The National Pulse

Peace talks between warring sides on Ethiopia’s Tigray conflict have been extended into this week. The dialogue is aimed at finding a lasting ceasefire and making both sides agree to the reactivation of basic services. All sides in the conflict have been accused of abuses, with the death toll believed to be in the hundreds of thousands and millions more displaced. While we understand that negotiat...

The matric class of 2022 sat for its first exam today. Some concerns have been raised prior to today, including the impact of loadshedding as well as security for question papers. Over 900 000 candidates are enrolled for the National Senior Certificate this year. How did the first day go? We are now joined by Basic Education Spokesperson, Elijah Mhlanga.

we hear from Mandla Cebekhulu on why the Batho Pele Soweto Commuters Forum is not happy with the new smart card system that was introduced by Putco bus services last month. The forum is calling for the suspension of this new smart tab system as they argue that sometimes when it’s offline they can’t use the buses.     GUEST: Mandla Cebekhulu, Chairperson of the Batho Pele Soweto Commuters Forum  

The ANC is committed to its bid to get back into power in the City of Johannesburg. The party has proposed another motion of no confidence against mayor, Dr Mpho Phalatse has been proposed. Council is expected to sit on Thursday. Dr Phalatse was ousted through a motion of  no confidence a few weeks ago, however, the court declared it unlawful, reinstating her back into the mayoral seat. She contin...

How can parents and communities support children through mental health? Results of the latest U-Report poll by Unicef South Africa show that 73% of youth and children required mental health support in the past year. It also shows 67 percent of children and youth who responded were helping a friend with mental health related issues. 62% of the respondents said they did not seek professional help, w...

The Black Business Council (BBC) has issued a statement, condemning what they term “irresponsible and reckless utterances” by Eskom Board member Mteto Nyati who was quoted in the Business Times as saying that in order to save Eskom, empowerment rules must go. The organisation is of the view that Nyati’s remarks fail to comprehend the basics of transformation, localisation, industrialisation and em...

In light of the growing water challenges in Gauteng. The City of Tshwane has announced that its MMC for Utilities and Regional Operations is currently working on a plan that is aimed at improving its own water-generation capacity to secure water security.  GUEST: Daryl Johnston, MMC for Utilities and Regional Operations, councillor 

Yesterday, voters in Brazil ousted President Jair Bolsonaro after just one term in office and elected the leftist former President Lula da Silva to replace him. It was the first time an incumbent president failed to win re-election in the 34 years of Brazil’s modern democracy.  GUEST: Professor Lyall White, Founder of Contextual Intelligence and Research Associate at the Brenthurst Foundation  

The British, Canadian, and Australian high commissions are amongst some of the embassies in South Africa that have communicated with their citizens on the US embassy’s warning of a possible terror attack in Sandton on Saturday. This is on the back of the South African government discrediting the US embassy’s warning. We find out what all this could mean for South Africa, and how the country should...

    GUEST: Dr Maxwell Shamase, Historian & Senior Lecturer at UniZulu  

83-year-old Gogo Marina Mahlangu, remembers her times with King Zwelethini when he was in hiding in KwaNdebele. Her family protected His Majesty’s identity until he was ready to be King. 

We hear from the newly appointed City Manager of eThekwini Municipality, Musa Mbhele. He is going to share his vision as the new city manager and also outline his objectives in terms of the new direction the municipality will be embarking on. More than two months later since his appointment – what’s the current state of eThekwini?     GUEST: Musa Mbhele, City Manager of eThekwini Municipality

Earlier on today, Police Minister Bheki Cele announced that police officers deployed to the certificate of recognition handing over ceremony of AmaZulu King Misuzulu KaZwelithini will ensure that the event unfolds peacefully. Cele also revealed that police personnel will be deployed to various strategic routes and locations, including roads, hotels and other areas where the public would be meeting...

The Inauguration Ceremony of the newly elected Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Lesotho, the Right Honourable Samuel Ntsokoane Matekane, in Maseru is currently underway. The inauguration follows the National Assembly elections that took place in the Kingdom on 7 October 2022. Matekane, leader of the Revolution for Prosperity, won 56 out of the 79 contested constituencies. SABC International News E...

Organisers of the 33rd Johannesburg Pride March and Pride of Africa Celebrations say the event will go ahead as planned this coming weekend, as they have not been directly threatened. This despite yesterday’s security alert that was issued by the US Embassy, warning that terrorists were planning to conduct an attack, targeting large gatherings of people in the greater Sandton area.   GUEST: Kaye A...

The rape charges against the 14 suspects who were arrested in connection with the gang rape of eight women in Krugersdorp have been withdrawn at the Krugersdorp Magistrates Court, and now face only charges of violating the Immigration Act. To tell us more about this is…     GUEST: Phindi Mjonondwane - Gauteng National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) spokesperson  

Following King Mswati’s confirmation that he will attend King Misuzulu’s coronation ceremony. The South African Communist Party in KwaZulu-Natal intends to stage a protest to highlight the plight of eSwatini citizens. However, the party has made it clear that their protest is not meant to disrupt the festivities, but was rather aimed at raising awareness about the living conditions of the populati...

Today, President Cyril Ramaphosa is hosting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez. The two leaders are expected to tackle a variety of challenges such as poverty, unemployment and inequality. According to President Ramaphosa, South Africa will also continue to engage on Spain’s Focus Africa 2023 plan and the specific cooperation programmes to foster peace, stability and sustainable development acro...

The end of e-tolls has arrived. Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana announced in his mid-term budget speech that national government will take 70% of the Sanral debt and the Gauteng province will take 30%. He says the province will maintain its roads either through toll plazas, new tolls or other investments. OUTA has called for the end of e-tolls since they were installed on Gauteng roads. We’re n...

The issue of access to markets is viewed by many as the second biggest challenge to SMEs after funding. In fact a famous saying among business performance consultants is that a business has only 2 functions – sales and sales support. Old Mutual’s own research found SME owners cite that it is a perennial issue for small and medium businesses who face significant pressure to keep the sales pipeline...

The US government has issued a security alert and warned its embassy staff that it has received information that terrorists may be planning to conduct an attack this coming Saturday, targeting large gatherings of people at an unspecified location in the greater Sandton area.   Jasmine Opperman, Southern Africa consultant on extremism

We continue to get reaction to that mid-term budget speech by Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana. He says one of government’s priorities is reducing unemployment and growing the economy, through leveraging investments into the country. He also welcomed the end of the workers’ strike at Transnet. We’re now joined by Cosatu Spokesperson, Sizwe Pamla

An update on the story we ran yesterday about a teacher from Mdingi Junior Secondary School in the Eastern Cape. The teacher was suspended following two cases of sexual assault against pupils. He allegedly compelled them to commit sexual acts. Well, he has been arrested and he appeared in court today. For more on that, we are now joined by police spokesperson, Warrant Officer Majola Nkohli. 

we hear from KwaZulu-Natal transport authorities about the state of the Peter Brown Interchange, near Town Hill in Pietermaritzburg. Some of our listeners called in yesterday complaining about the poor state of the road, even describing this particular stretch of the highway as a notorious accident zone. So are authorities aware of this problem and what are they doing to fix it? We find out from …...

When delivering his Mid-Term Budget Policy Statement today, Godongwana also revealed that discussions on the future of the SRD grant are on-going and involve very difficult trade-offs and financing decisions. You may recall that the grant was introduced in May 2020 as a temporary measure to respond to the needs of the most vulnerable who were affected by lockdown measures. However, it has been ext...