The National Pulse

Wild Coast fishing communities of Dwesa-Cwebe, Port St John's and Amadiba in the Eastern Cape have written a scathing open letter to Minister Mantashe following his statements last week - which communities found both insulting and misleading, when he claimed that the people protesting against Shell's seismic survey off the Wild Coast have an "apartheid and colonial" agenda. Guest: Nonhle Mbuthuma...

    DA leader John Steenhuisen says the party has won its case against Arthur Fraser and his decision to grant medical parole to former President Jacob Zuma. Reacting to the High Court ruling that set aside Arthur Fraser's decision to release Zuma on medical parole, Steenhuisen says the judgment is a big victory for the rule of law and the principle of equality before the law. GUEST: The...

    Former president Jacob Zuma will appeal a court order which has set aside his medical parole. The High Court in Pretoria has ordered former president Jacob Zuma to go back to prison. It has ruled that former National Commissioner of Correctional Services Arthur Fraser's decision to place Zuma on medical parole was unlawful. This follows Zuma's 15-month prison sentence for contempt of...

 Earlier today, the Gauteng High Court ruled that the decision that was taken by Arthur Fraser to put former president Jacob Zuma on medical parole was unlawful. The court also declared that the time Zuma spent out of prison on medical parole will not be deducted from his sentence of 15 months. Staunch supporter of the former president, Nkosentsha Shezi joins us now to react to this….....

World News: Malta has become the first European Union country to legalise the cultivation and personal use of cannabis but smoking it in public or in front of children will be illegal. To help us understand the global implications for this interesting development is… Guest: Jeremy Acton, Leader of the Dagga Party

    As you have just heard - the parents of Reeva Steenkamp say they want the truth about why their daughter was killed by former Olympic and Paralympic track star Oscar Pistorius before he is granted parole. But what happens when the victim or victims feel the offender is not remorseful and therefore must serve his/her sentence in its entirety? How does that affect the parole process? T...

Psychologists have defined forgiveness as a conscious, deliberate decision to release feelings of resentment or vengeance towards a person or group who has harmed you, regardless of whether they actually deserve your forgiveness. What happens if you forgive someone? What happens if you do not forgive them?   GUEST: Professor Saths Cooper, President of the Pan-African Psychology Union

Police Minister Bheki Cele assured South Africans of the South African Police Service's preparedness to deal with crime during the festive season. SAPS launched the National Safer Festive Season Operations back in October 2021 to ensure the safety of all over the holiday period. Minister Cele has urge police officers to leave no stone unturned in the fight against crime during the festive season,...

    Khoi-San activist, Christian Martin is calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to promote the use of medicinal plants to boost efficacy of vaccinations. He is also arguing that not encouraging the use of medicinal plants is a clear vote of no confidence ‘in our ancestral customs and wisdom’. Herbal traditional medicines have been used in China since the first days of the COV...

World News: Tunisia’s President Kais Saied, who has been a sharp critic of the North African country's 2014 constitution, announced yesterday that a nationwide public consultation would take place from January 1 until March 20 next year to gather suggestions for constitutional and other reforms. But are constitutional reforms necessary in Tunisa and why is President Saied not happy with the...

    A panel of experts led by Professor Alex van den Heever has recommended that South Africa must gradually implement a basic income grant, beginning with the institutionalisation of a monthly welfare payment that was introduced last year. So what does this process entail and how soon can we expect it to begin? Guest: Professor Alex van den Heever, chair of Social Security at the W...

    Thandazile Mthembu - who is the owner of the house where six people were shot dead and a woman critically wounded at Folweni - south of Durban - is calling for justice. Mthembu's son and his six friends were gathered at an informal dwelling near her home home when they were attacked by unknown suspects late last night. According to Mthembu her son and his girlfriend usually have thei...

Johannesburg Executive mayor, Mpho Phalatse has announced a ten member Mayoral Committee to govern the City of Johannesburg. It's made up of four DA members, three from Action SA, and one from the ACDP and IFP. Former DA Finance MMC, Funzile Ngobeni, who quit the DA to join Herman Mashaba's Action SA, has made a comeback as Transport MMC, while former Johannesburg Metro Police Chief David Tembe is...

Following multiple deaths at initiation schools in the Eastern Cape. We find out from the department of cooperative governance and traditional affairs in the province if their Risk Adjusted Strategy (RAS) for the season is effective.     Guest: Mamkeli Ngam, Eastern Cape Cogta Spokesperson

World News: With Kenya having just celebrated the 58th anniversary of independence – Sarah Kimani helps us understand the country’s political environment, following Raila Odinga’s announcement that he is going to make his fifth bid for Kenya’s presidency in next year’s election. Guest: Sarah Kimani, SABC East African Correspondent

    As more people are expected to flock to Durban beaches during this time of the year. We speak to Malcom Canham, the chair of the festive season management committee of Ethekwini Municipality, about what exactly the city will be doing to ensure the safety of thousands of holidaymakers as it is public knowledge that eThekwini metro has been identified as coronavirus hotspot. Guest: Mal...

Legendary South African musician Sipho "Hotstix" Mabuse has graced the GQ Cover for January / February 2022 issue. The issue is available digitally now and on shelves this Monday 13th December. Last month, the multi-talented musician also won the Lifetime Achievement Award at GQ Man Of The Year Awards. GUEST: Molife Kumona, Editor in Chief at GQ South Africa  

About 17-million people have so far been fully vaccinated or received one of the two jabs in South Africa. The government is pushing for at least 70 % of the adult population being vaccinated by end of the year. Meanwhile, some of our listeners have raised concerns about some schools reportedly vaccinating children without their parent's permission. A few months ago, government announced vaccinati...

The ANC in the Free State says it has learnt with disgust the threats levelled on SABC Lesedi FM current Affairs presenters by faceless people accusing them of causing the ANC to lose control of the Metsimaholo and Maluti-A-Phofung municipalities. The ANC says it is such threats on journalists that threatens freedom of speech in a democratic society. The message was sent to one of the Lesedi FM cu...

What is driving in South Africa like? Unpacking the research conducted by Compare the Market Australia which found that South Africa is the fourth worst country in which to drive. Guest: Ace Ncobo, Former Safety Ambassador

As we observe Human Rights Day, we assess South Africa’s human rights track record during the era of Covid19. According to Amnesty International, Children continue to face significant inequalities and hardship in the public education system and they are also arguing that South Africa is not a safe place to live in. Guest: Alicia Jooste, Amnesty International South Africa’s Activism Coo...

    Diepkloof community members have taken to the streets again to protest electricity cuts. This after Eskom disconnected electricity to 700 houses in Diepkloof Zone 3, accusing residents of illegal connections. For more on this we’re joined on the line by Mokhele, whose elderly parents have been affected immensely by the electricity cuts. GUEST: Mokhele, whose elderly parents res...

    World News: 2021 has been a tough year for journalists and this is according to a press freedom monitoring group, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). The non-profit organisation has revealed that the number of reporters jailed for executing their work hit a new global record of 293 and this is the sixth year in a row that CPJ has documented record numbers of journalists impri...

    Today we debate the thorny issue of land reform in South Africa, asking - what are the factors that have led to the National Assembly failing to pass the proposed land expropriation bill amendment and why is the ruling ANC and the EFF don’t see eye to eye on the matter even though they both agree that it is a central and core component that is aimed at addressing historical inj...

The  Department of Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities is currently running a 2-Day gender sensitisation and gender-based violence and femicide, GBVF workshop to 20 taxi operators in the Nkangala District, in Mpumalanga. As part of the 16 Days of Activism for No Violence Against Women and Children Campaign, the department has identified the Taxi Industry as a key stakeholder to partner...