The National Pulse

Two senior municipal officials at the Mnquma Municipality in the Eastern Cape are fearing for their lives, after receiving death threats. The two are presiding over the disciplinary hearings of three managers facing a fraud and corruption probe. Guest: Loyiso Mpalantshane, Spokesperson for Mnquma Local Municipality in Butterworth in the Eastern Cape

World News: A couple of days ago, President Uhuru Kenyatta officially declared drought in parts of Kenya a national disaster. We are told that, different households across the affected regions are employing different coping strategies in order to deal with the present situation. Guest: Sarah Kimani, SABC East African Correspondent

Eskom says all nine of its employees have been safely rescued after they were held hostage by the community in Mabopane, north of Pretoria last night. Police were called to defuse the situation. Residents are demanding the replacement of a damaged mini-substation in their area. Guest: Mashangu Xivambu, Eskom's Senior Manager for Maintenance and Operations

Former police Constable Nomia Rosemary Ndlovu has appeared at the Palmridge Magistrate Court, south of Johannesburg today. She's accused of insuring her family members, then hiring a hitman to kill them. Giving her testimony during her murder trial, the alleged killer cop told the courts that the damning video footage of her telling an undercover cop to kill her family members was staged. GUEST: N...

Kwa Zulu Natal is gearing up to host the second Intra-African Trade Fair which will take place at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli ICC in Durban from 15-21 November 2021. The event brings together business leaders and government officials from across Africa. Launched by Afreximbank, the Intra-African Trade Fair, the biannual event serves as a unique platform to bring the business community and policy sta...

The Special Investigating Unit, SIU's investigation has revealed that the R15.3 million tender for construction of temporary residential areas in Limpopo was fraudulently obtained. The SIU say they will approach the Special Tribunal to review and set aside the contract, and recover financial losses suffered by the State. In August last year, the official opening of the housing project backfired wh...

Police Minister Bheki Cele and State Security Deputy Minister Zizi Kodwa were visiting Inanda in Durban this morning following the killing of three women over the weekend. Minister Kodwa says the recent killings should not deter people from participating in political activities ahead of the elections. Minister Kodwa has also added that the mastermind behind the July unrest in the province has yet...

Three ANC members were shot dead in Inanda this past weekend and we are told that the three were part of the ruling party’s branch general meeting as the organisation was finalising the nomination of a ward councillor.   Guest: Nhlakanipho Ntombela, ANC spokesperson in KwaZulu-Natal

A grisly story of a Gauteng female police officer, who allegedly insured her family members then went on a killing spree, has shocked many South Africans. Constable Nomia Rosemary Ndlovu allegedly ordered hits on are her elderly mother, partner, two sisters as well as her five nephews and nieces. GUEST: Naledi Shange, a Journalist at the Sunday Times and TimesLIVE

The Gauteng Department of Education's Phase 2 online admissions for Grade 1 and 8 learners begins today. According to the provincial Department of Education Phase 2 will be meant for parents and guardians whose children will be in Grade 1 or Grade 8 in the 2022 academic year but are not currently enrolled in a Gauteng public school. Guest: Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi

Yesterday, the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and Distribution Company announced that it has begun daily 12-hour power cuts due limited generation at its thermal plant and repairs on the dam at Kariba Hydro Power Station. Seeing that the country’s economy is struggling at the moment – some economists believe that this will exacerbate economic strain? For more on this discussion...

Abel Mukwevho who was facilitating at the UJ Men’s Conference says his sister had a male domestic worker for 6 years. One of the topics was, stay at home fathers. This topic just got us thinking about how many parents are comfortable with leaving their children with men, whether it's an uncle or a friend. So today we're asking you: Would you hire a male domestic worker? GUEST:  Reabetsw...

As conversations around possible mandatory vaccination continue in South Africa – institutions of higher learning have also commenced discussions around the issue. Guest: Professor Ahmed Bawa, CEO of Universities South Africa

Another Alexandra High School boy has been stabbed to death allegedly by a fellow pupil. The deceased was a grade 9 pupil at Alexandra High and suspect is a grade 7 pupil at Pholosho primary. Police are still investigating the motive behind the killing. GUEST: Steve Mabona, Spokesperson for the Gauteng Education Department

Several shops have been closed in the trouble-torn Ditsobotla local municipality in North West, where angry residents of Blydeville are up in arms protesting about the alleged manipulation of ANC candidates list, prior to the local government election. For more on this, we speak to SABC senior Journalist in the North West, Patrick Dintwa about what has sparked some of the recent protests in the pr...

The Pietermaritzburg High Court in KwaZulu-Natal has sentenced 26-year-old Lungani Maphumulo to five terms of life imprisonment for killing five people in 2018. Maphumulo has also been sentenced to an additional 116-year in jail on a number of other charges including robbery and attempted murder. Between July and October 2018, Maphumulo went on a shooting spree in the Nsuze area. GUEST: Nthabiseng...

We dissect the findings of Tiger Brands’ State of Nutrition Report. According to the report, more than a third of South Africans don’t drink enough water and half of the country eats too much salt. So what are the consequences of our unhealthy habits? Guest: Arthur Ramoroka, Nutritionist @ Tiger Brands

World News: Following talks between Xi Jinping and Joe Biden, we look at the US-China relations. As most of you are probably aware that ties between the two nations have been strained in recent years by a bruising trade war and America's tough stand on China's human rights track record. Guest: Dr John Stremlau, Honorary Professor of International Relations @ Wits

The African Transformation Movement (ATM) says the right to hold public office should only be reserved for native-born citizens. The party's comments follows an article by News24, In which the news site claims that they have seen a leaked intelligence report from the State Security Agency that there is a "high likelihood" that ANC MP Dr. Xiaomei Harvard might be sharing classified information with...

The Gauteng City-Region Observatory has launched its 6th Quality of Life survey results today. The results give insights into the overall wellbeing and quality of life of Gauteng residents in 2020/early 2021. The survey covered food security; environment; poverty, inequality and social mobility; GBV and violence; governance; transport; health; migration; access to services; community and social at...

The City of Cape Town's mayoral committee member for safety and security, JP Smith says master of ceremony Abongile Nzelenzele took no offence at his remarks on pronouncing his surname. JP Smith says he has called and spoken with Abongile and that he personally doesn't think there was any ill intent. Smith's inability to pronounce the surname of the MC, Abongile Nzelenzele has since sparked mixed...

The Independent Electoral Commission has just published its first quarterly report since the implementation of the Political Party Funding Act. George Mahlangu who is the current head of Political Party Funding at the IEC joins us now to explain how this Act will affect political parties in relation to elections. The Act requires political parties to disclose all donations above 100-thousand rand....

As we continue with our Political Party Funding discussion, we are now joined by Ongama Mtimka who is going to give us more analysis in terms of the Act and its impact on political parties. Guest: Political Analyst, Ongama Mtimka

World News: We unpack the Human Rights Watch Report titled “Security Forces Dealt with Them’: Suspicious Killings and Extrajudicial Executions by Egyptian Security Forces.” The report reveals that Egyptian security forces have for years carried out extrajudicial executions, claiming that those killed had been killed in shootouts. Guest: Ahmed Benchamsi, Director of Communications...

The Restaurants Association of South Africa, RASA have doubts that the government will be able to impose any sort of policy requiring the industry to demand proof of vaccination. RASA Chief Executive Wendy Alberts says this is because the government fails to even consult with the industry to find solutions to maintaining the integrity of the industry or supporting its sustainability. Guest: Wendy...