The National Pulse

Do you remember Hamilton Ndlovu? The business man who last year flaunted a fleet of luxury vehicles on social media...Well the Pretoria high court has granted the South African Revenue Service (Sars) a provisional order against Gauteng businessman Hamilton Ndlovu, to freeze his bank accounts and seize some of his luxury cars, which include three Porsche vehicles, a Jeep and a Lamborghini Urus SUV....

Scientists have found that those infected with the Second Variant (501Y.V2) are immune to reinfection from previous and current variants. The latest findings were announced by Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Dr Blade Nzimande and Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize earlier on, during an update on research done to know more about the 501Y.V2 coronavirus variant, which was first d...

We hear from the overall winner of this year’s Nedbank and Old Mutual Budget Speech Competition. Felicia Mashimbye from the University of Johannesburg was announced as the overall postgraduate winner and was awarded R150 000. Guest: Felicia Mashimbye, UJ Student and Postgraduate winner

Gauteng MEC for Public Transport and Roads Infrastructure joins us now to explain the province’s position on e-tolls. Following the provincial government’s decision to make formal submissions to the national government indicating its disapproval of the implementation of e-tolls. Guest: Jacob Mamabolo, Gauteng MEC for Public Transport and Roads Infrastructure

What’s behind SA’s Palestine-Israeli Visa quagmire? It’s a well-known fact that the South African government supports the Palestinian struggle – but what informed their decision to put restrictions on Palestinians wanting to enter the country? How is this championing the Palestinian cause? Guest: Rosheen Dadoo, Convener of the SA Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Coalition (BDS)

Public Protector, advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane says she has noted the report by Independent Review Panel which found prima facie grounds of incompetence, misconduct and incompetence against her. Advocate Mkhwebane says she’s confident the Constitutional Court will clear her of any wrongdoing GUEST: Public Protector Spokesperson, Oupa Segalwe

Deputy President David Mabuza is currently visiting the Biovac Institute in Midrand, Johannesburg. The visit follows a decision by the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Covid-19 Vaccines, chaired by the Deputy President to visit various sites established for vaccine rollout. For more on this, we’re joined on the line by Joseph Phaahla, the Deputy Minister of Health, who also visited the Biovac Instit...

An aspiring female farmer is calling on the South African National Roads Agency, SANRAL to help her extend the lease agreement she has with one of the entity's service providers. Noksie Kolwapi says she has written to Sanral on numerous occasions asking for a longer lease agreement, in order to revamp and develop the farm she is renting in Plettensberg Bay, In the Western Cape, but her efforts are...

The government has admitted under oath in its court documents that there is no legal restriction on the private sector to purchase Covid-19 vaccines. This according to AfriForum and Solidarity, who took legal action against the state, for reportedly using political power to create public impression and sow uncertainty regarding the purchase and sale of vaccines. The two organizations say there is...

History has been made in South Africa. This after veterinary surgeons at the University of Pretoria’s Onderstepoort Veterinary Academic Hospital successfully conducted South Africa’s first partial knee replacement on a cat, saving its right leg from being amputated. To tell us more about this historic achievement is… Guest: Dr Adriaan Kitshoff Senior Lecture at the University of Pretoria’s Onderst...

Following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement on political activities. The Independent Electoral Commission says the outstanding by-elections that were scheduled to take place next month will now proceed as planned. According to them, the president’s announcement will help to “clear the decks” of vacancies ahead of the Local Government Elections schedule for between August and November this y...

World News: Yesterday, a French court found Nicolas Sarkozy, France’s former president, guilty of corruption and influence peddling, sentencing him to one year in prison and a two-year suspended sentence. Sarkozy was convicted for having tried to illegally obtain information from a senior magistrate in 2014 about a legal action in which he was involved. GUEST: Prof John Keiger, Retired Professor o...

Parliament confirms that the Independent Review Panel has found prima facie grounds of incompetence, misconduct and incompetence against Public Protector, advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane. GUEST: Natasha Mazzone, MP and Chief Whip of the Democratic Alliance (DA) in Parliament

Chairperson of the Freedom Under Law, Johann Kriegler is calling for Judge John Hlophe to be suspended over his conduct in the case against Advocate Bongani Bongo. Kriegler is arguing that Hlophe is unfit to be a judge since he attempted to pervert the course of justice against former President Jacob Zuma thirteen years ago. He joins us now to elaborate further….. Guest: Justice Johann Kriegler, C...

Worrying reports coming from KwaZulu-Natal suggest that uMsunduzi Municipality has moved to freeze the salaries of 121 people feared to be ghost employees. But who is benefiting from this corruption and how did the names of these ghost employees get added to the municipality’s payroll? Guest: Mzimkhulu Thebolla, Mayor of uMsunduzi Municipality

World News: Jasmine Operman shares thoughts on humanitarian crisis in Mozambique’s Cabo Delgado province, where attacks by armed groups have forced more than 565,000 to flee their homes. Last week Friday, President Cyril Ramaphosa revealed that South Africa’s security forces are monitoring the situation in Northern Mozambique to avert security threats in the region. Guest: Jasmine Opperman, Africa...

Police in Gauteng say they are concerned by several video clips doing the rounds on social media, depicting acts of violence in Hillbrow, Johannesburg. Police are however say the clips claiming there were violent confrontations between Zulus and Zimbabwean nationals are fake and malicious news. GUEST: Police spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters

While a Johannesburg law firm is preparing to lodge a class action against eHailing service Uber calling for drivers to be treated as employees rather than partners, some drivers say they're not sure if the move would work in their favour. On Monday Mbuyisa Moleele Attorneys, assisted by London-based law firm, Leigh Day, announced plans to introduce a class action lawsuit against Uber. GUEST: Rich...

We shift our focus and look at the criminal gang networks in Cape Town and why so many young adolescents are prone to dropping out of schools to join gangs. We speak to Avril Andrews, who lost her son to the gang violence in 2015 after her son refused to join a local gang. Following the death of her son, Ms Andrews started the Moms Move for Justice to support other moms who lost their child/childr...

We continue reflecting on Finance Minister Tito Mboweni's 2021 budget speech by speaking to National Treasury director-general, Mr Dondo Mogajane. Yesterday Mboweni maintained his hard-line stance on the salaries of public servants by proposing marginal increases which are below inflation for upcoming financial years. Mboweni says government is phasing out the payment of performance bonuses and co...

Lwazi Chamane from the uSethubeni centre at the Durban Westville correctional centre is the best performing incarcerated matriculant of the 2020 academic year. He obtained an 80.6 percent pass rate, with four distinctions in IsiZulu, Life Orientation, History and Tourism. Earlier today, Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola announced the 2020 matric results at the Leeuwkop Corre...

We hear from the Denosa Student Movement, following their sit-in at the western cape health department offices on Tuesday over non-absorption of over 130 Community Service Practitioner Nurses (CSPN) by the department. Guest: Mxolisi Shange Provincial Chairperson of Denosa Student Movement in the Western Cape

The Congress of South African Trade Union (Cosatu) is once again reassessing its alliance with the ruling African National Congress (ANC). They say the ANC-led alliance was faced with a serious crisis of legitimacy and they are also not pleased with the party’s failure to implement progressive policies in government. Guest: Bheki Ntshalintshali, General Secretary of Cosatu

World News: On Saturday, the Saharawi people will celebrate their National Day. But on the other hand, there has been little progress in the negotiation process to seek a final solution to the conflict between them and Morroco. Our question is – how committed is the international community to raising awareness and championing the Saharawi cause for freedom and self-determination? Guest: Mohamed Be...

Staying with the GIG economy we speak to the South African Payroll Association about how to ensure the fair pay and fair conditions for workers in the gig economy. Joining me on the line is... GUEST: Dylan Naidoo, Executive Committee Member of the South African Payroll Association (SAPA)