The National Pulse

Prince Mbonisi Zulu - brother of the late AmaZulu King Goodwill Zwelithini - has now announced that he does not accept the decision by President Cyril Ramaphosa to recognise King Misuzulu kaZwelithini as the new monarch. This message has been conveyed by Prince Mbonisi's attorney - Peter Zwane. Earlier today Zwane said his client welcomed the announcement by the President, but that they would cons...

The Democratic Alliance has announced that it intends tabling the Preferential Sourcing Policy Framework Amendment Act, or “Social Impact Bill”, as a draft bill. The bill proposes to repeal the current Broad Scale Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) Act and make several key changes to the Preferential Procurement Policy Framework Act (PPPFA). Party’s spokesperson on trade, industr...

 As early as 2020, Italy’s foreign minister Luigi Di Maio said that his country would start sending irregular Tunisian migrants back to their home as of August 10, 2020 and noted that 80 people will be expatriated every week. But surprisingly, the country is still battling to deal with this issue till today, this as over 2 000 minors are reported to have reached Italy from Tunisia last...

Isaah Mhlanga explains how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and tightening sanctions on Russia affect South Africa’s oil and fuel prices. With Russia being the third top producer of crude oil - supply worries are seen in increased oil prices and the Automobile Association says South Africans can expect another hike in the petrol price next month.   Guest: Isaah Mhlanga, Chief Economis...

We look at how the Ukraine-Russian war is negatively affecting our economy and agricultural sector. During yesterday’s debate in Parliament on the Russia and Ukraine conflict. Deputy Finance Minister David Masondo warned that with South Africa being a net importer of oil, the persistent conflict in Ukraine is having a severe impact on fuel prices which, in turn, is driving up food prices. He...

Alize Le Roux shares thoughts on the impact of climate change in Southern Africa. She recently revealed that about 170-million people have been directly affected in the past four decades and about 2.7-million people have been left homeless due to the effects of climate change.   Guest: Alize Le Roux, Senior researcher for African Futures and Innovation at the Institute of Security Studie...

What informs the ongoing UNISA protest? Unisa support staff have embarked on a protest and they are accusing university management of reneging on a salary adjustment agreement that it entered into with the workers in September last year. This has led to lectures as well as a graduation ceremony being disrupted. However, the university has promised to make alternative arrangements for the grad...

In anticipation of what might happen to them as they have witnessed Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Taiwan’s armed and security forces are stepping up their surveillance and military drills. The self-governed island democracy has long faced the threat of being absorbed by China, which has vowed to do so by force if it deems necessary. But do they have any reason to worry? Joining us for...

Earlier today, residents and members of the ANC caucus at the Ekurhuleni metro marched to the municipal offices, demanding 75% debt write offs on municipal accounts. The party says the impact of Covid-19 and increasing unemployment makes it impossible for residents to settle their municipal accounts. For more on this, we are joined by….   Guest: Jongizizwe Dlabathi, Whip of the AN...

Law authorities were left stunned in Cape Town after close to 40 people belonging to a taxi association stormed into the Philippi East police station, attacked officers and set two men free who were arrested for allegedly using fraudulent documents. However no arrests have been made yet - following this unfortunate incident as the matter is still under investigation.     Guest:...

Why are we finding it difficult to tackle racial discrimination in South Africa? Several pupils have left Hoërskool Jan Viljoen in Randfontein. You may recall that the school was embroiled in racism allegations after several videos of a brawl between black and white pupils went viral on social media. According to the department of education in Gauteng, all the learners who have decided to lea...

The Johannesburg Society of Advocates (JSA) has found Advocate Dali Mpofu guilty of violating the General Council of Bar’s ethics rules when he told Advocate Michelle le Roux to shut up during a state capture hearing last year. Mpofu joins us now to react to this…..    Guest: Adv Dali Mpofu 

China’s Covid-19 situation continues to deteriorate. Much of the current outbreak across Chinese cities is being driven by the variant commonly known as stealth omicron or the B.A.2 lineage of the omicron variant. What is even more worrying is that early research suggests it spreads faster than the original omicron, which itself spread faster than the original virus and other variants. So wh...

ACDP reacts to National State of Disaster extension. The party’s leader Reverend Kenneth Meshoe says he hopes that the extension of the National State of Disaster will not be used to tighten lockdown restrictions as the 5th wave of coronavirus infections looms. Meshoe is against the unending month-to-month extension.     Guest: Rev Kenneth Meshoe, leader of the African Christian De...

The South African Human Rights Commission convened the first sitting of an inquiry into racial discrimination in the advertising industry. Led by the commission’s Gauteng provincial office, the inquiry aims to address and avoid the publication of adverts that carry racial undertones in South Africa.  In 2020, a Tresemmé shampoo advert depicted blonde women's hair as "normal," and...

Free State police are investigating the circumstances around the death of a man who was stabbed in the neck, allegedly by his partner over WhatsApp messages.     Guest: Linda Yende, Author & relationship expert  

The Western Cape Government says there were no fatalities reported during last summer's initiation season in the province. MEC for Cultural Affairs and Sport, Anroux Marais, says during the last season which ended in January, 1-thousand-417 initiates completed their rite of passage at 35 sites throughout the province. Marais says 10 initiates had to be hospitalised due to dehydration, but were dis...

The Grassy Park Community Policing Forum (CPF) condemned the recent attack on two law enforcement officers in Lotus River, fewer than 24 hours after it launched a campaign to raise awareness of the impact of such attacks on the communty’s well-being. According to the CPF,  there have been 28 malicious attacks on police vehicles and seven on law enforcement vehicles over the past 12 mont...

In conversation with the CEO of Proudly SA Eustace Mashimbye about how the Covid 19 pandemic and the recent Ukraine-Russian war have disrupted the world’s supply chain and how important it is now more than ever for South African businesses and consumers to support local business and buy local. According to him “lack of local demand remains one of the most significant obstacles limiting...

Senegal has deployed its army to counter rebels in the southern Casamance region, near its southern border with Gambia. A statement by the military chief of staff suggests that the operation is aimed at destroying all armed bands participating in criminal activities in the region. For more on this, we are joined by…..  Guest on the line (Somalia): Dr Mustapha Mheta, Senior Researc...

Following the Civil Aviation Authority’s decision to suspended Kulula and British Airways operations indefinitely due to safety concerns, we hear from an aviation analyst in terms of how things got to this point.     Guest: Phuthego Mojapele, aviation analyst  

Today, the Public Protector Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane and the Gauteng Premier David Makhura are expected to enter into an agreement that will make it more efficient for the office of the public protector to accelerate investigative processes pertaining to provincial government.   Guest: Adv Busisiwe Mkhwebane, Public Protector   

Residents of Hammanskraal are calling on all government spheres to open Mandisa Shiceka Clinic, whose construction started in 2017 and was completed in 2019. Government spent over R100-million to construct the project and at the time, the clinic was provided with temporary tents and mobile rooms to offer medical treatment to the community.  guest: Mothomone Pitsi   - Chief Dire...

The case of Jostina Sangweni, the 59 year old Sangoma who was set alight in an alleged mob justice attack in Soweto has been withdrawn.  While the accused's families expressed elation at the decision to withdraw the matter, Gogo Jostina’s family felt their hearts sink as their hopes to get closure diminished right before their eyes. Last year, police said preliminary information gathere...