The National Pulse

South Africa now has its first satanic church; Satanists can now exercise their faith at the South African Satanic Church. The church which is located in Century City, just a few kilometers outside of Cape Town, officially opened its doors in February this year. Guest: Adri Norton, Co-Founder of the South African Satanic Church

Tax Justice South Africa say the tobacco ban has already cost the country over R3 billion in lost excise taxes alone. Tax Justice South Africa, which is campaigning to put a stop to the illicit economy and return billions in lost tax back to citizens say if the ban on the sale of cigarettes continue, it will be "more free money for criminals in illicit trade" Guest: Yusuf Abramjee, the Founder of...

Lobby group AfriForum and Advocate Gerrie Nel have been appointed by the Botswana government to represent them in a high-profile money-laundering and fraud case, in which businesswoman Bridgette Motsepe-Radebe is implicated in. Motsepe-Radebe, the sister-in-law of President Cyril Ramaphosa and wife of Jeff Radebe, was accused by a newspaper in Botswana of an alleged plot to oust Botswana's Preside...

The South African Banking Risk Information Centre has released its annual crime stats for 2019 and they say they are pleased that robust mitigation strategies deployed by member banks and partners are showing results. According to them, the ATM attacks have decreased by 9% while cash-in-transit robberies decreased by 16% in all provinces with the exception of KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State Guest...

Today on World News we focus on Malawi elections asking – will they be free and fair? The election is much anticipated after the Constitutional Court early this year ruled that the May 2019 vote, won narrowly by Mutharika, was fraught with "grave and widespread irregularities. Guest: Dr William Mpofu, Political analyst

The Eastern Cape government has ordered acting King Azenathi Dalindyebo to immediately vacate the Bumbane Great Place palace as his term of office has come to an end. This means that AbaThembu King, His Majesty, Zwelibanzi Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo returns to his throne. Guest: Mvusiwekhaya Sicwetsha, Spokesperson for the Premier of the Eastern Cape

Many taxi commuters were left without transport this morning following a total shutdown by the South African National Taxi Council (santaco) in Gauteng. Taxi operators are unhappy with the Covid-19 relief funding amount offered by government. They say the one-point-one-billion rand in assistance for the industry, is totally inadequate. Guest: Ayanda Allie Paine, Spokesperson for the Department of...

The South African Democratic Teachers Union (Sadtu) in the Eastern Cape is calling for all schools in the province to be shut down. The union says the department of education should close the schools with immediate effect until it is ready to deal with "perpetual challenges" such as lack of water, poor school infrastructure and lack of personal protection equipment... Guest: Chris Mdingi, Provinci...

Several roads were barricaded with rocks and heavy objects in QwaQwa in the eastern Free State. Angry residents were protesting over acute water shortages and frequent water cuts. Police and army were deployed to the protest-hit areas to quell simmering tensions. Guest: Sputnik Ratau, spokesperson for the Department of Water and Sanitation

The American Bar Association has canceled a speech by F.W. de Klerk, South Africa's last president during Apartheid. De Klerk was invited by the US Association to speak on racism and other matters. The former president, who was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize with Nelson Mandela for the country's transition to democracy, drew fierce criticism Guest: Dave Steward, Chairman of the FW de Klerk Foundation

The Pietermaritzburg Tourism is working on a strategic plan to resuscitate the tourism sector that has been crippled by the Covid-19 national lockdown. Guest: Dumisani Mhlongo, Director of Pietermaritzburg Tourism

On World News today, we get reaction from the African Diaspora (still on the High Court ruling story) as you may recall that last week Friday, the Pretoria High Court ruled that people who hold asylum-seeker and special permit status may apply for the Social Relief Distress Grant of R350 a month (applicants will need to provide their documents). Guest: Dr Vusumuzi Sibanda, Chairperson of the Afric...

Post the Pretoria High Court ruling on asylum-seekers and the Social Relief Distress Grant. The African Transformation Movement (ATM) says it is puzzled that asylum seekers were able to successfully argue that their industries were affected by the lockdown. The party is of the view that asylum seekers should not be competing with South Africans in any economic trading space. Guest: Vuyo Zungula, l...

Today on Beyond Innovation we speak to Boitumelo Nkatlo, a Chemical engineering graduate from the University of Johannesburg. He has been in the metallurgical fraternity as a Metallurgist for over 12 years. He founded a company that treats acid mine drainage (AMD) to potable/drinking stage. In this project, they use a metallurgical waste product to treat AMD. The project has been through all the s...

Deputy Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Buti Manamela and Limpopo Health MEC Phophi Ramathuba visited the University of Limpopo today to monitor the state of readiness of the University to reopen. Minister Manamela will also visit the Seshego Campus tomorrow morning to assess academic activities and monitoring of safety protocols in Lockdown Level 3. Guest: Deputy Minister of...

Is it "Time to press the reset button on economic and social reforms?". We now speak to Mr Mbhazima Shilowa, a former premier of Gauteng, trade unionist and Cope leader, who says "we owe it to the 1976 generation to create a more just and equitable society that grows the economy, create jobs, provides quality health care, education and social welfare" GUEST: Mr Mbhazima Shilowa, a former premier o...

Tsakane residents, in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng blockaded roads in protest over power outages. The residents say they have been without electricity for two weeks. Meanwhile, the Greater Johannesburg Housing Committee has also voiced frustration over Eskom's timing - in implementing rotational power cuts. Areas affected by the power cuts in Gauteng include Cosmo City, Diepsloot, Ivory Park, Orange Farm,...

Earlier on today, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula announced that government has offered the taxi industry a relief package of R1bn. When making the announcement Mbalula said government has taken into account the enormous losses the sector has incurred, as well as the fact that the restrictions placed on it during the lockdown were severe enough to render nearly half of taxi fleets unable to oper...

World News today: Chinese President Xi Jinping has announced that China will cancel interest-free loans to African countries that are due to mature by the end of this year. Jinping also told a China-Africa summit on Covid-19 on Wednesday that African nations hardest hit by the pandemic will also be granted an extension of the period of debt suspension. But what really informs this gesture? For mor...

Geraldine Prinsloo, founder of Black Doek Movement SA shares thoughts on the scourge of gender-based violence, which knows no geographic, socioeconomic, or cultural boundary (she will also outline the objectives of the movement). What is worrying about this is that the country has seen a serious growth of Gender-Based Violence in particular since the national lockdown Guest: Geraldine Prinsloo, fo...

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) say municipal Councillors across the country are proposing a salary increase of 6.4% in the 2020/2021 financial year. The organisation says that the City of Johannesburg is one of these municipalities where Councillors are proposing a salary increase, while residents are already expected to pay more for increased tariffs. OUTA has now started a public part...

Burundi's newly elected president, Evariste Ndayishimiye, has been sworn in two months earlier than planned. The swearing in ceremony took place in the capital Bujumbura. Fifty two-year-old Ndayishimiye won last month's presidential elections. His inauguration was however brought forward following the NKurunziza's sudden death last week Guest: Sarah Kimani, our Kenyan Correspondent

The SABC has announced possible staff retrenchments. They say they will consult with its over 3-thousand employees, about their intention to cut jobs. At a meeting with management, organised labour and representatives of non-unionized employees a notice of the retrenchment process under Section 189(3) of the Labour Relations Act has been handed over Guest: Hannes du Buisson, President of the Broad...

At least 22-thousand employees of footwear and clothing retail giant Edcon will be retrenched. The South African Commercial, Catering and Allied Workers Union (SACCAWU) has confirmed that it has received a letter from Edcon on starting Section 189 consultations Guest: Mike Sikani, Spokesperson for the South African Commercial Catering and Allied Workers Union (SACCAWU)

World News today: Mexico, India, Ireland and Norway have been elected to take up a two-year term on the United Nations Security Council. Neither Kenya nor Djibouti gained the required two-thirds majority to win the Africa seat on the 15-member council. This after a long diplomatic battle between the two for the position. Kenya and Djibouti have been battling for a year to claim the non-permanent A...