The National Pulse

ACDP Chief Whip Steve Swart has called for Parliament's Home Affairs Portfolio Committee chairperson Bongani Bongo to step down pending the outcome of his corruption case. The Hawks arrested Bongo on allegations that he tried to bribe then evidence leader Advocate Ntuthuzelo Vanara to frustrate the Parliamentary inquiry into Eskom. Swart says while Bongo should be considered innocent until proved...

Government says it has failed to reduce plastic litter despite introducing legislation to reduce plastic waste in 2003. The legislation increased the thickness of plastic to be used and charged consumers a levy when buying plastic bags. However, this did not help in reducing the use of harmful plastic products and litter. The department of Environmental Affairs is currently holding a two-day plast...

Transnet has concluded a 10 years take-or-pay transportation of coal agreement with Ledjadja Coal (Ledjadja) to haul 3.6 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) of export coal from the Boikarabelo Coal Mine, which is situated in the Waterberg coalfield of Limpopo in Lephalale to the Richards Bay Terminal Grindrod (RBTG) in KwaZulu-Natal. The mine has the objective of loading its first coal to the port fro...

A 24-year-old medical student who practiced at the Mamelodi Hospital without the necessary qualifications has been caught. According to the Gauteng Department of Health, the man was able to dupe the hospital by submitting fake documents purporting to be from the University of KwaZulu-Natal. For more on this story we are joined by Guest: Kwara Kekana- Gauteng health department spokesperson

Yesterday, a 14-year-old girl died after allegedly being stabbed in the chest at Rosedale Intermediate School in Upington, Northern Cape. According to police in the province the incident occurred just after 7am, when she was allegedly stabbed by a 16-year-old girl. To find out how the department is dealing with this incident we are joined by … Guest: Geoffrey van der Merwe, Media Liaison officer f...

World News today: The Zimbabwe Hospital Doctors Association (ZHDA) says that it is shocked by scenes emerging from Mbare where women are giving birth in an unregistered and unsafe home. According to the association these stoneage and medieval traditional medical practices are a clear result of a failing health care system that needs to be urgently attended to. The ZHDA is calling for urgent financ...

Several towns in the Amathole District Municipality in the Eastern Cape have hit day zero. Eight other dams are below 50% full. Major dams have also dried up and the district is seeking over R900-million for short term relief. Guest: Nonceba Madikizela-Vuso – Spokesperson for the Amathole District Municipality

Workers affiliated with the National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (NEHAWU) downed tools at the Witbank Hospital over safety concerns. This follows the incident involving a patient who was killed at the hospital over the weekend. The Premier met with the workers in the morning Guest: Welcome Mnisi- National Education, Health and Allied Workers' Union (NEHAWU) Mpumalanga Provincial Se...

Yesterday the Institute of Race Relations held a media briefing regarding the country’s finances. Renowned economist Mike Schussler shared some shocking figures, noting that South Africa was powering headlong towards a fiscal cliff and that a policy of prescribed assets was increasingly likely. Guest: Marius Roodt

Next week Monday, the South Gauteng High Court will hear a hate speech case against 12 people who allegedly made hateful comments on social media against Chinese communities. The speech being challenged includes statements that Chinese people are “not human”, are “vile and barbaric”, and that South Africa should “get rid” of them. Guest: Francis Lai Hong, Deputy Chairperson of the Chinese Associat...

If you have used alcohol or any other drug in the last 12 months, Global Drug Survey is asking for your help as they firmly believe that your expertise and experience as someone who use alcohol and other drugs can be used to inform the creation of better drug policy. This year, their survey focuses on some of the major public health and scientific issues that have been making waves over the last 1...

On World News today we ask, is there a political will to resolve the increasingly violent protests in Hong Kong? Hong Kong has seen months of non-stop unrest which shows no sign of stopping. Recently, about 1,100 people were arrested in one day as Hong Kong police officers found more than 3,900 petrol bombs at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Guest: Professor John Stanfield, Director of the In...

There have been mixed reactions to Andre de Ruyter’s appointment as head of Eskom. However Business Leadership SA has described his appointment as an important step to stabilising the management, operations and finances of the utility. Joining us to elaborate further is…. Guest: Busi Mavuso, CEO of Business Leadership South Africa

Police in KwaZulu Natal are investigating the death of 2 people who were found stabbed on the sand dunes near Suncoast beach Durban. For more on this story we are joined by.. Guest: Brigadier Jay Naicker – Spokesperson for police in Kwazulu-Natal

The deputy chief justice also suggested that perhaps people like Reverend Chikane could come up with recommendations on how this issue could be resolved… For a political analysis on this we are joined by… Guest: Ongama Mtimka: political analyst based at Nelson Mandela University

Human Sciences Research Council survey finds that sport remains a tool for nation-building and social cohesion in South Africa. The survey was conducted over four days post the Springboks victory in this year’s Rugby World Cup that was held in Japan. Guest: Dr Saahier Parker, Senior Research Manager at Human Sciences Research Council

The department of home affairs has opened the application process for the new Lesotho Exemption Permit (LEP) and according to them, the new LEP will help to regularise the stay of Lesotho nationals who are already in South Africa. Guest: Siya Qoza, Spokesperson for the Minister of Home Affairs

Mozambique's Constitutional Court has dismissed Renamo's application to have the results of its recent general election annulled. The court rejected the application on grounds that the party did not submit enough evidence to sustain its complaint. Guest on the line (Mozambique): Helio Guiliche, political analyst based in Mozambique

Are languages treated equally in South Africa? Today, the CRL Rights Commission is hosting hearings that will assist South Africa in ensuring that all eleven official languages are treated the same. The hearings are also meant to assess measures that are in place to regulate and monitor the use of official languages. Guest: Professor Luka David Mosoma, Chairperson of the CRL Commission

Today on Both Sides of the story, we look at the City of Tshwane’s bus strike. Members of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa) have embarked on a strike at the Tshwane Rapid Transit (TRT), also known as the Areyeng Bus Service. Numsa is demanding that all workers, especially 64 fixed-term contractors must receive the same benefits and conditions as those who are permanent. Gu...

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

The Social Security Agency (SASSA) has warned grant beneficiaries to be vigilant of misleading information ahead of the festive season. According to SASSA vulnerable members of society are prone to becoming targets to scammers and criminals during this period of the year Guest: Paseka Letsatsi- SASSA Spokesperson

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Western Cape has welcomed Energy and Mineral Resources minister, Gwede Mantashe’s decision to agree to the province’s request to explore options for sourcing energy directly from Independent Power Producers. If its request is granted this would mean that the Western Cape would not depend on Eskom for electricity which could free the province from load shedding....

The National Institute for Occupational Health has launched a “national surveillance project” to find out what causes the increase in mortality from specific diseases within occupation groups. Guest: Dr Nisha Naicker, Head of Epidemiology and surveillance section

AfriForum reacts to NPA’s decision not to prosecute Julius Malema: Last week Friday, the NPA wrote to AfriForum informing the organisation that it would not be prosecuting Malema in relation to the On Point Engineering tender awarded by the Limpopo department of roads and transport. However, AfriForum is making representations to the NPA to persuade them to reconsider their decision. Guest: Kallie...