The National Pulse

As you heard in the news that the Gauteng Health Department says it is normal practice for police officers not to be subjected to the same security procedures as the public especially if they are in uniform and driving a state vehicle. This follows a shooting incident in which a police officer in uniform and driving a police vehicle shot and killed his nursing assistant partner at the Tembisa hosp...

The African Christian Democratic Party has raised concerns about the new amendments to Covid-19 State of Disaster Management Act that were introduced by the Ministry of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs last week. The party is worried that under the new directives, South Africans could be detained and administered vaccines against their will.   Guest: Steve Swart, African Christi...

Liqour traders from South Africa and Kenya have formed an alliance of like-minded traders on the continent. The aim is to achieve government recognition and provide input during policy formulation. The Pan African Liquor Trader's Alliance will be 'headquarted' in Nairobi. It will engage with governments on various matters like tax and excise duty, and trade licensing. It will also launch social ca...

North West MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development reacts to GIWUSA’s call regarding Clover SA leaving the province. GIWUSA (the General Industries Workers Union of SA) is calling on provincial government to take over the Clover milk factory. This after Clover decided to close its doors in December last year because of poor service delivery by the local municipality. However, efforts were...

The Public Servants Association says that it is disturbed by the decision of the health department in KwaZulu-Natal to put a moratorium on vacancies in the clinical and administration support divisions. These positions they say include doctors, nurses and administration staff. The PSA goes on to highlight the fact that the moratorium has been in place since 2011. To give us a sense of how this has...

‘Please Call Me’ inventor Nkosana Makate has won another court battle against cell-phone giant Vodacom. Earlier today, the Pretoria High Court ruled that Makate is entitled to be paid 5% of the total voice revenue generated from the Please Call Me product from March 2001 to March 2021. The court also accused Vodacom of not negotiating in good faith with him. Nkosana Makate joins u...

Let’s speak now to Gibela Rail Consortium. They are trying to alert members of the public especially young people about a video calling for applicants for its 2022 bursaries doing the rounds on social media. The video features a woman speaking in Sepedi saying that Gibela is offering 10 000 bursaries for learners older than 15 years. It then directs users to a link for them to upload th...

We dissect Botswana’s new controversial Criminal Procedure and Evidence Bill. Following massive opposition to it – the Botswana government has decided to revise certain aspects of the Bill, however there are those who feel that the Bill is still not in favour of individual freedoms. If it was left unchallenged, the Bill would have allowed investigators to intercept private communicatio...

British lawmaker and anti-apartheid activist Lord Peter Hain joins us to discuss Bain’s corruption and the company’s involvement in capturing the state. Hain has been consistently calling on the UK government to freeze state contracts with Bain after the release of the Zondo report on state capture.   Guest: Lord Peter, British lawmaker and anti-apartheid activist

The Hawks have arrested two suspects in Limpopo for alleged corruption and maladministration related to the investment made by the Thulamela local municipality in the now defunct VBS mutual bank. The suspects - aged 49 and 52 - were arrested in Thohoyandou. The Thulamela local municipality had invested 30-million rand in the mutual bank, but it managed to get it back before the bank collapsed. To...

As the country is preparing for the State of the Nation Address which is due to take place on Thursday evening. Minister in the Presidency, Mondli Gungubele talks to us about the significance of this year’s SONA which also coincides with government’s Census campaign. For the first time in the history of South Africa’s constitutional democracy, the State of the Nation Address will...

A 27-year-old father is in police custody after he allegedly raped his 2-year old toddler which resulted in her death. The father will appear in the Lusikisiki Magistrates Court today where he will face a charge of murder and rape. On the other hand, Eastern Cape’s Social Development MEC has condemned this barbaric act and her department has since dispatched social workers to render a compre...

July violence   The expert panel that was set-up by President Cyril Ramaphosa to investigate the July unrest has found that the response of both the police and intelligence was inadequate. The panel also says that cabinet must be held accountable for the violence which claimed the lives of more than 300 people.   Guest: Dr Jackie Cilliers, Head of African Futures and Innovation at the In...

How safe is South Africa from terror attacks? In an unexpected turn of events, the Thulsie twins have entered into a plea deal with the state. The brothers were arrested in 2016 following raids in various parts of Gauteng and they are accused of having links to the Islamic State and for plotting to carry out attacks on the US embassy.    Guest: Eldred De Klerk, Security expert

Tunisian President Kais Saied has decided to dissolve the country's superior council of the Judiciary. The president pointed to suspected corruption by many local magistrates and their failures in managing several major cases, especially those involving political assassinations. To explain what this latest move means is….   Guest: Ebrahim Deen, Senior Researcher at the Afro-Middle East...

Former Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng has unconditionally apologised for his controversial comments regarding the Israel, Palestine conflict. In 2020 Mogoeng refused to retract his statements, saying his comments on the Israel Palestine conflict didn't undermine South Africa's Constitution. Human Rights Organisation, Africa4 Palestine laid a complaint with the Judicial Service Commission over those...

Eskom has today announced that more of its units have failed. This then forced the country into its first bout of load shedding this year. This morning chief executive André de Ruyter provided another system update as we are currently on Stage 2 of blackouts which are expected to last till Monday morning. What should we read into this and also at the way things are going, will we ever come...

The National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) has released a list of qualifying applicants for the 2022 academic year. The list has also been sent to the public universities and TVET colleges, and it is now up to students to consult their institutions’ funding offices for enquires.  Guest: Kagisho

President Cyril Ramaphosa is currently in Mozambique on a working visit at the invitation of Mozambican president Filipe Nyusi. His visit will further deepen existing economic, political, cultural and social relations between the two countries. While in Mozambique, Ramaphosa will also meet some SANDF soldiers who are currently fighting insurgents in northern part of the country. To talk...

Earlier today, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula briefed the media about the country’s massive driver license backlog. During the press briefing, Mbalula revealed that it will take at least four months to address the current backlog of printing drivers’ licence cards. To give us more clarity on this is….. Guest: Lawrence Venkile, Spokesperson for the Minister of  Transport...

Health authorities are probing an incident at a primary school in KwaZulu-Natal, after a large number of pupils were hospitalised after they allegedly ate lollipops. Dozens of those affected complained about severe stomach cramps and some were vomiting.   Guest: Muzi Mahlangu  

Following the ANC’s continued failure to pay its employees. Labour union Nehawu has confirmed that it has taken the ruling party to the labour court over the matter. Previously, the ANC made numerous commitments and promises that it would pay salaries which raised high hopes to its employees - however this has remained an unfulfilled promise.      Guest: Mike Shingange, P...

The KwaZulu-Natal Health Department is calling for the arrest of a gunman who fled after shooting two paramedics during an attempted robbery at the KwaMashu Community Health Centre this morning. It is alleged that the gunman gained access to the Emergency Medical Services base at the centre where he confronted a paramedic. A scuffle ensued and the paramedic was shot in the abdomen. The second...

Yesterday, France revealed that it will review its military presence in Mali, along with its European partners, this after Mali authorities ordered the French ambassador to leave Bamako within 72 hours on Monday, accusing French authorities of undermining its legitimacy. Relations between the two countries have deteriorated sharply since Mali’s army staged a coup in August 2020.   Guest...

  Recently, the body of a 4-year-old boy living with albinism was found dismembered in the north-eastern part of Burundi. This is a very sad story considering the fact that in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, albino people are hunted and killed, and their limbs and organs are removed to be used for magic rituals that are supposed to bring wealth and fortune. To react to this is…....