The National Pulse

Have you noticed how on social media whenever law enforcement post pictures of arrests made for Covid-19 related infringements, people tend to criticize the police for not having the same appetite to apprehend perpetrators of crime. Many of you have taken to Twitter and Facebook to express how gender based violence could be dealt with if police showed the same vigour they do when enforcing the Dis...

Yesterday, Eastern Cape Premier Oscar Mabuyane revealed that eleven initiates have died so far in the province since the commencement of the initiation season. When making the announcement, Mabuyane made it clear though that their deaths had nothing to do with Covid19 Guest: Mamkeli Ngam, Eastern Cape Cogta Spokesperson

World News: All eyes are on the US state of Georgia as residents returned to the polls yesterday for the Senate run-off. But why is it so important? You may recall that no candidate in either of Georgia’s Senate races won a majority of the vote on November 3 last year, triggering a runoff for both seats, with the top two candidates in each race facing off. Control of the Senate now hinges on the o...

A Community activist at Shallcross, south of Durban says that although one of the biggest alleged drug lords in area has been killed, the illegal drug trade will still thrive in the area. The Anti-Drug Forums' Sam Pillay was reacting to the murder of, Yaganathan Pillay, also known as Teddy Mafia, who was shot dead in a drive-by shooting. Two others were killed and brazenly beheaded in broad daylig...

Teacher union Suid Afrikaanse Onderwysers Unie, SAOU is calling for educators to be prioritised when it comes to vaccinations. In a statement, SAOU says that so far 1-thousand-659-hundred teachers have lost their lives to covid-19 while several thousands of educators are infected. GUEST: Chris Klopper, CEO of the Suid Afrikaanse Onderwysers Unie (SAOU)

Home Affairs department has increased the number of officers at the Beitbridge border post in Musina, Limpopo, as people return home. Neighbouring Zimbabwe is set to effect a ban on non-essential business travel, starting today. The country also returned to a hard lockdown on Saturday due to an increase in COVID-19 cases. GUEST: Home Affairs Minister, Dr Aaron Motsoaledi

Some South Africans are taking to social media to show themselves ingesting ivermectin that is registered only for animal use in this country. On the other hand - experts are warning that South Africa’s ivermectin products are not registered as human medicine and have been tested for safety in animals, not humans. Guest: Prof Adrian Tordiffe. Associate Professor in Veterinary Pharmacology at the F...

We hear from Lungi Mtshali on why Cogta has decided to appeal the ruling on the sale of tobacco products. You may recall that last year during the hard lockdown, government banned the use of tobacco sales, however this was challenged by British American Tobacco and it asked the court to declare the ban unlawful. In its judgment, the court found that regulation 45 of the hard lockdown limited smoke...

World News: Yesterday, schools reopened in Kenya after being closed since March last year due to the coronavirus. However – anxious parents are worried about the safety of their children as the country continues to report COVID-19 infections. Guest on the line (Kenya) Sarah Kimani, SABC Correspondent based in Kenya

The Covid-19 pandemic dominated headlines across the globe in 2020 and will undoubtedly continue to do so this year. But how has South Africa handled the pandemic? And how should the country continue to tackle this crisis going forward? To expand a bit more on this topic, I am joined on the line by various political parties, to share their respective sentiments on the discussion and also share the...

Police officers have been attacked by community members while arresting undocumented foreigners at Greenside extension 44 outside Polokwane in Limpopo. Police spokesperson Motlafela Mojapelo says police were assaulted and police vehicles pelted with stones by some community members who managed to release undocumented foreign nationals from police vehicles over the weekend. Meanwhile, Police and Pr...

The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) is considering legal action to force the government to acquire a Covid-19 vaccine. Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize says government is still in talks with pharmaceutical companies and no deals have been signed yet regarding the procurement of a COVID-19 vaccine. The IRR say they will be approaching the Minister of Health, all MECs for Health, and other stakehol...

ANC Kwa-Zulu Natal Secretary Mdumiseni Ntuli, says party Secretary-General Ace Magashule was wrong to say he would only step aside if told by branches at a Special National Conference. The governing party is grappling with guidelines to implement its 'Stepping Aside Resolution' against leaders charged with serious crimes. Magashule was instructed to step aside with immediate effect by the Integrit...

The department of basic education has assured the nation that it will do whatever it takes to prioritise the safety of the 45 000 examiners expected to start marking the 2020 matric final exams today. To tell us more about how the marking process has gone so far is….. Guest: Elijah Mhlanga, Spokesperson for the Department of Basic Education

As things are slowly getting back to normal workwise. The safety of workers has become a major concern for some labour federations as they argue that workers will be more exposed to coronavirus infections, as the country is in the midst of the second wave of the pandemic. Guest: Zwelinzima Vavi, General Secretary of the South African Federation of Trade Union (SAFTU)

The Free State Department of Economic, Small Business Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (DESTEA) is intensifying its fight against harmful business practices. This as the festive season is a time when many consumers are prone to impulsive buying, making them easy targets for unscrupulous business people who prey on gullible consumers. So how important is consumer education during this...

Latest News, Trends, and light features for an afternoon commute- Business, Traffic, Weather and Sport

A different kind of New Year is almost upon us. A quieter, less crowded New Year celebration is on the cards. But for criminals, this is an opportunity to capitalize on unsuspecting victims who are in 'holiday mode'. With the New Year just several hours away, many South Africans are gearing up for a night at home with maybe a couple of drinks that they bought a few days ago. There will be no massi...

Lawyers for Black People will today file papers in the Pretoria High Court to challenge some of Level 3 lockdown regulations. The group, led by Zuko Madikane, argues that President Cyril Ramaphosa has overstepped his powers by prohibiting gatherings. They also want police to be prohibited from entering private properties on New Year’s Eve. Guest: Zuko Madikane, founding member of Lawyers for Black...

We look at the impact of Covid19 pandemic on the education sector. Some have warned that the schooling system should prepare itself for the 2021 schooling year including the reality that a number of teachers and support staff will not return to work due to the severe Covid-19 pandemic. So what kind of challenges was faced by teachers in 2020 and is the teaching profession ready for 2021? Guest: Ba...

The Supreme Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal by Eskom, to interrupt power supply to two defaulting Mpumalanga municipalities. Yesterday the Appeals court dismissed two applications by the power utility to interrupt the bulk supply of electricity to Mpumalanga's Emalahleni local municipality and the Thaba Chweu local municipality. So what ramifications will this judgement have on Eskom and h...

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is requesting for an emergency sitting to debate the country's COVID-19 vaccination plan. This after DA leader John Steenhuisen questioned delays in rolling out the coronavirus vaccine rollout plan. Steenhuisen says he suspects that the two missed payments for the COVAX initiative are behind the delays in rolling out the vaccine by the second quarter of next year. GUES...

The South African National Blood Service (SANBS) is calling on South Africans to donate blood as it faces severe blood stock shortages. This time around though, they are urging blood type O donors to come to the party so they can assist the organisation to avoid running out of stock. Guest: Ravi Reddy, SANBS Chief Operations Officer

On Monday, we received calls from some of our listeners who were complaining that there were long queues for Covid-19 relief grants and a lack of physical distancing at some post offices across the country. However this issue of long queues has been going on for quite some time now and at some point - the South African Post Office said they were trying to control the queues by using staggered SMS...

On World News today, we ask - what is happening to the Rohingya Muslims and how did the Rohingya crisis start? Bangladesh has moved a second batch of Rohingya refugees from neighbouring Myanmar to the remote island of Bhasan Char in the Bay of Bengal, despite calls by rights groups not to carry out further relocations. Guest: Advocate Shabnam Mayet, a human rights activist & organiser of “Protect...