The National Pulse

As we continue to observe International Women’s Month. Today we chat to Maha Jouini, a tech policy expert and one of the leading voices in AI policy, data ethics and digital sovereignty in Francophone Africa. She will tell us more about how best can the African continent use AI practices in a responsible manner. GUEST: Maha Jouini, Fellow Researcher at the Center for AI and Digital Policy

Today our esteemed guest is Nonkululeko Gobodo, the first black woman in South Africa to qualify as a chartered accountant. Nonkululeko is an astute leader who has truly lived an exemplary life, her career has been the subject of business studies by the Business School of the University of the Witwatersrand, Nelson Mandela University and Lincoln University in New Zealand. As a solid businesswoman,...

Three officials of the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) have been arrested in Joburg central on Friday in connection with a multi-million rand fraud case. SASSA Head of Communications, Paseka Letsatsi joins me on the line to share more details on this issue… GUEST: Paseka Letsatsi, SASSA Head of Communication

The IEC has given due notice, in writing, to the 192 political parties of its intention to cancel their registration. These parties have until 24 March 2025 to make representations. For more on this, I am joined on the line by... GUEST: Masego Sheburi, IEC’s Deputy Chief Electoral Officer

MK Party has pulled off a big upset, defeating the ANC in a tough by-election in Ward 2 of Ndaleni in Richmond, KwaZulu-Natal. The ward was considered one of the ANC’s strongest support base in the province. In 2021, the ANC won the ward by more than 80% but this time around the Jacob Zuma-led MK Party secured 54% of the vote, while the ANC obtained 39%. So how did the MK Party pull this one...

Following the US envoy’s visit to Moscow to present the American proposal to end the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict that has been going on for the past three years. Russian President Vladimir Putin has voiced his support for the proposal but has warned that the ceasefire must be aimed at a long-lasting peace and that it mu;st address the root causes of the conflict. Moscow has also set out...

Let’s now talk about the impact of coding education and how it can bridge the digital divide, and why it is crucial for preparing kids for future careers. Joining us for this important conversation is Noluvuyo Gqadu, the founder of CodeNgwana, an organisation dedicated to empowering African learners with digital skills and computational thinking. GUEST: Noluvuyo Gqadu, founder of CodeNgwana

A few hours ago, the Southern African Development Community extraordinary summit terminated the mandate of the SADC Mission in the DRC (SAMIDRC) and directed the phased withdrawal of troops from the Democratic Republic of Congo, nearly two months after more than a dozen soldiers were killed fighting M23 rebels. To get a reaction on this, I am joined on the line by… GUEST: Darren Olivier, Di...

Dr Paul Bayliss , Council Member, Iziko Museums of South Africa.

Umngeni-Uthukela Water has decided to reduce water supply to the King Cetshwayo municipality due to a R600-million debt owed by the municipality to the Water Board. The last payment received by Umgeni-uThukela Water from the municipality was over two years ago. Joining us to explain as to what led to this decision is….. GUEST: Thami Mkhwanazi, Chief Financial Officer at UMngeni-uThukela Wat...

Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, has announced that 93% of identified pit toilets in public schools across South Africa have now been eradicated through the Sanitation Appropriate for Education (SAFE) initiative. Mahfouz Raffee, Equal Education’s head of research joins me on the line to react to this… GUEST: Mahfouz Raffee, Equal Education’s head of research

Today marks World Kidney Day and it’s commemorated under the theme “Are Your Kidneys Ok? Detect Early, Protect Kidney Health”. This year’s campaign focuses more on early detection of kidney disease. Joining us to outline the objectives of this year’s theme is…..   GUEST: Sizwe Lungelo Hadebe, World Kidney Day Champion and Ambassador of the Renal Care Socie...

Guest: Jabulani Sithole

The Southern African Development Community has decided to terminate the mandate of its troops deployment in the Democratic Republic of Congo. You may recall that the bloc deployed its mission in Congo about two years ago to help the Congolese army fight rebel groups. The proposed withdrawal will happen in phases. But why pull out all of a sudden and what really informed this decision? To react to...

The ANC Caucus in parliament released a statement earlier today stating that they are looking forward to hearing the budget speech as the caucus was confident, Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana, will table a budget that is balanced. Question is, did the speech live up to the ANC caucus’ expectations? To answer this question, I am joined on the line by… GUEST: Mdumiseni Ntuli, ANC Chi...

The EFF has made it clear that the party will not only reject a potential 2% VAT increase but the party has also made it a point to remind us about the Money Bills Amendment Procedure and Related Matters Act 2009 which empowers MPs to not only reject the proposed fiscal framework and revenue composition, but amend it as well. So, what does the party make of the delivered budget? For more on this,...

Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana, delivered his highly anticipated Budget Speech 2025. After the was no agreement with some of the GNU partners in the initial budget that had a 2% VAT increase, what do GNU partners make of the budget delivered today? For more on this, I am joined on the line by…   GUEST: Karabo Khakhau, DA National Spokesperson

The African Christian Democratic Party, ACDP, strongly opposed any increase in VAT ahead of the 2025 Budget Speech. What do they make of the 0.5% announced earlier today by the Finance Minister? Steve Swart, ACDP MP and Chief Whip, joins me on the line to share the party’s views…   GUEST: Steve Swart, ACDP MP and Chief Whip

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana has announced that government is going to increase the Value Added Tax by half a percentage point. Another interesting point that was mentioned by the minister is that the institutional structure of local government will be reviewed through the updating of the white paper of local government, which essentially means that the review process will examine how to appr...

The Covid19 Social Relief of Distress grant will be extended by a year to end of March next year. Also the old age and disability grants will be increased by R130. Nearly 28 million beneficiaries will access social grants. For more on this, we are joined by……   GUEST: Rachel Bukasa, Executive Director of the Black Sash

We are expecting to finally hear from Finance Minister, Enoch Godongwana tomorrow as he’ll finally be delivering his budget speech in the National Assembly. The proposed 2% VAT increase is still a NO from many organisations and political parties. So, what can we expect to cut tomorrow? To help us answer this question, I am joined on the line by… GUEST: Avias Ngwenya, Vice President &n...

Sport, arts and culture minister Gayton McKenzie has defended his department's recent job advertisement that gave preference to specific racial groups. The ad for the position of deputy director of administrative support and coordination in McKenzie's office stated preference would be given to coloured males, Indian males, white males, coloured females and Indian females. GUEST: Kagiso Lebethe - S...

The SA Medical Technology Industry Association is once again urging government to prioritise its response to provincial health departments’ delayed payment to med-tech suppliers and systemic budgeting and transactional inefficiencies that are disrupting health services. For more on this, I am joined on the line by… GUEST: Scott de Oliveira, SAMED – the SA Medical Technology Indu...

16 people have been killed in a horror crash on the R21 northbound before the OR Tambo International Airport off ramp in the City of Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, this morning. To get an update on this, I am joined on the line by… GUEST: Andile Mngwevu, MMC for Roads and Transport in the City of Ekurhuleni Spokesperson

The Electoral Commission of South Africa is currently hosting the E-Voting Conference in Cape Town to facilitate an informed national dialogue on the feasibility, sustainability, and policy implications of electronic voting in the country. Andile Mbanjwa, SABC News Reporter, is in Cape Town and joins me on the line to share what came out of day 2 of the conference… GUEST: Andile Mbanjwa, SA...