The National Pulse

Striking workers in Matjhabeng Municipality in Welkom in the Free State have disregarded a court interdict which instructed them to end their action and return to work. There is a total shut down in the municipality as workers who are affiliated to trade unions SAMWU and IMATU prepare to march to their working place to hand over a memorandum of grievances to COGTA MEC Oupa Khoabane. They have been...

Residents of Stutterheim have welcomed the removal of Mayor Pateka Qaba in Amahlathi Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape. Yesterday, the ANC recalled Qaba following weeks of violent protests in Stutterheim. The protests began in mid-October when the disgruntled residents mainly youths took to the streets and burnt four municipal buildings including a clinic. They were complaining about alleged...

Zuma, who addressed his supporters after appearing in the High Court in Pietermaritzburg re-iteriated that his corruption case should be quashed because it has lasted more than a decade. Zuma delivered his message in IsiZulu in which he said his rights had been violated. To find out how the events unfolded both inside and outside the court Guest: Nonkululeko Hlophe

The ConCourt has prohibited corporal punishment in detention settings in 1995 and in 2000, corporal punishment was banned in schools. As it stands, parents are allowed to hit their children with the justification of corporal punishment being a form of discipline. The Constitutional Court is set to rule whether this practice should continue to be allowed or whether it needs to be prohibited. guest:...

The Constitutional Court today heard arguments regarding the constitutionality of the use of corporal punishment in the home. The ConCourt has prohibited corporal punishment in detention settings in 1995 and in 2000, corporal punishment was banned in schools. As it stands, parents are allowed to hit their children with the justification of corporal punishment being a form of discipline. The Consti...

Eskom has announced that Stage one of rotational load-shedding which started from 12:00 midday to Ten-O'clock this evening today. The power utility says this is due to a number of unplanned outages. For the latest we are now joined on the line by Eskom's national spokesperson

We’re just spoken about this story in PMB on young people addicted to Whoonga and how it has become so dangerous in a local taxi rank… guest: Shaun Shelley - Projects, Policy, Advocacy & Human Rights Manager at TBHIV Care

ESKOM acting COO Jan Oberholzer has warned that controlled power cuts, known as load-shedding, could become an increasing reality due to the utility's coal shortages and planned plant maintenance. Oberholzer says its system remained very constrained this week and will remain so until around the middle of next year. To give us a break down of the briefing, guest: Amina Accram - SABC reporter

The Environmental Assessment Practitioners Association of South Africa yesterday launched its Online Registration Process for Environmental Assessment Practitioners. The association says that this is the first legally-based compulsory EAP Register in the world based on available evidence. What does this mean not just for the practitioners, but for the public? guest: Snowy Makhudu – Chairperson of...

motorist can expect a massive reduction per litre in the price of petrol, with diesel coming down by an estimated R1,40, and illuminating paraffin dropping by R1.28. this is according to the automobile association . the association was commenting on unaudited month-end fuel price data released by the central energy fund guest: layton Beard - spokesperson of AA

Forensic Pathology Service workers in KwaZulu-Natal are said to be threatening a full-blown strike and total shutdown of all mortuaries across the province. The workers earlier embarked on a go-slow as they are reportedly upset with the department for “nullifying” a bargaining council agreement that is the basis of their action. To try and make sense on this, guest: Edwin Mkhize - cosatu provincia...

The commission of state capture is currently taking place here in Johannesburg and as I was watching this morning the cross examination of former GCIS CEO Mzwanele Manyi… a bit of drama over there. …asking Adv. Maleka to recuse himself. Guest: SABC reporter Mzwanele Mbeje was there

Education should provide a way out of the poverty trap, but the ability of the South African education system to act as a reliable conduit for children out of poverty has been limited. Various international studies attest to the poor quality of our education system. Under such circumstances, blaming the failure of the system on inadequate financial resources is probably the most natural thing to d...

Opposition leaders in Zimbabwe say they will launch a new attempt this week to put pressure on the president, Emmerson Mnangagwa, and his ruling Zanu-PF party to share power. Nelson Chamisa, the leader of the Movement for Democratic Change, said he would call for a “transitional authority” to “move the country forward”. Chamisa reiterated his rejection of the results in presidential polls held fou...

The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union is calling on the SAPS to utilize its employee assistance programme to deal with member suicides. This follows yesterday’s shooting at the Durban Magistrate’s Court where a woman was allegedly shot dead by her estranged policeman husband during divorce proceedings. Guest: Richard Mamabolo - Spokesperson for police union, Popcru

Locals claim that the killings were sparked by an allegation that Sotho-speaking people had been stealing from Xhosa-speaking people at the settlement. To find out what is going on here, guest: Brigadier Sabata Mokgwabone - North West police spokesperson

EFF leader Julius Malema says he has laid criminal charges against Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan because he knows his rights. Malema has laid five criminal charges against Gordhan and two against his daughter, Anisha Gordhan. Gordhan is facing charges of contravening the intelligence act, money laundering, fraud and perjury while his daughter is facing fraud and corruption charges. Ma...

The majority of South African small businesses generate revenue of less than R200,000 annually and nearly half of SMEs employ between two to five employees, according to the SME Landscape Report An Assessment of South Africa’s SME Landscape: Challenges, Opportunities, Risks & Next Steps’ 2018/2019. The report was recently launched by SME South Africa . It says the report offers a comprehensive ass...

Eastern Cape ANC Member of the Legislature Christian Martin spent this past weekend protesting in front the Eastern Cape Premier’s office, sleeping in a coffin. They say it was an attempt to highlight the gang violence in Port Elizabeth’s northern areas. He was joined in the protest by Khoisan chiefs Crawford Fraser and Cora Hennings. Guest: Christian Martin Activist and an MPL

There's five days left before NSFAS funding applications for next year CLOSE. NSFAS says 32 billion rand has been set aside to assist financially struggling students. The Student Financial Aid scheme says it has also managed to clear the payments backlog for the 2017/18 financial year. To find out what the public should know, we are joined on the line by... guest: Kagisho Mamabolo, - NSFAS spokesp...

Two people have died following a shooting incident at the Durban Magistrate Court. Sources say that a police officer allegedly shot his estranged wife and her boyfriend before turning the gun on himself. The two died at the scene and the officer was seriously injured. It's believed that the deceased and her husband were having marital problems. To get an understanding of what happened, we are join...

The South African Police Union says it has approached the Labour Court to reverse the deployment of the anti-gang unit in the Cape Flats, arguing it was not informed of the Police Ministry's decision to establish the unit. Last month Police Minister, Bheki Cele, announced that the permanent anti-gang unit in Cape Town, consisting of 95 members, will help fight the scourge of drugs and gang-related...

Masilonyana Municipality workers have downed tools demanding that administrator Steve Kau to step down. Union SAMWU says since the municipality was put under administration due to its bad financial situation, Kau has failed to come up with a financial recovery plan. It says service delivery has also been compromised. Guest: SABC reporter in the Free State Thabiso Radebe

Following yesterday's attack on doctors. Two doctors were shot and seriously wounded when five heavily armed suspects broke into the doctors' residence. Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi and Police Minister Bheki Cele visited Letaba Hospital in Limpopo today. The wife of one of the doctors. a nurse, was also assaulted with a sharp object. Our reporter Shibu Mamokgere is covering the story and she n...

The Game Store at Greenacres Mall has been closed indefinitely for the safety of customers. This after chaotic scenes outside the store as customers pushed their way to get inside the store for Black Friday bargains. Police have been called in to assist and calm the situation. Guest: Mcebisi Ngqina – SABC journalist in Port Elizabeth