The National Pulse

Alice in the Eastern Cape is under water after it was hit by a massive storm on Sunday afternoon. Several homes including new RDP houses have collapsed and businesses and streets are flooded. The heavy rain accompanied by strong winds hit the Raymond Mhlaba municipality up to Bhisho and surrounding areas under the Buffalo City Metro. Guest: Makhaya Komisa, Spokesperson for the Department of Cogta...

World News today: On Friday last week, US President Donald Trump slapped immigration restrictions on citizens of six countries including Nigeria. Besides Africa's most populous nation, the new measures also pertain to Myanmar, Eritrea, Kyrgyzstan, Sudan and Tanzania, administration officials said. Guest: Musa Mdunge, International relations political analyst

The Free State Health Department has response teams ready to deal with Coronavirus cases. This after government earmarked some hospitals across the country to deal with a possible outbreak. Guest: Mondli Mvambi, Spokesperson for the Department of Health in Free State

India has detected its first case of the deadly Coronavirus in the south state of Kerala. This after 213 people died and nearly 10-thousand were infected with the coronavirus. The World Health Organization has declared the virus a global emergency. Guest: SABC correspondent, Neha Poonia

The Pan South African Language Board, PanSALB will on Monday (03 Feb 2020) launch 28 days of language activism month at a media briefing at Hatfield in Pretoria. The purpose of the launch is to sensitize the importance of encouraging South Africans to speak and live their languages and create a more multilingual society. Guest: Dr David Maahlamela, Acting CEO of the Pan South African Language Boar...

Human Rights Commissioner for the Western Cape office, Chris Nissen, has laid a charge of intimidation against one of the leaders of foreign nationals living in the Cape Town CBD. He claims the man known as JP Balous threatened to kill him earlier this week. Guest: Human Rights Commissioner for the Western Cape, Chris Nissen

The situation is still tense at the North West University's Mafikeng campus. Protesting students say they are not backing down from their shutdown, despite the university's deployment of a tactical task team to strengthen security. Students closed down the campus on Monday, after the South African Union of Students called for a seven day national shutdown of all public universities. Guest: Jeso Mo...

About a week ago, the Durban High Court handed down judgment in favour of women who were stripped of their financial and property rights after being married under an old apartheid law. Meanwhile, the Commission for Gender Equality has welcomed the ruling saying that they were initially concerned about the default position of a marriage out of community of property which offends against the equalit...

We now look at the impact of Brexit on South Africa. Professor Raymond Parsons says South Africa must from now onwards regularly evaluate what new risks or opportunities may emerge from the commencement of Brexit process. Guest: Raymond Parsons, Professor at the North West University School of Business & Governance

Is OR Tambo airport becoming a drug hub? A Hong Kong prison chaplain who is currently visiting South Africa says nearly 20% of people arrested in Hong Kong in 2018 and 2019 for possession of drugs, smuggled the substance via OR Tambo International Airport. Guest: Dr Chris de Kock, Independent crime analyst 082 778 3660

We look at the political tensions that are currently taking place in the City of Tshwane and the City of Johannesburg. Earlier on today, a Tshwane council meeting was abandoned once again, this after the ANC and the EFF staged a walkout following yet another impasse. Guest: Professor Dirk Kotze, Political analyst based @UNISA

We learn more about the coronavirus: What is the coronavirus in humans – what are the symptoms of the virus and how dangerous is it? Guest: Professor Thumbi Ndung'u, Deputy Director at Africa Health Research Institute and Professor at the University of KwaZulu Natal

As we continue to bring you the latest with regards to the Unisa staff strike. The National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (Nehawu) says their strike action will only cease once the University's management has acceded to the workers' demands which include the in-sourcing of all workers and a 9-percent salary increase. Guest: Ntsako Nombelane, Branch Manager for the National Education,...

A week long wage strike by over four-thousand UNISA workers at the institutions seven regional campuses across the country continues amid talks between management and the unions. Prospective students have been advised by the university to apply and register online amid the on-going strike by the university staff. Workers mostly members of NEHAWU and Association for Professional Workers Union of So...

Cosatu has proposed paying off Eskom's debt by using private pensions from the Public Investment Corporation, PIC. The Union made its proposals at a meeting with senior members of the ANC earlier this month. The DA have rejected the proposal saying it would result in billions of rand in state employee pension funds being redirected to bail out a collapsing and defunct Eskom. So is this an economic...

What’s up with these white butterflies that have been fluttering across South Africa? Since yesterday, white butterflies have been seen in Gauteng fluttering through the streets. These butterflies are known as the Brown-Veined White Butterfly and their annual migration takes place during mid-summer each year, which takes place at the end of January. Guest: Christelle Cilliers, Manager @ The Butter...

The SAPS in partnership with Facebook have launched an ‘Amber Alert’ tool for South Africa. An Amber Alert is a missing child emergency alert which works by distributing a message through a system that will enable the Facebook community to actively participate in finding missing children. Guest: Brigadier Attie Lamprecht, Section Head for the National Bureau for Missing Persons at the SAPS

We hear from Alf Lees about why the Democratic Alliance is not entirely convinced about the DBSA and SAA cash injection deal. The party says it will be writing to the Minister of Trade and Industry Ibrahim Patel about the deal as they are suspecting that the DBSA could possibly be shifting money meant for meaningful development projects that could create employment. Guest: Alf Lees, DA MP

Did you know that as many as one in five new mothers will experience depression just before or after giving birth? Apparently, there is a growing scientific evidence of the safety of antidepressants in pregnancy and that stopping medication may in fact cause more harm to both mother and baby. Guest: Dr Bavi Vythilingum, Specialist psychiatrist and member of the South African Society of Psychiatris...

Mangaung metro municipality has been downgraded further by the rating agency Moody's. This after municipality was downgraded last year in August. Moody's stated poor governance and management practices as the cause of the downgrade. According to Moody's Mangaung has missed debt service payments on two loans worth more than fifty million rand combined. Guest: Karen Heese, an economist at Municipal...

Higher Education Minister, Blade Nzimande says there is no need for the national shutdown at different higher learning institutions. The shutdown follows a breakdown in talks between the department, the South African Union of Students - SAUS, Student Representative Council (SRC) presidents and secretary-generals of South African public universities. Nzimande says a decision was taken to allow retu...

Dr Mark Lutter, who is the founder and executive director of the Charter Cities Institute joins us to discuss the objectives of the upcoming inaugural Charter Cities Conference which is due to take place in March this year. The Charter Cities Institute has already embarked on a journey to develop partnerships with governments around the world to making Charter Cities a reality. Charter Cities Inst...

Tomorrow, the Institute of Race Relations will be delivering to Parliament the names of over 200 000 South Africans who oppose expropriation of land without compensation. The institute says government must be aware that there is a groundswell of opposition to the policy of Expropriation Without Compensation. Guest: Hermann Pretorius, Campaigns Manager at the Institute of Race Relations

Gauteng Cooperative Governance MEC, Lebogang Maile, has provide reasons on his decision to rescind the suspension of two DA Councillors - saying it was a taken after he received legal advice from senior counsel. The former speaker of the City of Johannesburg, Councillor Vasco da Gama, and Tshwane's current speaker, Katlego Mathebe, were suspended - for three and six months respectively without pay...

Why is the petrol price forecast dropping in February? The Automobile Association has revised its earlier fuel price estimations for February by predicting an all-round decrease from next week Tuesday. Guest: Layton Beared - Spokesperson for Automobile Association (AA)