The National Pulse

Advocate Pansy Tlakula explains the stand-off between the national department of health and her office. Earlier this week, Information Regulator SA confirmed that they have referred the department of health to the enforcement committee because it has failed to provide information about personal data it collected during the COVID-19 pandemic.   GUEST: Adv Pansy Tlakula, Chairperson of the Informati...

Sophie Tendane from The Namibian newspaper tells us more about Jill Biden’s first trip to Africa as first lady of the United States of America. We understand that her visit to the continent forms part of the Biden Administration’s objective of supporting democracies around the world. GUEST: Sophie Tendane, Journalist for The Namibian newspaper

Small and medium enterprises that can afford solar panels can breathe a sigh of relief through tax rebates. Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwaqna says households and businesses that install solar panels can claim a 25% rebate of up to R15000 from government. However, apart from that, he didn’t touch on any other form of financial relief for SMEs that have been battling to stay afloat due to increasi...

Today we hear from Sherie de Wet, founder of the washable and reusable sanitary pad brand Palesa pads. She started her business after realising that many young girls were struggling to afford or access sanitary pads.  De Wet’s business has continued to grow and this has resulted in her being approached by retail giants Ackermans and most recently Pick ’n Pay to supply them with her sanitary pads....

Mpumalanga police have confiscated 31 bags of dagga worth over R1.3 million at a farm in Mpumalanga. Three suspicious vehicles were spotted inside the maize farm in Delmas and when members of the farm watch moved closer, two of them fled. The driver of the last car fled on foot after opening it. Both the dagga and the car have been taken by the police.   Guest: Mpumalanga police spokesperson, Brig...

Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana has allocated R30 billion towards inflation linked increases for social grants. The old age and disability grants increase by R90 from the f1st of April and a further R10 from the 1st of October, a total incrase to R2090 per month. Child grants will also rise to R510 from R480 and the foster care grant will increase to R1130. For some reaction to that, we are now...

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has announced that government is acting decisively to bring additional capacity onto the grid, and that they are working hard to transform the electricity sector to achieve energy security in the long-term.   GUEST: Goerge Tshesane   

BUDGET SPEECH: Finance Minister says Municipalities owe Eskom R56.3 billion and the debt keeps on rising. However, government is working closely with Eskom to address this problem, and we are likely to see the power utility providing incentivised relief to municipalities whose debt is unaffordable.   GUEST: Miyelani Holeni, Group Chief Advisor at Ntiso Consulting Group  

the ongoing civil war in Somaliland which has led to more than 60 000 Somalis fleeing to Ethiopia’s Somali region in the past few weeks. According to the UN, the fighting has affected humanitarian operations, with increased access challenges, especially in internally displaced persons locations. GUEST: Dr Vusumuzi Sibanda, Chairperson of the African Diaspora Global Network

Two more people have been recovered and two are still missing in Coffee Day following floods that destroyed infrastructure and washed a school away. This brings the number of recovered bodies to four. Mop-up operations have been a challenge due to the collapse of bridges that has made it difficult to access some of the affected villages. Members of the South African National Defence force have joi...

Earlier on today, Secretary to Parliament Xolile George revealed that it will take two more years to rebuild Parliament building in Cape Town. According to him, the Development Bank of Southern Africa will lead the reconstruction project at an estimated cost of 2 billion rand.   GUEST: Moloto Mothapo, Parliament’s spokesperson.

Today we celebrate Sergeant Connie Nkuna for going above and beyond the call of duty. Earlier this month, you may have heard about this touching story of Sergeant Nkuna, who helped deliver a baby on the side of the road. Sergeant Nkuna who was newly promoted in the position was serving her first day in Region B, Randburg when this incident occurred. We understand that the mother that she assisted...

Free State Premier, Sisi Ntombela has informed the ruling party she will be resigning from her position as premier. ANC Secretary General, Fikile Mbalula announced during a media briefing today that she informed him of her decision to step down. Ntombela lost the chairperson position at the last provincial elective conference in January to Mxolisi Dukwana who was the interim provincial committee c...

President Cyril Ramaphosa has hailed the work of the South African National Defence Force as the country commemorates Armed Forces Day. The day commemorates the World War 1 naval tragedy that claimed 616 South African troops when the SS Mendi ship sank on its way to France. An official ceremony was held earlier in Richards Bay in KwaZulu-Natal. Ramaphosa thanked SANDF members for their commitment...

Earlier on today, ANC SG Fikile Mbalula briefed members of the media on the outcomes of a Special National Executive Committee meeting that took place yesterday. The party has announced that the NEC has approved deployment of full time NEC members to support organisational work at Luthuli House and it has also approved deployments to its sub-committees. GUEST: Mahlengi Bhengu –Motsiri, ANC Nationa...

journal Nature Medicine has revealed that a 53-year-old man in Germany, often referred to as the Berlin patient has become the latest person to be cured of HIV after receiving a stem cell transplant. The patient ceased antiretroviral therapy for HIV in 2018. To explain what this means in the battle against HIV is…. GUEST: Professor Salim Abdool Karim, Director of the Centre for the Aids Programme...

Eskom is reviewing documentation and schedules around load-shedding stages to prepare itself just in case we move to stage 8 loadshedding as it works to restore power supply. The power utility’s CEO, Andre de Ruyter says they are working around the clock to de-escalate the ongoing stage 6 load-shedding by the weekend, however, the risk of stage 8 loadshedding is always there considering their chal...

Today we hear from the SA runner, Nontuthuko Mgabhi who will travel to Vietnam this week to raise funds for disadvantaged schools in Northern Natal. In 2020 Mgabhi made history when she became the first African woman to participate in the World Marathon Challenge – and she ran seven marathons on seven continents in seven days, all for a good cause. GUEST: Nontuthuko Mgabhi, SA long-distance runner

Communities in Coffee Bay in the Eastern Cape are still reeling from the impact of floods where bodies of two children have been recovered after they were swept away together with their mother. Four people are still missing and many are still stranded. The district municipality communities to remain vigilant as rains continue in the area. The heavy rains have also destroyed infrastructure and wash...

The City of Cape Town will soon serve eviction notices on homeless settlements across the CBD after having been granted permission by the high court to do so. Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says this will help the city to reclaim public spaces and provide care for vulnerable citizens living on the street. He joins us now to elaborate further on this…… GUEST: Geordin Hill-Lewis, Executive Mayor of Cape T...

Post the AU Summit, we unpack South Africa’s new role on the continent after being appointed as the chair of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union. This is a huge task, as President Cyril Ramaphosa will have to ensure that the Peace and Security Council of the AU attends to all conflicts on the African continent. GUEST: Sophie Mokoena, SABC’s Foreign Editor

Yudheer Harbhajun from Epson explains why printed material remains a keystone of the digital era. According to him, technology in education needs to be seamless and ensure that learning is continuous and efficient, captures attention and empowers both the learner and teacher. GUEST: Yudheer Harbhajun, Office Automation Sales Manager @Epson South Africa

The latest crime statistics have revealed double digit increases in the last quarter of 2022. Murder has risen by 10% and attempted murder has increased by 24,3% compared to the same period last year. The Minister of Police announced this at the quarterly crime statistics today in Cape Town. The statistics were recorded between the period of 1 October 2022 and 31st December 2022. To unpack this de...

Student protests continue across the country as we come to the end of the registration period for the 2023 academic year. In Pretoria, dozens of students from the University of Pretoria have been sleeping outside of the accommodation office due to the limits set by NSFAS. The students are demanding that NSFAS increase their accommodation allowance funding of R45,000 per annum to match higher renta...

There has been an accident near the William Nicol and N1 highway (Johannesburg) off-ramp that has left one person injured so far. The tanker explosion comes less than two months after 34 people died in a tanker explosion Boksburg and another one in the East Rands days later. We ask the question: do heavy vehicles or truck tankers need to be escorted by police through cities? To give us the latest...