The National Pulse

IFP Mangosuthu Buthelezi is expected to cast his vote in Ulundi and people in Ekujukuleni refused to vote in the last election. According to the spokesperson for police in KZN, Brigadier Jay Naicker various parts of KwaZulu-Natal communities blockaded roads today. For an update on voting progress in the province we are joined by SABC Reporter, Vusi Makhosini. Guest: Vusi Makhosini- SABC Reporter,...

Due to the closure of more mines in the Gold fields, the unemployment rate has gone up significantly in Northern Free State. The Coloured community in Bronville, Welkom threatened to boycott the general elections as they say they are side-lined by the ANC government. An alleged plan by Harmony Mine to evacuate and demolish 146 houses at Kaalkuil location just outside Odendaalsrus in the Free State...

With general elections currently underway, all eyes will be on South Africa today – but in order for elections to express the will of the electorate, they must be free and fair – so how much then does it take to prepare for free and fair elections? Guest: Advocate Pansy Tlakula, former Chairperson of the Independent Electoral Commission

How do young people see South Africa’s 25 years of Freedom and Democracy and how much do they understand about the power that they possess to change the future direction of this country? Guest: Khaya Sithole, Political and Financial analyst

We revisit the issue of King Buyelekhaya Dalindyebo, asking, does he deserve to be pardoned or not? News that President Cyril Ramaphosa is considering an application to pardon him has caused a stir. Dalindyebo is currently serving a 12-year sentence in prison for arson, assault, kidnapping and defeating the ends of justice. Guest: Nkosi Advocate Mwelo Nonkonyana, Chairperson of the Eastern Cape Ho...

Police in KwaZulu-Natal are confident that the General Elections will be incident free following service delivery protests in parts of the province yesterday. Guest: Brigadier Jay Naicker- KZN Police Spokesperson

Residents in Vuwani remain divided about voting in the general elections tomorrow. The pro-Makhado task team has threatened that there will be no elections taking place in the area as they feel that the current government has failed them. To look at some of the safety measures that have been put in place in Limpopo we are joined by Brigadier Motlafela Mojapelo who is the Limpopo Police spokesperso...

More police are expected to be deployed at Rammolotsi in Viljoenskroon and other areas in the Free State where sporadic service delivery protests have emerged. This after a clinic and a hall were torched as the community continue to demand better service delivery. Guest: Thabiso Radebe- SABC Reporter in Free State

The Portfolio Committee on Higher Education and Training has called on the research community at universities to be sensitive in how they carry out academic research. This after the recent study by Stellenbosch University scholars on the intellectual abilities of coloured women elicited widespread anger and contestation in academia. Guest: Ms Connie September, Parliament’s Chairperson of the Portf...

Mhlathuze Water has issued an ultimatum to its employees who embarked on an illegal strike to immediately return to work or face consequences. According to Mhlathuze Water spokesperson, Siyabonga Maphumulo, employees contracted to work on plants supplying water to the City of Mhlathuze Local Municipality had submitted a letter to Mhlathuze Water demanding a meeting with management on Monday to add...

Has President Felix Tshisekedi really met expectations after his first 100 days in power? According to Victor Kgomoeswana, the DRC President has not done so badly. Guest: Victor Kgomoeswana is author of Africa is Open for Business

According to Prince Mashele, the graves of freedom fighters are there to remind us that voting in SA is a life-and-death matter. Guest: Prince Mashele, Political analyst

The issue of child abandonment is one that has plagued South Africa, with mothers constantly throwing away their babies in unsafe territories. Hannah’s Arms, a Non-Governmental Organisation based in Port Elizabeth has developed a safe drop off box for unwanted babies. Mothers can safely give up their babies instead of discarding them in plastic bags and drains. The box has been built into a wall a...

According to Agri SA, the bottleneck to register SSEGs restricts farmers who have already invested in generation infrastructure. Without registration, SSEGs are not currently allowed to generate electricity, preventing them from earning a return on their investment. Guest: Nicol Jansen, Agri SA Chairman: Economics and Trade Centre of Excellence

More than 700,000 eligible voters who have qualified for a special vote started voting today. The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) said that the two days of special voting will be used as a dry run to make sure it is fully prepared for Wednesday. How is the process thus far and have there been any reported incidences?

According to political analyst, Professor Lesiba Teffo, coalition governments work in Gauteng due to political literacy and education in the province. In other provinces, political illiteracy is what is giving coalitions a bad reputation, which could improve if more is invested in educating the electorate. He was speaking at the SABC’s election round-table panel discussion at the IEC National Resu...

Chinese ambassador to South Africa talks about his country’s backing of SA’s plans to become a locomotive and production base for African industrialization and modernization. Guest: His Excellency Songtian Lin, Chinese ambassador to South Africa

The Equality Court has found that the Black First Land First (BLF) political slogan on land is hate speech and has therefore ordered the party to issue a written apology to all South Africans within a month. Guest: Buang Jones, spokesperson of the SA Human Rights Commission

Today we celebrate SA jazz legend Musa Manzini who made headlines last year when he was filmed playing guitar mid-brain surgery. Guest on the line (Indonesia, Jakarta) Musa Manzini, Jazz artist

The next episode of Special Assignment is about a 4-year long investigation into alleged elite capture of land reform process in eMalahleni, Mpumalanga. The department of rural development is allegedly in cahoots with politically connected individuals and corporations who have allegedly diverted funds from the very people for whom land reform should benefit. Guest: Hazel Friedman, Special Assignme...

According to a report by the Rural Health Advocacy Project, communities comprise about 40% of the country’s population of 57.8 million but, historically, these areas are the last to be considered when it comes to health provision by national, provincial and local authorities. This means that the 20 million people in rural areas are generally out of sight, so out of mind. Guest: Russell Rensburg, D...

The National Association of South African Workers (NASA) will continue to down tools at train stations if Passenger Rail Agency (Prasa) refuses to meet its demands. Yesterday outsourced cleaning staff picketed at the Johannesburg city centre train station and threatened to shut down the transport hub. For more on this story we are joined by Guest: Mpho Morolane, General Secretary of the National A...

Yesterday, police Minister Bheki Cele announced that KwaZulu-Natal will be monitored as a high risk area during next week's election. Earlier on today Cele met with police officials in Durban to officially deploy members to monitor hotspots in KwaZulu-Natal. Guest: Kwanele Ncalane, Spokesperson for the MEC of Community Safety and Liaison in KZN

About few hours ago, the Gauteng Provincial Government officially opened a state of the art R44 million Provincial Disaster Management Centre in Midrand. According to MEC Mamabolo, the building will also house disaster operation centre with monitors that allow COGTA to have a full view of activities that take place during disasters. Guest: Jacob Mamabolo, MEC for Infrastructure Development in Gaut...

The Department of Mineral Resources had earlier ordered Sibanye-Stillwater to close its Rusternburg shaft following the incident of miners who were trapped for as long as ten hours on Tuesday. The mine reported today that it has resumed operations after it was certified safe for normal hoisting operations. Spokesperson for Sibanye Stillwater, James Welosted joins us now on the line… Guest: James W...