The National Pulse

The University of Johannesburg (UJ) in partnership with the Dr Richard Maponya Institute of Skills and Entrepreneurship Development will host the 6th Annual Entrepreneurship Conference from 4 – 5 December 2018 at the Imbizo Hall of the UJ Soweto Campus. To be held under the theme, “High-Tech Urban Agribusiness and Green Economy is Big Business: The Future of Gauteng Township Entrepreneurship Reima...

Drivers from Uber and Taxify – who have likened their working conditions to slavery – today said they’ll down tools and have warned users to seek alternative transport. Drivers were also concerned about their safety, largely because of congestion on the app they use to raise the alarm. The said the talks between them and their companies have reached a stalemate as their pleas have fallen on deaf e...

Police officials say a manhunt is under way for two suspects seen hijacking and killing a man in Welkom, Free State on Saturday. A 54-year-old man was shot at close range while sitting in his car, in the parking lot of the Commando Shopping Centre. guest: Steven thakeng - police spokesperson

Patients at the Ramokonopi community health centre in Ekurhuleni have been left unattended after nurses withdrew their labour. Nurses' union - DENOSA - says the withdrawal of its members is over safety concerns. DENOSA claims one of its members - a midwife was allegedly physically and verbally assaulted by a patient's family at the weekend. It's not clear at this stage what led to the attack. DENO...

Truckers Association of South Africa today launched its Youth Desk with an aim to bring more young people into the industry. The TASA was launched in July 2017 with the aim of representing owner drivers, small transport providers to hardware and furniture stores as well as emerging cargo carriers for fuel, steel, gas, coal, sugar, and chemicals. guest: Honourable Deputy Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga...

Today, the 9th of November is known as World Adoption Day and meant to to raise awareness and celebrate adoption worldwide. It is said the number of adoptions in South Africa (and around the world) is steadily declining. What are some of the challenges regarding adoption in South Africa and what needs to be done? Guest : Lithalethemba Stwayi - Attorney at the Centre for Child Law at the University...

Scores of SABC staffers are picketing outside the public broadcasters offices country-wide. They are protesting against the planned sacking of over two-thousand permanent and freelance employees. Management says the move is necessitated by the current financial crisis facing the corporation. guest: Aubrey Tshabalala - Communications Workers Union General Secretary

As you know that yesterday the IEC announced that elections will take place in May next year. And I guess, the campaign season will soon start. Former public protector Thuli Madonsela has urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to sign the Political Party Funding Bill into law as a “major priority” so voters can know where parties get their money before the crucial 2019 general election. She said the bill...

Former Gauteng police commissioner Lieutenant-General Deliwe de Lange together with three other senior officers appeared in the Johannesburg Specialised Commercial Crimes Court yesterday on fraud and corruption charges. The five were arrested by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid). The arrests relate to procurement irregularities relating to emergency [blue] lights amounting to...

Mental illness among female inmates in SA is rife but the psychological services provided by the government are inadequate and failing to meet the mental healthcare needs of these inmates. This is according to a study conducted by the Commission for Gender Equality in 2017 which found that mental health problems are prevalent in female Correctional Centres and that female inmates face challenges w...

Mangaung Metro, has started to intensify the disconnection of water services for defaulting customers. These include business,provincial government, parastatals and domestic consumers. Spokesperson, Qondile Khedama says the disconnection comes as a last resort to collect revenue after customers failed to pay or make arrangements for their accounts. He says final letters of demand have been issued...

It’s been reported that that the Northern Cape majority of the province’s hospitals and clinics are unable to cope with multitudes of patients at overcrowded facilities, while the shortage of ambulances has exacerbated the situation at all hospitals. Guest: Fufe Makatong Northern Cape MEC for Health

Limpopo Premier Stan Mathabatha says his province is lobbying for the VBS Mutual Bank to be saved. The Premier said today that his provincial government was conducting a forensic investigation into this scandal. Guest: Stan Mathabatha - Premier of Limpopo

It’s been reported that that the Northern Cape majority of the province’s hospitals and clinics are unable to cope with multitudes of patients at overcrowded facilities, while the shortage of ambulances has exacerbated the situation at all hospitals. Guest: Isak Fritz -DA health spokesperson, Northern Cape.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) in Nelson Mandela Bay is expected to table a motion of no confidence in Executive Mayor Mongameli Bobani next month. This after allegations reported in The Herald newspaper, that Bobani received hundreds of thousands of rand in an allegedly corrupt relationship with a Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality Integrated Public Transport System (IPTS) service provider. Nqaba Bhan...

The South Africa Investment Conference took place this past Friday and pledges were made. About R290 billions of those and we took it live on show as the President was closing it. President Ramaphosa said investment announcements worth nearly R290 billion had been made and this is on top of the R400 billion that governments of various countries had pledged in the past six months. With all these in...

Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba says he was contacted by someone demanding R5 million for a video which was intercepted from his cellphone shortly after he was appointed finance minister. Gigaba’s spokesperson on this matter Vuyo Mkhize said Gigaba was a victim of a smear campaign to discredit him politically. What does this mean for Minister Malusi Gigaba’s reputation and can this have an imp...

The latest Ibrahim Index of African Governance is warning of serious consequences for the continent as leaders are failing to create jobs for young people. The report goes on to say that the Africa’s overall GDP has risen nearly 40% over the past decade but the continent’s average score for sustainable economic opportunity has increased just 1%. What does all of this mean? Guest: Leandre Banon, Ca...

President Cyril Ramaphosa is edging closer to his investment goal of $100bn over the next five years. At the inaugural investment conference today various companies announced their investment into SA’s economy. Bonang Mohale - CEO of Business Leadership South Africa

A story in the Eastern Cape that is that twenty-five of the Eastern Cape’s 39 municipal chief financial officers do not meet the minimum requirements for their posts, according to finance MEC Oscar Mabuyane. Mabuyane said according to the Municipal Regulations on Minimum Competency, these CFOs should be fired if they failed to attain the relevant qualifications within 18 months of their appointmen...

Finance minister Tito Mboweni said South Africa must swiftly slash government borrowing if it is to avoid a debt trap that would force it to seek help from the International Monetary Fund. South Africa is mired in recession, and faces revenue shortfalls, ballooning debt, cash-strapped state firms and a rising public wage bill. At what point would South Africa approach IMF? Prof. Raymond Parsons -...

Eighteen babies are said to have died from malnutrition in five months in Ingquza Hill. This is part of the OR Tambo District, in the Eastern Cape. This reportedly happened between April and September. To find out what some of the reasons are behind this and also what the local government is doing about it. Guest: Dr. Phumza Dyantyi – EC MEC for Social Development

It is said the The plastic bag levy has raised something close to R2-billion, yet somehow, South Africa still faces a plastic pollution crisis. It is also said that of the nearly R2-billion that has been raised through the plastic supermarket bag levy, only R919.6-million has been allocated to recycling efforts. And Since 2004, the recycling sector in South Africa has functioned in a sluggish mann...

Outa says it was not too late for the government to correct its wrong decision on e-tolls. Outa chairperson Wayne Duvenhage said: “It’s the most expensive, biggest failure of e-tolling systems in the world, where the average collection cost is below ten percent. The Gauteng one is over 90 percent and that’s due to the complete defiance by the public.” guest: Ofentse Mokoena - Transport economist –...

StatsSA has released Tourism and Migration stats which indicate that there was a 2.9% increase in tourism. It further reveals that tourists from outside the SADC region showed an 8.4% increase which exceeds SADC tourists. What should we read into this? Unathi Sonwabile Henana, Lecturer Department of Tourism Management at Tshwane University of Technology