The National Pulse

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has announced that excise duties on alcohol and tobacco will increase by between 4.5 and 6.5 percent – meaning that as from today, a 340 ml can of beer or cider will now cost you 11c more. I’m almost certain that the alcohol industry will be disappointed by this as you know that they have been pleading with Treasury not to increase excise taxes. To rea...

Following the arrests of 80 supporters of the Citizens Coalition for Change party in Zimbabwe. We are now joined by the party’s spokesperson Adv Fadzayi Mahere to give us an update in terms of what transpired over the weekend. Also the latest news is that more and more opposition supporters continue to be arrested and some of them were arrested earlier today. Guest : Adv Fadzayi Mahere, Spok...

Kenny Kunene explains Patriotic Alliance’s decision to join the DA’s multi-party coalition in the City of Johannesburg and the City of Ekurhuleni. The coalition agreement will see eight PA councillors join the City of Johannesburg, while four councillors will join the City of Ekurhuleni.   Guest: Kenny Kunene, Deputy President of the Patriotic Alliance

We hear from the SACP on why they are opposing Janusz Walus’s parole application even though he has apologized to Chris Hani’s family and the party. Walus was sentenced to death in 1993 for killing Hani, however his sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment after the abolishment of the death penalty in South Africa. Guest: Dr Alex Mashilo, SACP spokesperson

Parliament’s Ad hoc Committee on Section 100 intervention in the North West has made a recommendation that Section 100 of the Constitution in the province be lifted. The committee says the province has improved drastically. Guest: China Dodovu, Chairperson of the Adhoc Committee on Section 100 in the North West and also Parliamentary chair on Cogta, Human Settlements, Water and Sanitati...

Following yesterday’s deadly shoot-out between suspected robbers and police officers in Rosettenville. IPID has revealed that one of the arrested suspects is from Botswana and is believed to be linked to several cash-in-transit heists around the country. So far, nine suspects have been killed while 10 more have been arrested. Guest: Grace Langa, IPID spokesperson

Botho Botho Trust donated R15 million to the ANC in the third quarter of the current financial year. This emerged on Tuesday, when the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) published declarations in terms of the Political Party Funding Act. The Trust has also been linked to the petroleum giant, Shell. Shell has received the government's support for seismic exploration off the Wild Coast, desp...

Cash Heists in South Africa: Anneliese Burgess, author of HEIST a novel about cash-in-transit robberies in South Africa says her research in 2018 showed that police were behind some of the major cash heists.   Guest: Anneliese Burgess, author of the book "Heist"

We’re revisiting a story that we did last when the former US president announced that he would be launching his own social media app. Well. Trump’s new social media venture, Truth Social, launched yesterday in Apple’s App Store, potentially marking the former president’s return to social media after he was banned from several platforms last year. There are reports about bac...

The Commission for Gender Equality wants the Department of Basic Education to revisit the existing draft of the national guidelines on school uniforms and they are urging the department to adopt a non-discrimination principle in its approach. They are of the view that the current guidelines continue to reinforce sexist and discriminatory separation of girls and boys, leaving little room for LGBTI...

The Department of Health has just announced changes on vaccination programme. This as part of its ongoing efforts to get more people vaccinated in South Africa. Some of these changes include reduction of time interval between first and second doses of Pfizer from 42 days to 21 days with effect from Wednesday, 23 February 2022. Secondly, all individuals older than 18 years of age who have received...

The Commission for Gender Equality wants the Department of Basic Education to revisit the existing draft of the national guidelines on school uniforms and they are urging the department to adopt a non-discrimination principle in its approach. They are of the view that the current guidelines continue to reinforce sexist and discriminatory separation of girls and boys, leaving little room for LGBTI...

    A medical Non-Governmental Organisation Pediatric Care Africa, has commenced with its third annual “Ride for a Child” initiative across the country. The planned 7000 kilometres ride intends to raise funds for underprivileged children in need of medical care and surgeries. The month-long ride started in White River in Mpumalanga on Sunday last week and is expected to round...

Yesterday, Buckingham Palace announced that Queen Elizabeth tested positive for COVID-19 and is experiencing mild, cold-like symptoms. However, the palace also made it clear that the queen, who has been fully vaccinated and had a booster shot, would continue with light duties at Windsor Castle over the coming week, playing down any sense of alarm. Guest: Professor Paul Hunter, Professor in Medicin...

Transport Minister, Fikile Mbalula, says 774 people have died on the country's roads in January alone. He was speaking on the M2 freeway in Johannesburg during the launch of a campaign which will see road statistics released monthly. Mbalula says most crashes occurred between Saturday and Monday and that in 90% of them, human error was the contributing factor. To react to this is&he...

    Guest: Lee Bromfield, CEO of FNB Life

Student formations at the University of the Free State are calling for a review of the varsity’s mandatory vaccination policy. They are also arguing that those who refuse to vaccinate should not be denied their constitutional right to access education.   Guest: STUDENT: Milani Tshangana - SASCO deputy secretary 

In a wide-ranging interview, Jeremy Corbyn, who served as UK’s leader of the Labour Party and leader of the opposition from 2015 to 2020 joins us to discuss UK’s state of affairs and also to share thoughts on causes of global poverty as there is a widespread concern that economic growth has not been fairly shared, and that the economic crisis has only widened the gap between rich and p...

Prof John Stremlau gives us an update on the hostile relations between Russia and Ukraine. As tensions mount between Washington and Moscow over a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Pentagon has accused Russia of preparing a so-called false-flag operation, with operatives ready to release graphic video of a fake attack to provide a pretext for invasion. However Russia has denied i...

Tomorrow, the Economic Freedom Fighters will launch its 1 million membership campaign. To achieve this goal, the EFF will be giving a target to each province, which the party's central command team will monitor closely. It is also worth mentioning that the party has seen some growth in its electoral support over the past few years but its leaders want membership growth ahead of the national electi...

The South African Police Union (SAPU) is accusing Bheki Cele of interfering with National Police Commissioner Khehla Sitole’s work. The police union is also not happy that Cele is side-lining Sitole, saying that “everywhere the Minister goes he is accompanied by the Deputy National Commissioner instead of the National Commissioner.”   Guest: Lesiba Thobogale

The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) has once again warned bogus doctors that the law will close in on them. This following the arrest of two stand-in doctors who were caught operating as medical practitioners whilst not registered with the health council. Healthcare practitioners in South Africa are required to be registered with the Health Professions Council of South...

The EFF's Julius Malema and Mbuyuseni Ndlozi back in court today; theyare facing hate speech charges relating to a 2020 gathering. Afriforum accuses Malema of being in contempt of court for singing 'Shoot the Boer'. They also say that Ndlozi incited violence by singing burn the Boers. The lobby group alleges that several farms were targeted just days later.  Let's talk about struggle songs an...

We learn more about the New Epic Standard for Premium Smartphones, Samsung Galaxy S22 Series. We are told that these rule-breaking devices (the Galaxy S22, S22+ and S22 Ultra) offer a refreshed look, improved camera optics and a fancy new processor from Qualcomm — the first-ever Samsung devices to do so. Guest: Zahir Cajee, Mobile Experience Lead Products & Commercial @ SAMSUNG South Afr...