The National Pulse

A settlement agreement between government and some unions in the public sector has been reached. This ends a strike that has been ongoing for weeks, with Nehawu leading the biggest group of striking workers. The workers were demanding a 10% salary increase while government was offering a 3% increase and a R1000 cash gratuity. Government says this paves the way for employees to get back to work. Wh...

The ripple effect of Nehawu’s strike against government’s 3% salary increase is being felt in the funeral industry. The National Funeral Practitioners Association of South Africa says government mortuaries are experiencing a backlog across the country. Many families have had to delay funeral arrangements as some employees continue to take part in the strike. This means some people don’t get bodies...

LIVING ANUITY PART2: Today’s discussion is a continuation from the last interview that we did last week, which focussed more on educating you about what a living annuity is. So this afternoon we focus on ‘if you can amend a living annuity once you have one – how to go about it, and we will tell you more about the difference between a guaranteed annuity vs a living annuity’.  GUEST: Michael Rossouw...

Today marks exactly five months since the SABC last had a board. Some names in the group of 12 people recommended to President Cyril Ramaphosa to be members of the SABC board are being reconsidered, including Phathiswa Magopeni, the SABC’s former head of news. President Ramaphosa has asked for clarity on the three additional names. Members of parliament met last night to discuss the names. A decis...

The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) says it’s all systems go for their national shutdown next Monday. This is despite the fact that some economists and business community have warned the party that its planned shutdown will have a negative impact on the economy. For more on how this planned protest will affect the country’s economy, we are joined by Frank Blackmore, lead economist @KPMG……. but bef...

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken begins his visit to Ethiopia today, hoping to reset relations between the United States and Ethiopia after the two countries fell out over allegations of war crimes committed in the northern region of Tigray. Human Rights Watch organisation says Blinken should use his visit to demand accountability for atrocities, as they believe that more still needs to be don...

As South Africa commemorates Human Rights Month, the Foundation for Human Rights has released a report looking into socio-economic disparities in the country over the past 8 years. The report titled “Socio-Economic Justice For All is a way to check the state of human rights in South Africa, against the backdrop of the country’s socio-economic context . The survey was done with South Africans in di...

The City of Cape Town has approached the Western Cape High Court for an urgent interdict against the EFF's planned national shutdown, which is due to take place on Monday next week. For further elucidation on this, we are joined by…..   GUEST: Geordin Hill-Lewis, Cape Town Mayor

Some sad news for the South African music industry. Jazz musician and Samro board member, Gloria Bosman has passed away. Her family announced that she passed earlier today following a short illness. Bosman’s music career spans over 30 years with multiple music awards. He joined Samro as a board member in December. To discuss her contribution to the South African music industry, we’re now joined by...

In conversation with Sibahle Khwela, an arts administration intern at the Centre for Creative Arts at UKZN College of Humanities. Khwela has just been appointed as the new project leader and curator for the 26th edition of the Time of The Writer Festival, which is due to take place in two days’ time. In 2020, she was the recipient of DUT’s Dean’s Merit Award and received 11 awards during her studi...

The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition is investigating Chinese clothing giant, Shein. The probe follows concerns and allegations raised by South African businesses and trade unions about the company possibly taking advantage of tax loophole to disadvantage local businesses in the clothing sector. The Southern African Clothing and Textile Workers Union says Shein is bad for the economy...

The City of Tshwane finally has a new speaker. Mncedi Ndzwanana has been elected as the new speaker of the city after an eventful few weeks in the council. Ndzwanana is a member of the African Transformation Movement and was backed by the African National Congress. He got 105 votes, beating ActionSA’s Kholofelo Morodi who got 37. 69 votes by the Democratic Alliance were deemed spoilt by the IEC. G...

Earlier on today, the health ombudsman, Professor Malegapuru Makgoba, presented the findings of an investigation into conditions at the Rahima Moosa Mother and Child Hospital in Johannesburg. The findings show that the maternity hospital is unsafe, filthy, and neglected. The Health Ombud has recommended that disciplinary proceedings be initiated against the CEO of the hospital, Dr Nozuko Mkabayi....

Government employees in the UK will soon not be allowed to use TikTok on any devices associated with their jobs. This as the UK intends to ban TikTok from government devices over concerns about the security of the Chinese social media app. The United States, Canada, Belgium and the European Commission are among those that have already banned the app. GUEST: Athur Goldstuck, CEO of the World Wide W...

Action SA’s Gauteng Chair, Bongani Baloyi has resigned from his position. Baloyi called a media briefing to share some of the reasons behind his departure, among many, he says party leader, Herman Mashaba wanted to move him from his position to make him party spokesperson. He says he has performed in his position and has built a brand for himself and didn’t find the spokesperson position suitable...

What exactly was the Public Protector’s Office investigating in relation to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala saga? An interim report was released this weekend, clearing him of wrongdoing in the matter. The investigation did not focus on the criminal elements of the issue, but the rules around ethics. However, the findings against Major General Wally Rhoode who is the head of the Presidentia...

Will Tshwane residents find out today who their new speaker is? The Democratic Alliance led multi-party coalition in the City of Tshwane has nominated ActionSA councilor, Kholofelo Morodi as the speaker of the council. However, today’s council meeting has been marred by disruptions as EFF and ANC members shared their anger about the termination of ActionSA’s Nkele Molapo’s membership by the party....

Cope’s Gauteng Chairperson, Tom Mofokeng says disgraced former Tshwane Mayor Dr Murunwa Makwarela was being protected by senior members of the political party. Dr Makwarela resigned from his position last week after it came out that his debt rehabilitation certificate was fake. He did maintain though, that his resignation is not admission of guilt. Mofokeng says other members were also not vetted...

Meanwhile, the National Department of Health has welcomed the Labour Appeals Court's order that interdicts trade union NEHAWU from continuing with its nationwide strike. NEHAWU members who constitutes health care personnel such as nurses and emergency services workers have been on strike for a week. They are demanding a ten per cent salary increase while the employer is offering four-point-seven p...

The Labour Appeals Court has interdicted essential service workers from taking part in Nehawu’s strike. The court order delivered earlier today also interdicts other agencies like SASSA and the SIU who were considering joining the NEHAWU strike against doing so. To explain what this means for essential services in general is…. GUEST: Trenton Elsley, Executive Director at Labour Research Service

This past weekend, some Senegalese staged a protest in Paris, calling for President Macky Sall not to run for a third term in office. Their call is in accordance with the country’s constitutional reform of 2001, and since a referendum that took place on 20 March 2016, the president is elected for a 5-year term, and limited to two consecutive terms.  GUEST: Izak Khomo, African affairs commentator 

The University of Cape Town (UCT) and the University of Bristol (UoB) have launched two exciting initiates – the UCT-UoB professorship programme and a fellowship programme for early career researchers. Guest: Professor Sue Harrison, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Internationalisation: University of Cape Town

The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) has noted with concern the recent acts of violence and intimidation that are currently taking place in different Health Care Centers and Hospitals due to the on-going NEHAWU strike. Guest: HPCSA President, Professor Simon Nemutandani

Auditor-General (AG) Tsakani Maluleke today presented a report to Parliament about progress of implementation of the material irregularities process and asserted that her office’s enhanced powers are making an impact in promoting a culture of accountability, integrity, transparency and performance in the public sector. Guest: Auditor-General (AG) Tsakani Maluleke

Earlier today, representative of the multi-party coalition in Tshwane laid criminal charges against Dr Murunwa Makwarela for supplying falsified and fraudulent documents to the City of Tshwane. Dr Makwarela has now resigned GUEST: Jacqui Uys - DA Tshwane Joint Caucus Chair