The National Pulse

Truck drivers affiliated with the All Truck Drivers Forum and Allied South Africa have embarked on a stay away on Sunday morning.  They say no trucks will be moving across the country. They are protesting against the hiring of foreign nationals in the trucking industry. Meanwhile, the Road Freight Association says the industry is being held to ransom and that these attacks agai...

We're in conversation with H.E. Mr Ilya Igorevich Rogachev, Russia;s ambassador to South Africa. We're getting an update of the situation between Russia and Ukraine, the effect of the sanctions imposed on Russian and how this will affect Russia's bilateral relations with numerous countries around the world. We'll also talk to him about what started all of this; and with the world being agains...

About few hours ago, Employment and Labour minister Thulas Nxesi briefed the media on the Draft national labour migration policy and proposed amendments to the Employment Services Act. According to him, this legislation will among other things introduce new quotas on the number of foreign nationals that can legally be employed in various sectors of the economy. To outline the objectives of this po...

What factors are causing the increase in food prices? According to the latest Household Affordability Index compiled by the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity Group – South Africans are paying close to 9% more for food compared to last year – but why is this? For more on this, we are joined by…..   Guest: Mervyn Abrahams –Programme Co-ordinator for Pieter...

Can the Belarus peace talks between Russia and Ukraine bring stability in Eastern Europe? As the Russian invasion continues - we are told that talks are due to start today on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border that will focus on achieving an immediate ceasefire and the withdrawal of Russian forces. Joining us for this discussion is……   Guest on the line (Russia) Andrey Kortunov, Po...

For the first time ever, the department of education in KwaZulu-Natal has asked parents to register their children early for the 2023 Academic Year – as they believe that late admissions also lead to some schools getting overcrowded as there is pressure to get learners into class.   Guest: Kwazi Mshengu, MEC for Education in KwaZulu-Natal

KwaZulu-Natal Parents Association has lambasted the controversial TikTok #SchoolbagChallenge, saying pupils have no concept of the gravity of their behaviour and the consequences. Also warning that pupils can be seriously injured or even die because of this ill-suited dance challenge.   Guest: Vee Gani, Chairperson of the Parents Association in KZN

Yesterday, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) granted Eskom a 9.61% electricity tariff hike for the 2022/2023 financial year. Eskom has initially requested a 20.5% tariff increase, saying that the request is due to costs of independent power producers and carbon taxes.  With so much volatility in economies around the world and the looming fuel price hike, can South Afr...

Will the sanctions hurt Russia? Yesterday, US President Joe Biden announced additional sanctions on Russia, with measures that will impede the country's ability to do business in major currencies. Also the European Union has imposed substantial territorial sanctions on financing, trade in key sectors and investment. So will these sanctions prove effective? How do sanctions normally work? Join...

As Russia’s invasion continues – we hear from Igor Kossov about the latest developments in Ukraine. This as Russian forces are advancing closer towards Kiev, capital city of Ukraine.   Guest on the line (Ukraine) Igor Kossov, is an investigative reporter and editor at the Kyiv Independent  

Following his state of the province address which he delivered yesterday. KwaZulu-Natal Premier Sihle Zikalala joins us to explain why his administration has decided to enter into negotiations with the national government to buy the SAPREF refinery in Isipingo, south of Durban. You may recall that earlier this month, shareholders of Sapref decided to suspend operations indefinitely by the end of M...

Godrich Gardee Attorneys has embarked on a campaign that is aimed at assisting South Africans who have experienced alleged racial or any other form of discrimination to join a class action suit against the country’s financial institutions. To tell us more about this class action suit is…..   Guest: Godrich Gardee, Attorney at Godrich Gardee Attorneys (GGA)

Can our Defence Force Stand the Test of Time? Also can they protect us as citizens? In conversation with Professor Lindy Heinecken, Military Sociologist & Vice Dean for Research at Stellenbosch University. She will help us understand South Africa’s military might and its notable weaknesses. Seeing what’s happening in Ukraine at the moment, one will have every reason to be worried a...

Now here's an interesting development where child maintenance is concerned! Did you know that fathers who fail to pay maintenance for their children could be forced to settle their debt - even 30 years later. In a recent case, the Supreme Court of Appeal ruled that where a person ordered to pay regular maintenance did not do so, the other party had up to 30 years from the time of the original orde...

With violence escalating in Ukraine – what sort of reaction should we expect from its allies? About two days ago, the United States and its allies ruled out sending troops to defend Ukraine but have started to impose sanctions targeting investment and trade related to the Russia-controlled territories of Donetsk and Luhansk, while on Tuesday Boris Johnson announced what he called the “...

In conversation with Andre Groenewald, South African Ambassador to Ukraine about the current situation there but also about the safety of South Africans who study or work in that part of the world, as you know that yesterday evening Russia launched a full scale attack on Ukraine.   Guest (Ukraine) Andre Groenewald, South African Ambassador to Ukraine

Grade 12 learners at Madadzhe Secondary School in Ha-Tshikonelo outside Thohoyandou in Limpopo have not been taught Maths, Life Science, Maths Literacy, and Economics, since schools opened in January 2022 due to a shortage of teachers. The Education Department in the province had earlier announced that the school will be merged with a neighbouring one but that has not yet happened. The Department...

guest: Vouter Vessels

Budget Speech reaction: Pre today’s Budget Speech - calls were made for Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to scrap the Health Promotion Levy (the ‘sugar tax’) in his budget speech. But on the other hand, organizations like Healthy Living Alliance wanted Godongwana to increase the Health Promotion Levy tax rate from 11% to 20%. However government has decided to increase excis...

For the 2022/23 fiscal year, the old age, war veterans, disability and care dependency grants, will increase by R90 in April and a further R10 in October. The foster care and child support grants will increase by a once off R20 in April. Guest: Nkululeko Majozi - Social Security Researcher at the Studies in Poverty and Inequality Institute

Yesterday, a teacher from a school in Dundee in KwaZulu-Natal appeared briefly in court for allegedly sexually assaulting a 14-year old learner on the school premises on Friday. The teacher is set to be back in court on February 28 for a formal bail application. It is alleged that the teacher called the girl to a storeroom offering to help her with school work, where he sexually assaulted her. The...

To provide some relief to household. Treasury has announced that no increases will be made to the general fuel levy on petrol and diesel for 2022/23. To react to this is the IFP as they have been consistently calling on government to intervene in the ever-increasing fuel price. Guest: iNkosi Mzamo Buthelezi: IFP Deputy President

Cash-strapped Denel has been instructed by the Johannesburg Labour Court to raise R90 million in the next 10 days to pay outstanding salaries and employee benefit commitments for Solidarity members in its employ. If Denel doesn’t comply with the court order, Solidarity will instruct the sheriff to seize its assets.   Guest: Helgard Cronje: Solidarity’s Deputy General Secretary &nb...

guest: Dennis bloem