The National Pulse

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that the sale of alcohol would be banned for two weeks, the curfew would be extended from 9PM to 6AM daily and that non-essential establishments, such as bars and restaurants, must close at 8PM. GUEST: Donovan Agar, Sales Manager At Agar's Brewery

President Cyril Ramaphosa has announced that the sale of alcohol would be banned for two weeks, the curfew would be extended from 9PM to 6AM daily and that non-essential establishments, such as bars and restaurants, must close at 8PM. Surely this won't be good for restaurants who were expecting to be busier over the festive season. To speak to us about the impact that alert level 3 will have on th...

Police Minister Bheki Cele, has sent a stern warning to South Africans - that failure to wear a mask in public spaces will result in being arrested. This after President Cyril Ramaphosa moved the country to lockdown level 3 - saying it was necessary to help slow the spread of the coronavirus. Minister Cele, has also warned against restaurants attempting to conceal and sell alcohol to patrons amid...

Cogta has published new regulations that are aimed at governing funerals, prayers and initiations during the revised level 3 lockdown. Earlier today, Cogta Minister Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma announced that initiation practices are prohibited nationally with no new initiations permitted, except for those who are already in an initiation school in the Eastern Cape, who will be allowed to complete in...

The SA Liqour Brand Association (SALBA) has expressed concern over the total shutdown of liquor sales, saying the ban is an opportunity for illegal alcohol trade to go ahead. According to their spokesperson Sibani Mngadi, they were hoping that government was going to allow limited opportunity for people to purchase liquor legally. Guest: Sibani Mngadi, Spokesperson for the alcohol industry

World News: Yesterday, a court in Saudi Arabia sentenced women's rights activist, Loujain al-Hathloul, for five years and eight months for participating in terrorism-related activities and crimes. Al-Hathloul has already been in pre-trial detention and has endured several stretches of solitary confinement. According to rights group “Prisoners of Conscience”, which focuses on Saudi political detain...

The South African Medical Association - SAMA - has called on the government to place the country back to level 2 of the National Lockdown, with more stringent restrictions. SAMA also says young people must be fined or do community service for not wearing their masks in public. To elaborate further on their sentiments, we're now joined on the line by Dr Angelique Coetzee, chairperson of the South A...

The Young Communist League of South Africa say "It is not just the Covid-19 virus which is killing people". As the country battles with the second wave, with a new variant, the Communist League has called on the government to implement the Universal Income Guarantee (known as the "Basic Income Grant) to mitigate the exacerbation of the current pandemic and future prospects of the same crisis, give...

The recent surge in the number of Covid-19 deaths in the country is putting immense strain on the country's funeral parlours. Yesterday South Africa reported 214 Covid-19 related deaths. The Eastern Cape recorded the highest number with 123 deaths followed by Gauteng at 17 and KwaZulu-Natal 13. The national death toll currently stands at 26 735. For more on this, we're now joined on the line by Nd...

While Covid-19 restrictions have severely impacted traditional revenue streams for wildlife reserves and conservation groups, the brutal poaching of South Africa’s rhino remains rife despite numerous efforts to curb it. So what are the solutions to rhino poaching – is rhino dehorning the solution? Guest: Dr. Joel Alves of WildScapes Veterinary and Conservation Services

As COVID-19 infections continue shooting up to over a million, the Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa) says it is worried that the health care system will buckle under the pressure due to the high infection rate and hospitalisations. They are also arguing that health-care workers can no longer cope with the influx of patients at hospitals. Guest: Cassim Lekhoathi, Acting Gener...

According to the UN - Central African Republic residents turned out in huge numbers for presidential and legislative elections on Sunday. Currently, the counting process is underway and the election will go to a second round if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote. But what are the causes of conflict in Central African Republic and will the elections be free and fair? Guest: Dr E...

We are now in conversation with the Northern Cape Tourism Authority about how their tourism scene is like in the province since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic? Northern Cape's harsh summers can bring little to no rain with temperatures soaring up to 40°c. A trip to the province is not complete if one doesn't visit the famous Big Hole in Kimberley. The Big Hole recalls South Africa's diamond ru...

Chairperson of Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Home Affairs, Bongani Bongo, has called on government to urgently intervene in the crisis unfolding at the BeitBridge border post in Limpopo. Traffic is gridlocked on the N1 between Musina and the Beitbridge Border Post in Limpopo. This as cars and trucks occupy multiple lanes in an attempt to move through the border quickly. Advocate Bongani Bong...

Festive Tourism: Today we focus on the economic hub and international gateway to South Africa, the Gauteng Province. Gauteng’s offerings include world-class infrastructure, and the availability of leading shopping brands, hotels and leisure attractions. This makes the province a preferred destination for both business and leisure travellers from all over the world. But is the province doing enough...

Pets are part of our everyday lives and part of our families. They provide us with companionship but also with emotional support, and to a large extent – they also assist in reducing our stress levels, sense of loneliness and help us out in many societal ways as well, especially dogs, they are so important to humans in all kinds of ways. Their sense of smell and the fact that they can be easily tr...

This year saw one of the North West province's key tourism hubs, the Hartbeespoort Dam, slowly becoming a ghost town, with low activity, possible business shutdowns and job losses due to the national lockdown as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. In July business owners in the local tourism sector, held a peaceful protest in the area, to highlight their plight, calling on government to allow the s...

Now on a lighter not, we will look at "The Hot 100 Chart | Billboard". The Hot 100 Chart is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by Billboard magazine. As of the issue for the week ending on December 26, 2020, the Billboard Hot 100 has had 1,115 different number one entries. The chart's current number-one song is "Willow" by Taylor Swift and the...

The ANC Integrity Commission has finally met with President Cyril Ramaphosa. The Commission requested a meeting with the president in 2018 when the issue of BOSASA and his CR17 Campaign funds were raised. However the commission said it was disappointed that it did not deal extensively with the matter, as President Ramaphosa said it is still before courts. Guest: Political Analyst, Professor Andre...

Former Jo'burg Mayor, Herman Mashaba, has voiced his intention to challenge in court, a report by Public Protector, Advocate Busisiwe Mkhwebane, which found that Mashaba had meddled in procurement processes. The probe follows an anonymous complaint about irregular staff appointments and salary increases, among other things. Mkhwebane has ruled that action must be taken with 60 working days. Mashab...

Last week, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the extension of the national curfew due to the rising numbers of COVID-19 infections throughout the country. The new curfew which is 23:00 – 04:00 saw domestic airlines cancelling later flights to accommodate the curfew times communicated during the president’s address. However, the Tourism Business Council of South Africa has addressed this issue wi...

World News: Dr Vivian John-Langba joins us to discuss the importance of safeguarding refugee rights particularly in Africa. Her doctoral thesis: “National human rights institutions and the promotion and protection of refugee rights: the case of South Africa and Kenya” identified national human rights institutions (NHRIs) as one of the institutions through which effective promotion and protection o...

The Eastern Cape government has implored people to adhere to the COVID-19 regulations as the coronavirus infection rate continues to rise in some parts of the province. Some of the most affected areas include the Buffalo City metro, Chris Hani and the OR Tambo regions which have a combined number of more than seven-thousand positive cases. GUEST: Velile Ndlombini, Owner of Imonti Tours

690 people have lost their lives on the country's roads since the start of the festive season, amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Releasing the preliminary road fatality statistics for the festive season earlier on, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula outlined some of the provinces that recorded an increase in the number of fatalities as compared to the same period last year. GUEST: Howard Dembovsky, chair...

As we continue with our festive tourism talk, today we tell you more about Mpumalanga - an interesting, beautiful and fascinating place to visit. The parks and conservation areas play a vital role in stimulating and maintaining economic growth for the province, and are the backbone of the biodiversity initiatives which are critical to sustainable development and conservation. To tell us more about...