The National Pulse

Former Public Protector, Advocate Thuli Madonsela has appeared before the Mkhwebane inquiry in parliament giving testimony with regards to the Vrede Dairy Farm and CIEX investigations. Madonsela shared she was reluctant to appear before the inquiry, not out of disrespect, however, she felt the issues she was asked to speak on had already been dealt with extensively by the courts. What came out of...

President Cyril Ramaphosa will announce his decisions around the cabinet reshuffle this evening at 19:00. The csbinet reshuffle has been imminent for the past few months as some positions have been vacant and recently, David Mabuza resigned from his position as the country’s deputy president. What can we look forward to tonight? We are now joined by SABC News political reporter, Samkele Maseko.

Earlier on today, DA leader John Steenhuisen revealed that the US dollars that were hidden on the Phala Phala farm of President Cyril Ramaphosa were not declared to the South African Revenue Service (SARS) upon entering the country. Let’s now get reaction from the ATM leader in terms of what this means going forward….. GUEST: Vuyo Zungula, ATM Leader

Thembeni Nxangisa, MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development in the Free State, pays tribute to the late MEC for Education Tate Makgoe who sadly died in a car crash in the early hours of Sunday morning. It is alleged that Makgoe and his bodyguard’s vehicle collided with two cows on the N1 outside Winburg. ANC in the Free State and provincial government say Makgoe will always be remembered for turn...

French President Emmanuel Macron has condemned the armed conflict in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo and pledged 35 million dollars for supporting displaced people. Macron also urged the DR Congo’s government to take responsibility over the violence that has cascaded through the region for years. He made the remarks in the DRC capital Kinshasa as he concluded his four-nation tour of A...

Opera singer Pretty Yende continues to fly the South African flag beyond the clouds, as she has been chosen to perform at the coronation of King Charles III, which is due to take place in May this year. Things have been going well for her so far, just about four months ago, Yende was awarded a Ceremonial Badge of Honour for her contribution to the arts and letters in France and worldwide. GUEST (B...

Songstress and social justice activist, Simphiwe Dana will be serenading music lovers with her beautiful sounds this weekend at the Joburg Theatre. Her show titled, Moya explores her spirituality, bringing both music and dance as an art form to express herself. The award-winning artist will feature jazz artist, Titi Luzipho as we as renowned choreographer, Gregory Maqoma. Guest: Simphiwe Dana

The African National Congress says it has served both Eskom and former CEO, Andre de Ruyter with court papers following last week’s interview with journalist, Anika Larsen. De Ruyter alleged there were people in the ruling party who were using the power utility as their cash cow. The ruling party initially gave de Ruyter 7 days to provide evidence of what he alleged. To discuss the dynamics around...

Wits University students protests have turned violent. Students are protesting over accommodation and exclusion from registering due to outstanding tuition fees. A few moments ago, some students clashed with police officers and security guards. Joining us to explain what transpired earlier on is…. GUEST: Karabo Asala, Community Outreach Officer of the SRC @Wits GUEST: Alex Patrick, Metro reporter

Peter Obi of the Labour Party in Nigeria has announced that he will challenge the outcome of the country’s fiercely fought presidential elections after official results awarded victory to the ruling party’s candidate, Bola Tinubu. On the other hand though, Tinubu has expressed his readiness to defend his mandate in court. But, what’s even more interesting about this entire situation is that intern...

While there are many factors behind declining membership. Our guests explore a few causes of membership decline, looking at some of the key factors that are perpetuating this unfortunate trend. According to the International Labour Organisation - trade unions in most advanced capitalist countries have steadily lost members for decades, as they struggle to adapt to changes in the economy and societ...

Civil rights organisation, Access Chapter 2 says Uganda President, Yoweri Museveni’s recent visit to South Africa is a slap in the faces of the LGBTQI community. Uganda passed an anti-homosexuality act prohibiting same-sex relationships and its parliament is now dealing with a motion to introduce a private members bill called the ‘Anti-homosexuality Bill’ aimed at protecting what they call the ‘tr...

A Pretoria couple has been handed an effective 14-year prison sentence for child abuse. In 2020, the couple had beaten their six-month-old daughter, leaving her with 31 broken bones. AfriForum’s Private Prosecution Unit assisted doctors in opening a criminal case after the first reported case was closed due to a lack of evidence.   GUEST: Barry Bateman, AfriForum’s spokesperson for the Private Pro...

As we continue with this story, let’s now hear from the spokesperson of the department of health in Gauteng, Motalatale Modiba, who will share the department’s side of the story.   GUEST: Motalatale Modiba, Spokesperson for the Department of Health in Gauteng  

The Department of Health in Gauteng has revealed that some public hospitals and clinics are running out of diesel due to the increased demand for fuel during load shedding. Health MEC in the province revealed this information when responding to questions that were raised by the DA’s MPL Jack Bloom. To discuss this issue further, we are now joined by….     GUEST: Jack Bloom, DA Gauteng Shadow Healt...

The G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting kicked off in New Delhi yesterday. We understand that the Meeting will among other things tackle the major issues such food and energy prices, increasing debt and soft economic recovery post-lockdown. On the other hand, we do know that the ongoing Russia’s war in Ukraine will definitely take centre stage. The reason why this important meeting is taking place in In...

Eskom is 100 years old today. The power utility was established on this day in 1923. The SOE has reached many milestones over the years, including the fact that over 80% of South African homes have electricity compared to the rest of the continent that has an average of less than 20% access to electricity. Eskom is currently dealing with a variety of issues, including an inability to provide power...

We chat to Simangele Mapuza, who through her NPO Purpose Partners, hosts lifestyle events to raise funds that help disadvantaged students pay for varsity registration. Mapuza is a rape survivor and has suffered rejection and depression. She is also a motivational speaker who uses her experience to motivate others.   GUEST: Simangele Mapuza, Founder & Director of Purpose Partners NPO

David Mabuza has finally resigned as deputy president of South Africa. Mabuza revealed at a funeral last month that he was ready to leave his position to make way for ANC deputy president, Paul Mashatile. ANC Chief Whip, Pemmy Majodina confirmed Mabuza had tendered his resignation to her and the speaker of parliament, Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula. Does this mean we’re finally getting the cabinet reshuf...

As the price of everything continues to increase at alarming rates, our buying power continues to decrease.  The latest take home pay index by BankServe Africa shows the average nominal take-home pay in South Africa dropped again. It is now R14, 305, that’s 7.5% lower than it was in January 2022. The company says the increase in production costs as a result of load-shedding, and increasing fuel pr...

We tell you more about the Hello Hong Kong Campaign, which is about giving away half a million plane tickets to visitors from international locations, as part of reminding the international community that Hong Kong is one of the world’s most popular global tourism destinations.   GUEST: Mmatsatsi Ramawela, Chapter President of the International Institute for Peace Through Tourism Southern Africa  

The Constitutional Court has ruled against President Cyril Ramaphosa’s bid to challenge the Section 89 independent panel report into Phala-Phala saying no case has been made for exclusive jurisdiction or direct access. In 2020, the independent panel led by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, found that Ramaphosa may have a case to answer in relation to a robbery that occurred at his Phala Phala f...

Bola Tinubu, the former governor of Lagos, has been declared the winner of Nigeria’s closest presidential election. This is despite opposition parties having declared the election a sham and calling for a rerun. According to the country’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Tinubu’s party, the All Progressives Congress, got close to 8.8 million votes.   GUEST : Samson Omale, a Multi-...

The Independent Electoral Commission has released party funding disclosure for the third quarter of financial year 2022/2023. Some interesting developments there, the ANC declared the biggest amount of funding compared to other parties. They received a total of R32 Million, DA – R2.9 million, ActionSA – R4.6 Million, PA – R247 000 and declaring the least donations, the EFF with R202 600. Only the...

TransUnion’s vehicle price index reveals that the rate of increase in new vehicle prices rose to 7% in the fourth quarter of 2022, this is up from 2% around the same period the previous year. It also shows the rate of increase in used vehicles moved up to 9.1% from 7%. The company says all indicators suggest that the automotive industry will have a hard year as consumer credit health continues to...