The National Pulse

The Beer Association of South Africa has decided to take government to court over previous alcohol bans. The Association says the booze industry lost R42.2 billion during the previous ban on alcohol sales and they are arguing that any further liquor restrictions will serve as the final nail in the coffin as the industry has not yet recovered. Guest: Zoleka Lisa, Vice President for Corporate Affair...

Today, South Africa joins the rest of the world in celebrating the International Day of persons with disabilities. Earlier today, Deputy Minister of Social Development Mrs. Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu hosted virtual conversations with South Africans, gauging their thoughts on issues of independent living under the theme “Independent living a myth or reality?”   Guest: manthipi molamu...

There seems to be progress in the battle for Denel to pay its workers their outstanding salaries. The arms manufacturer will reportedly be paying 45% towards salaries of November 2021. The date of the payments has not been indicated yet and to give us a sense of the salary situation

South Africa is officially in the fourth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Health Minister Joe Phaahla made the announcement this morning. He says, while they are still trying to understand the newly discovered Omicron variant, what they have discovered so far is that the variant is highly infectious. Phaahla has raised concern over the sharp increase in the number of positive cases in Gauteng and he...

Brazil has entered recession and some experts believe that a variety of factors contributed to its economic bust, but politically speaking – what’s gone wrong with Latin America’s largest economy? To better understand what happened, we speak to Professor Siphamandla Zondi who will give us a summation of the country’s current state of politics.      Guest: Pro...

Truck drivers in KwaZulu-Natal have created a massive backlog on the N3 at Van Reenen Pass which the South African Police Service is trying to clear. The Tugela Toll Plaza has also been forced to close due to the truck roadblock. It is currently unclear what is the reason behind the blockade is. For more on this, we are joined by…. Guest: Kwanele Ncalane, Spokesperson for the Department of...

Assisted suicide or euthanasia remains highly controversial and divided topical debated, both in the public and medical arena. Proponents of euthanasia believe terminally ill people should have the right to end their suffering with a quick and dignified compassionate death. But religious opponents to euthanasia believe that right belongs to God. So should people have the right to die? Is assisted...

How ward is it to get security clearance - how is it granted and what disqualifies one from obtaining it? We examine this in light of the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) terminating the employment contract of group chief executive Zolani Matthews with immediate effect over his failure to disclose that he held British citizenship Guest: Paul O’Sullivan – Private Forensic I...

The Supreme Court of Appeal, SCA has ordered National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Ngqakula take a fresh decision on how to run a vote of no confidence against President Cyril Ramaphosa. Mapisa-Ngqakula must now decide whether the motion of no confidence in President Ramaphosa should be held via secret ballot or not… GUEST: Sibusiso Mncwabe, Spokesperson for the African Transformation M...

World News: Canada has introduced a new legislation to ban so-called conversion therapy practices. This new bill will make Canada’s criminal laws on conversion therapy practices among the most comprehensive in the world. The proposed legislation would also authorize courts to order the seizure of conversion therapy advertisements or to order their removal from computer systems or the In...

    We look at Azapo’s historical significance and its current and future role in South African politics. This as the party is preparing to hold its 25th National Congress that is scheduled to take place this coming weekend? Most of you would recall that AZAPO is regarded as heir to the Black Consciousness tradition founded by Steve Biko. But what happened to Azapo’s politica...

    A spike in the number of positive coronavirus cases has been noted in Gauteng over the past few days. According to health authorities in the province, there is an increase in people aged 20 to 39 who were being hospitalised, in contrast to previous waves where most hospitalised people were  older than 40. Guest: Dr Marry Kawonga, Head of Gauteng Premier&rsquo...

Non-governmental organizations helping people living with HIV/Aids say they are in dire straits without funding. This as funds have been allocated more towards the fight against Covid-19. Gail Johnson, the foster mother of South Africa's famous child Aids activist, Nkosi Johnson and founding director of Nkosi's Haven says the economic impact of the pandemic was extremely high. The pandemic has als...

Cocaine worth more than R240 million has been seized at Durban harbour by the Hawks. No arrests have been made in this seizure. Last month, 200 million Rands worth of cocaine was stolen from the Hawks office building in Port Shepstone, on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast, the drugs were seized during an operation in June. Questions have now been raised if this drug haul will be stolen too... GUEST: H...

The family of Sam Mbatha has been pleading with the public and friends of the LGBTQI community for support in the investigation of their son's murder. They also hope justice will prevail not only for their son, but for all those killed based on their sexuality. But the problem is that the case is dragging too long. Mbatha was brutally murdered on 17 June of this year. His charred remains were late...

    The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy says it overstated the fuel price adjustments by six cents a litre. The petrol price will increase by 75 cents a litre instead of 81 cents a litre for December. GUEST: The Energy Department's fuel pricing director, Robert Maake

The Department of Health is doubling the incentive amount pf the Vooma vaccination voucher to R200. This is to try and get more people over 50 to vaccinate. If you remember that this past Monday, the department said that people in this age-group were expected to be among the most affected by the fourth wave of infections driven by the Omicron variant. The DG Murray Trust is said to be the contribu...

    World News: Three opposition political activists in Botswana were on Monday arrested under what Botswana Patriotic Front says are unclear circumstances ahead of council by-elections in the country. The three are allied to Botswana Patriotic Front, which is linked to former President Ian Khama and the party now says the arrest of Women League's Chairperson Catherine Sepora, former pub...

State Capture Commission Chairperson, Justice Raymond Zondo has dismissed former State Security Agency boss, Arthur Fraser's application to cross examine witnesses that implicated him in state capture GUEST: SABC senior politics reporter, Busi Chimombe

The South African Local Government Association (SALGA) has unveiled a newly revamped councillor induction programme and a virtual e-learning digital toolkit at the Birchwood Hotel & OR Tambo Conference Centre in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng today. The Integrated Councillor Induction Programme (ICIP), which is rolled out nationally as part of orientation and upskilling for newly elected and returni...

Lesotho’s former Prime Minister Thomas Thabane has been charged with the murder of his estranged wife Lipolelo. Thabane is accused of hiring hitmen in 2017 to kill his wife, two days before his Inauguration. GUEST: Rapelang Radebe, Sabc Reporter in Lesotho

Consumers will have to dig deeper in their pockets on Wednesday this as the petrol price will be hiked by 81c a litre, while diesel will go up by between 72.5c a litre and 74.5c, according to the department of mineral resources and energy. For more on this, we speak to Isaah Mhlanga, Chief Economist at Alexander Forbes about how the petrol price is calculated and determined... GUEST: Isaah Mhlanga...

The Human Rights Commission has questioned the whereabouts of national police commissioner, Kehla Sitole during July's civil unrest. Sitole is continuing with his testimony at the Commission's hearings into the July civil unrest in Umhlanga. Widespread looting and the destruction of businesses took place in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng claiming the lives of over 350 people. The SAHRC's evidence leade...

Civil rights organisation AfriForum says they will oppose vaccine mandates if implemented by government. In a letter to President Cyril Ramaphosa, the organisation says vaccine mandates are unjustifiable violations of personal freedoms and infringes on people's rights. Guest: Ernst Roets, Head of Policy and Action at AfriForum

Barbados declared the world’s newest republic: Barbados has become the fourth Caribbean island to remove Queen Elizabeth as its head of state. The new era for the nation of 285,000 ends Britain's centuries of influence, including more than 200 years of slavery until 1834. Guest: Professor Scott Lucas, is a specialist in US and British foreign policy at the University of Birmingham