The National Pulse

South Africa has been criticised previously for taking an ambiguous position in defining the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine. This despite President Cyril Ramaphosa always arguing that our country’s non-aligned position puts it in a prime position to help bring about a peace deal with Russia. However though, today’s working visit by Zelenskyy focused on strengthening bilate...

The State IT Agency released a statement earlier today denying involvement in the procurement of overpriced laptops by Mpumalanga’s basic education department. For more on this, I am joined on the line by… GUEST: Tlali Tlali, The State IT Agency Spokesperson

The Department of Education in the Western Cape has received a record-breaking 164, 565 on-time applications for Grade R, 1 and 8 placements for next year’s school year. According to the department, this marks an increase of 12, 577 applications compared to the same period last year. Schools in the province will now consider all of the applications received to select successful applicants. F...

Earlier today, the Gauteng department of health said the City of Ekurhuleni's fire department was attending to “what looks like another fire incident” at the Tembisa Hospital. This was after the hospital's accident and emergency unit was hit by flames at the weekend. To get an update on this, I am joined on the line by… GUEST: Lerato Makola, SABC News Reporter in Tembisa

The International Monetary Fund has slashed South Africa’s 2025 growth expectations by 0.5 percentage points to 1.0%, citing the negative impact the US tariffs will have on the country’s economic growth. So how should South Africa deal with this dilemma? For more on this, we are joined by…. GUEST: Dawie Roodt, Director and Chief Economist of the Efficient Group

As the country prepares for the local government elections that are due to take place next year. Earlier today, the Electoral Commission briefed the media on the developments within the commission as well as preparations for the upcoming municipal elections. During the briefing, the commission revealed among other things that it will persist with civic democracy drives targeting young learners and...

Activists and Citizens Forum released a statement reacting to the attempted assassination of Deputy President, Paul Matshatile. According to the forum, the story of an attempted assassination on the Deputy President, Paul Matshatile, sounds like a cooked up story from within the ANC factions. For more on this, I am joined on the line by… GUEST: Dennis Bloem, Spokesperson: Activists and Citi...

South Africans in the United Kingdom will this coming weekend join Operation Watershed’s protest against gender-based violence, which will take place in Trafalgar Square, London, in solidarity with the justice for CweCwe movement. According to Operation Watershed, the planned demonstration aims to amplify the voices of the countless survivors across South Africa and the diaspora. For more on...

Tomorrow, the South African Democratic Teachers Union will march to the offices of the National Treasury, Department of Basic Education and Department of Higher Education and Training against austerity measures in public education. The union is warning that the erosion of public education funding paves way for increased privatisation of the sector. GUEST: Mugwena Maluleke

Earlier on, we played a leaked voice recording posted by the Daily News, Durban and KZN’s leading afternoon newspaper. The leaked recoding revealed how former President Jacob Zuma and current leader of the uMkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) recently rejected overtures to join the Government of National Unity and the Government of Provincial Unity (GPU) in KwaZulu-Natal. For more on this, I am join...

The ANC in the Nortehrn Cape’s 10th provincial conference is underway in Kimberley. Outgoing chair, Zamani Saul made opening remarks to officially get the conference on the way. Also happening in the Northern Cape today, the EFF in the province marched to the Premier’s office asking for the abolishment of Orania. For more on these two events, I am joined on the line by… GUEST: U...

The Vatican has confirmed that Pope Francis’s funeral will be held this Saturday. According to a short statement, the funeral liturgy in St Peter’s square will be presided by Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals. For more on this, I am joined on the line by… GUEST: Sophie Mokoena, SABC News International Editor

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expected to visit South Africa on Thursday. Chief Economist of the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa, Wandile Sihlobo says South Africa and Ukraine should look at how best they can improve agricultural relations as both countries are net exporters of agricultural products. Sihlobo joins us now to elaborate further on this….. GUEST: W...

ANC KwaZulu-Natal Provincial task team convener Jeff Radebe has taken the witness stand at the inquest into the death of former ANC President Chief Albert Luthuli. SABC News Senior reporter, Ayanda Mhlongo is joining us live from the Pietermaritzburg High Court and she will give us an update in terms of the latest developments. GUEST: Ayanda Mhlongo, SABC News Senior Reporter

Pope Francis was elected to the papacy in 2013. During his papacy, Pope Francis became the first Pope to visit Iraq, Mongolia and the United Arab Emirates. Some say he will always be remembered for having demonstrated his unshakable belief in the power of reconciliation, the importance of dialogue, and the urgency of ending violence in all its forms. For more on the life of Pope Francis, we are jo...

Floyd Shivambu, the secretary-general of uMkhonto weSizwe, made headlines over the weekend after he was in pictures and videos with self-proclaimed prophet, Shepherd Bushiri. The Justice Minister slammed Floyd’s visit and his own party, the MK Party, distanced itself from the visit claiming it does not associate with criminality. What could this mean for Floyd Shivambu’s political care...

We continue keeping an eye on what’s happening on our roads as we move to the Mpumalanga province. SABC News reporter, Motsebi Monareng was at N4 Machado Toll Plaza, one of the busiest tolls today as thousands of travellers are heading back home after the easter long weekend. Motsebi Monareng joins me on the line… GUEST: Motsebi Monareng, SABC News reporter in Mpumalanga

In conversation with Dr Vinothan Naidoo about the Government of National Unity’s state of affairs and why he thinks that it’s on the verge of collapse. Naidoo further argues that failure to overcome deeply ingrained political differences could set off a downward spiral in the country. GUEST: Dr Vinothan Naidoo, Associate Professor & Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political St...

You may have heard that late last month, Deputy President Paul Mashatile’s official car was shot at several times while driving on the N12 going home post the ANC’s NEC meeting. We understand that currently the matter is under investigation by police. For more reaction on this, we are joined by….. GUEST: Professor Bheki Mngomezulu, Political analyst from the Nelson Mandela Unive...

Following Russian President Vladimir Putin’s temporary Easter truce in the three-year conflict in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has reiterated his country’s desire to extend the truce for 30 days and has urged Russia to stop its aggression on civilian infrastructure. For more analysis on this, we are now joined by…… GUEST: Thembisa Fakude, Senior Resear...

A U.S judge has ruled that Google is illegally dominating some online advertising markets. Some are of the view that the ruling could lead to a breakup of the tech giant’s lucrative advertising business. However, they are not the only tech giants who are being subjected to legal scrutiny as Meta is being accused of having built an illegal social media monopoly by spending billions of dollars...

Toll concessionaires in South Africa are increasingly phasing out swipe payments in favour of tap-and-go and biometric authentication. This comes amid a rise in crime targeting toll gates in the country, with instances of card cloning and hijacking being among the most prevalent in these locations. For more on this, I am joined by… GUEST: Richard Frost, Head of Technology and Innovation at...

Last week, Home Affairs Minister, Dr. Leon Schreiber, unveiled a fleet of drones and 40 body-worn cameras to be deployed by the Border Management Authority to improve border security and curb corruption. With traffic volumes increasing on the N4 towards the Lebombo border and many other port of entries, Dr. Mike Masiapato, Commissioner of the Border Management Authority, joins me on the line to gi...

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) has publicly released its investigation report on fraudulent roadworthy certificates, saying it cannot be allowed to gather dust while lives are lost. In March this year, the civic action group revealed several instances where vehicles failed roadworthy inspections in Gauteng, only to be issued with a certificate by testing stations in Limpopo or the North...

Putco will operate nearly 500 buses for the Zion Christian Church’s Easter pilgrimage to Moria this weekend, marking the return of one of South Africa’s largest religious gatherings after a five-year break due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Jack Sekwaila, PUTCO Operations Executive, joins me on the line to give us an update on the number of Putco busses dispatched, any reported incidents as...