The National Pulse

Mpumalanga MEC for Community Safety, Security and Liaison, Vusi Shongwe joins us now to explain what his department is doing to quell the ongoing tensions in eMalahleni. 

The situation is still tense in Mpumalanga but not the same as yesterday and things are going much slower than normal. Authorities in the province have urged motorists and community members to continue using alternative routes to reach their destinations. For more on this story, we are now joined by….   GUEST: Mthobisi Mkhaliphi, SABC News reporter based in Mpumalanga

Turks are heading to the polls on Sunday, and after 20 years in power, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is fighting for his political survival as there is a strong chance that he might lose this time around. It is widely reported that Erdogan appears intimidated by the alliance of the Kurds and White Turks who have long opposed him.   GUEST: Zeenat Adam, Deputy Executive Director at the Afro-Middle...

guest: Brigadier Selvi Mohlala

Guest: Gregory Maqoma

Workers affiliated to the South African Municipal Workers Union have been protesting in Johannesburg over issues that affect various municipalities in Gauteng. They say corruption in municipalities has made it difficult for them to do their jobs, they also say government has failed to solve disputes, including the outsourcing of some of their work to contractors. Guest:  Nkhetheni Muthavhi 

What is causing the rand to fall? Bad news for the country as the Rand is currently trading at R19, 00 against the U.S. dollar, its weakest level since early 2020. Some economists are suggesting that the ongoing power cuts are behind this latest slump. To explain why the rand is in a fragile state is….   GUEST: Tshepo Mongoai, SABC News Economics Editor

Following confusion around the announcement of Inkosi Thanduyise Mzimela as new chairperson of the Ingonyama Trust Board. We hear from the Ministry of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development as they still regard Mzimela as the chairperson. GUEST: Reggie Ngcobo, Spokesperson for the Ministry of of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development

Free State Premier Mxolisi Dukwana has pledged a R15 billion investment that will help rebuild Jagersfontein and create employment in the Xhariep district. The area was destroyed after a mine tailings dam wall collapsed, leaving many people homeless and killing two people. Premier Dukwana visited the area with Deputy President Paul Mashatile to meet community members to discuss issues around rebui...

A survey by the Inclusive Society Institute shows there is a decrease in the number of people contemplating emigration in 2022 compared to the previous year. It shows that 9.25% percent of those with higher education expressed a serious intention to emigrate within the next two years, this is down from 11.13%. The survey also shows race is not a material driving force behind the motivation to emig...

Today, we celebrate the Bheki Mlangeni Hospital for meeting the growing needs of an ever-changing healthcare system. The hospital made history last month when it performed its first heart surgery. The surgery was performed on Tumisang Motsikwa, who was stabbed while trying to save a fellow pupil from being mugged.   GUEST: Dr Ismail Ibrahim, Surgeon @Bheki Mlangeni Hospital (he performed the surge...

US President Joe Biden’s administration has proposed legislation that will require airlines  to compensate passengers for what they call “controllable airline cancellation or significant delay”. This refers to delays that are the airline’s fault and not weather related.  Like mechanical issues, computer issues, or crew scheduling and shortages. This will entitle passengers to cash, meals and hotel...

Who is in charge of Ingonyama Trust? Following weeks of confusion in relation to Ingonyama Trust Board affairs. Today we are joined by Professor Musa Xulu to unpack this thorny issue for us. Just recently, we were told that AmaZulu King Misuzulu kaZwelithini has appointed Inkosi Thanduyise Mzimela as the new Ingonyama Trust Board chairperson, however a couple of weeks ago, Prince Mangosuthu Buthel...

Is load-shedding to blame for sharp rise in repo rate? Reserve Bank Governor Lestja Kganyago says load-shedding will result in the contraction in GDP by 2% this year, something that will compel the bank to increase repo rates by 0.5%. To explain what this means, we are joined by…..   GUEST: Naledi Ngcobo, SABC News specialist reporter

Professor John Stremlau says it is too early to tell if the verdict against Donald Trump in the E. Jean Carrol case will hurt his election campaign and he also doesn’t believe that it will harm his support base as Trump continues to campaign for next year’s election. Trump has since announced that he will appeal yesterday’s verdict that found he sexually abused Carrol.       GUEST: Dr John Stremla...

What is the explanation behind the Xitsonga spelling on the newly designed R100 banknote? Some Xitsonga speakers say moving from the initial spelling of Banginkulu to Bangikulu without the N is wrong, while others say it is written the way some pronounce it. The Pan South African Language Board was consulted on the spelling. We’re now joined by Dr Arnold Mushwana, Chairperson of Pansalb’s Xitsonga...

Operation Dudula is now officially a political party, and they will be contesting elections in 2024. The organisation held a consultative conference this past weekend and its members voted in favour of transforming it into a political party. They have been at the forefront of fighting against illegal immigration. What does this party now stand for as a political organisation? We’re now joined by I...

Cape Town Tourism’s “Find Your Freedom” campaign has helped save the city’s tourism industry by generating R147 million”   GUEST: James Vos, City of Cape Town's Economic Growth MMC 

The United Democratic Movement is calling for a commission of inquiry into NPA head Advocate Shamila Batohi’s fitness to hold office. The party says Batohi has failed to execute her duties and responsibilities, particularly with regards to prosecuting culprits named in the findings of the Zondo Commission. It also says there’s no evidence that Advocate Batohi has done anything to fulfil her obliga...

Why are SA law enforcement agencies not functioning coherently? Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts has heard that former Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter only reported suspected crime at the power utility to the Hawks almost two weeks ago. However, what is even more concerning is the fact that our law enforcement agencies seem not to be using communication channels effectively and this wa...

We unpack the outcomes of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) meeting and also find out as to why did some leaders in the region missed this important meeting. Was King Charles’s coronation more important than the Extraordinary Organ Troika Summit that took place in Windhoek? We find out from …….   GUEST: Lenin Ndebele, Head of News24 Africa Desk  

Thabiso Mamabolo known as Thabo Mabutla on SABC1 soapie Skeem Sam is taking the insurance sector by storm

On Friday, the Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) ruled that loadshedding constituted an infringement of constitutional rights and gave the minister of Public Enterprises 60 days to implement a plan to exempt all government hospitals, clinics, schools and police stations from the power cuts. While this has brought relief to institutions providing public services, there have been questions raised not on...

Following WHO’s announcement that Covid19 is no longer a public health emergency of international concern – we hear from Professor Tulio de Oliveira about what this means and how we should conduct ourselves moving forward.   Guest: Tulio de Oliveira, Professor of Bioinformatics at the School for Data Science and Computational Thinking @ Stellenbosch University

Basil Manuel helps us understand some of the proposed changes on SA’s school calendar. Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga has proposed some changes to the National Policy for Determining School Calendars for public schools in SA. Some of you may recall that previously the policy state that the fourth term should end in the second week of December. However, the proposed change suggests that t...