who make use of support programmes (health, education & social protection).  One of these organizations has been holding a petition that has brought together 77 stakeholders and 16,000 signatures to stop the government from cancelling the teach...

COSATU has said it is disappointed by the MTBPS delivered by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana given the budget cuts  to social frontline services, the end of the social relief of distress grants and the below-inflation wage increase for public servants in the medium-term. To unpack their position, we are joined by...   Guest: Matthew Parks - Acting National Spokesperson & Parliamentary Coordi...

The Directorate for Priority Crime Investigations (HAWKS) has issued a stern warning to citizens on the rise of dating scams after a retired teacher was scammed out of R800 000 of their pension. To help us understand who is likely to be targeted and share how to report these crimes, we are joined by... Guest: Lieutenant Colonel Matimba Maluleke - Hawks spokesperson in Limpopo

Bill Blackie from Standard Bank joins us to outline the objectives of the annual African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Forum which commences tomorrow at the Johannesburg Expo Centre in Nasrec. The African Growth and Opportunity Act is a U.S. trade initiative passed in 2000 under former President Bill Clinton to deepen trade ties with Sub-Saharan Africa and help African countries develop their...

With revenue less than projected, soaring debt-interest costs and an underperforming economy. Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has once again reiterated the fact that government spending has exceeded revenue since the 2008 global financial crisis – warning that the rising annual budget deficits have reached an extent where the government will borrow an average of R553 billion per year over the me...

The Gauteng High Court in Pretoria has ordered Higher Education Minister, Dr Blade Nzimande to reverse his decision to place Unisa under administration. Last week, Nzimande decided to place the university under administration after receiving reports from independent assessor Prof Themba Mosia and the ministerial task team chaired by Vincent Maphai. According to the department of Higher Education,...

The department of education in the Eastern Cape has suspended a teacher for using corporal punishment on pupils. The incident, captured on video, has ignited public outrage and gone viral on social media platforms.   GUEST: Malibongwe Mtima, Spokesperson of the department of education in the Eastern Cape

Lawyers for Human Rights has welcomed the Constitutional Court judgment that held Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi and the Director-General personally liable for failure to enact corrective legislation for parts of the Immigration Act. The apex court found the Act did not adequately protect the rights of people who were to be deported.   GUEST: Nabeelah Mia, Head of the Penal Reform Programm...

In recent weeks, news outlets have been reported on disturbing incidences of children being rushed to local hospitals with symptoms of food poisoning. With the spotlight firmly on spaza shops, we are seeing more government institutions conducting raids based on the complaints communities have made on whether these shops are following business regulations in relation to food safety and how this pos...

City Power is set to take over the load-shedding schedule from Eskom as of next week. Residents of Johannesburg will experience less load-shedding and are set to experience no more than 2-hour blackouts under the new schedule. To tell us more on this and which suburbs will experience this change, we are joined by...      Guest: Isaac Mangena - Spokesperson at City Power  

Given the conversations happening around voting culture and attracting young people to vote, we speak to our next guest about the trends he has seen when it comes to the introduction of e-voting systems and election management processes. We are joined by...   Guest: Terry Tselane -  Chief Executive Officer Institute of Election Management Services