The National Pulse

Eskom and Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan failed to meet their deadline set by a group of political parties, lawyers and civil society organisations to respond to their letter of demand with regards to the ongoing energy crisis in South Africa. The letter was asking for a concrete plan on fixing load-shedding in South Africa and the ongoing energy crisis. The group is heading to court,...

The Department of Health is calling on mine workers who contracted Tuberculosis and Silicosis between 1965 and 2019 to report for compensation. The programme will kick off in KwaZulu-Natal and run the 4th of February. Those who are still alive will get screened and beneficiaries of those who have passed will receive compensation on their behalf, however, they will have to present medical records,...

Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi is currently visiting the four farms where people died in the Kakamas region in the Northern Cape due to heatstroke. Over the last few weeks, the Kakamas area experienced temperatures in the forties.   GUEST: Mase Manopole, MEC for agriculture, environmental affairs, rural development and land reform in the Northern Cape   

Bilateral Talks between International Relations Minister Naledi Pandor and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, Mr Sergey Lavrov are currently underway in Pretoria. Lavrov and Pandor last met on the side-lines of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly. The two countries then reaffirmed mutual interest in the deepening of political dialogue and further development of rela...

A lot of emphasis has been put on high achievers this week as results for the 2022 matriculants came out. But there are still those who either didn’t make it or didn’t do as well as they thought they would. How can parents support children struggling with failure and how can those who failed bounce back, while their peers progress? Guest: educational psychologist, Zaakirah Mohamed.  

Yesterday, residents of Govan Mbeki Village in Gqeberha protested by emptying buckets of excrement on the R75 Uitenhage Road and blocking the Chatty Dip intersection with rocks and burning tyres. Over 550 households, sharing ten toilets in Govan Mbeki Village, say the facilities have not been cleaned since before Christmas. GUEST: Mzwandile Sidina, Ward 33 councillor    

Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police have arrested foreign nationals who do not have papers to be in the country. They say this is part of reducing the number of undocumented foreign nationals on the streets of the City of Ekurhuleni. Joining us to elaborate further on this is…..  GUEST: Kelebogile Thepa, Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department  

Prosecutors in the U.S have announced that actor Alec Baldwin and a weapons specialist will be charged with involuntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a cinematographer that occurred in October 2021 on a New Mexico movie set. However, Baldwin has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing and maintained that he was told the gun had no live ammunition, and that he never pulled the trigger. But legally...

Our guests help us understand the domestic and international factors influencing when, where and for what reason presidents are likely to travel abroad. This is such an important discussion, as we know that travelling abroad allows presidents to promote their foreign policy and to engage in face-to-face diplomacy as part of negotiating international agreements.     GUEST: Prince Mashele, Executive...

World Economic Forum: What’s in for South Africa? A South African delegation is currently in Davos, Switzerland to advance important public-private partnerships that are aimed at supporting the country’s development objectives with the overall aim to position South Africa as a competitive business destination. Joining us to tell us more about what’s been happening there is…   GUEST: Sithembile Nto...

Animal organisation Four Paws says it has been engaging government to take action to address ownership and trade of big cats in South Africa. The escape of Sheba the tiger caused outrage across the country around the ownership and captivity of big cats. The organisation is also calling for an end to commercial breeding of big cats. Midvaal Local Municipality Mayor, Peter Teixeira also said on this...

The resignation of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden at the age of 42 has sent shockwaves across the world, with many applauding her for leaving her position in her prime, while some feel she still has a lot to offer. Arden became a member of parliament in 2008 at the age of 28, as a candidate for the labour party. She became the country’s prime minister at the age of 37, and steered it thr...

Former President Jacob Zuma intends to appeal the full bench judgment halting him from giving any further effect to his private prosecution bid pending President Ramaphosa's court challenge. This was revealed by his legal team at the Gauteng High Court today.    GUEST: Mpumelelo Zikalala, Legal practitioner  

Canada’s health authorities are proposing that Canadians must restrict their boozing to just two drinks per week. This is a major drop from ten drinks a week for women and 15 for men. However, there are those who are arguing that these new guidelines are so ridiculous to an extent that people won’t follow them. But what’s the main message from these new guidelines? GUEST: Professor Sue Goldstein,...

The Automobile Association (AA) says there are concerning elements about the 2022 festive season road fatalities presented by Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula yesterday. Mbalula revealed that road fatalities declined from 1685 to 1451, a 13.9% decline compared to the same period in the previous year. However, the AA is disputing this, saying the official recorded number of fatalities by the Road...

Joburg Water has issued an advisory, asking customers in the city to implement level one water restrictions. The entity says, the higher water demand as a result of the heatwave and load shedding has impacted several Johannesburg Water infrastructure units.     GUEST: Puleng Mopeli, Joburg Water spokesperson

IEB matric results are out and Redhill School in Johannesburg achieved a 100% university entrance and 17% of the pupils received seven or more distinctions.  Keranya Moodley attained an average of 92% with seven distinctions, six of those are 90% or above. What role did her school and her family play in supporting her? Guest: Keranya Moodley 

Coastal schools reopened for the 2023 academic year today. Education MEC in KwaZulu-Natal Mbali Frazer, together with Basic Education Minister, Angie Motshekga visited several schools in KwaZulu-Natal to mark the first day of this year’s academic year. However, Motshekga expressed her disappointment as she found that many schools in the province have poor infrastructure and lack basic facilities....

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has commenced her 10-day trip to Africa as Washington looks to deepen economic ties with the continent. Her visit follows that of China’s new Foreign Minister Qin Gang who also visited five African countries last week to strengthen China-Africa relations. So I guess the key question is why now and why visit Senegal, Zambia and South Africa?     GUEST: Victor Kgom...

Former MMC for Human Settlements in the City of Tshwane, Abel Tau is now a leader of a new political formation. He is now the leader of the United Africans Transformation. The party is registered with the Independent Electoral Commission and will focus on a variety of issues including patriotism, law and order, multi-racialism and world class education. The move comes after Tau was expelled from A...

Efforts to recapture Sheba the tiger are still ongoing after she escaped from her enclosure this past weekend. The tiger found its way back to its enclosure around 4am, however, there was no one to lock it in and it escaped again. Midvaal Local Municipality Mayor, Peter Texeira says legislation around ownership of exotic animals needs to be tightened. He joins us now. 

The minister of transport, Fikile Mbalula has expressed concern about the high number of pedestrian deaths during the holiday season. The minister released the road traffic statistics in a media briefing in Johannesburg on Tuesday, where he stated that pedestrian fatalities significantly increased by 10% year-on-year, from 31% in the previous period to 41%”. We discuss other troubling statistics w...

City Power in Johannesburg has started cutting electricity supply off to defaulting businesses in Alexandra in an operation that will be ongoing until Friday. The power utility says Alexandra township owes over R360 million for electricity and many defaulters have ignored communication.   Guest: SABC News Reporter, Tshepo Phagane Guest: Isaac Mangena

The home belonging to the mother of the Mayor of the Ngwathe was torched by protesters on Monday morning. The residents of the Tumahole and Schonkenville in Parys were protesting over the unsafe water in the area. The mayor joins us on the line… GUEST: Victoria de Beer - Executive Mayor of Ngwathe Local Municipality