The National Pulse

With less than 24 hours until the Budget is unveiled, many South Africans are wondering if tomorrow’s occasion will take place as scheduled, given what transpired two weeks ago. The controversy surrounding the VAT hike remains a thorny issue and has sparked a heated debate across the country. The last time we checked, the DA was against any possible VAT increase - so what’s their attit...

We tell you more about this wonderful Community Wolf initiative that has somehow succeeded in transforming WhatsApp into a free, anonymous crime reporting tool. This is a brilliant initiative, considering our country’s high crime levels and the challenge of under reporting. For more on this, we are joined by…. GUEST: Nick Mills, Co-founder of Community Wolf

Former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has been arrested on an International Criminal Court warrant, and he is accused of crimes against humanity. Human rights groups have welcomed his arrest, saying thousands of Filipinos were executed during his war on drugs campaign as president. For more analysis on this, we are joined by….. GUEST: Salman Khan, Independent geopolitical analyst for...

The production team received an email from an ex offender who asked us to get in touch with the department of correctional services and get clarification on how one actually qualifies for parole, especially when it comes to those serving a life sentence. I am joined on the line by… GUEST: Singabakho Nxumalo, Department of Correctional Services Spokesperson  

The official opposition, the MK Party, marched in Pretoria earlier today to the National Treasury and SARS offices opposing recent suggestions of a VAT increase. Leaders and supporters of the party said increasing taxes will result in a high cost of living. For more on this, I am joined on the line by… GUEST: Dr. Thanti Mthanti, MK Party member

The Deeds Office in Johannesburg has come to a halt with more than 5 000 property transfer files unattended as staff protest over unsafe working conditions in the Marble Towers building in the CBD. For the past eight days, no work has been done in a standoff over the office building’s conditions. Katherine Gascoigne, an executive of the Joburg Attorneys Association joins me on the line to sh...

A shooting incident has occurred in Amaoti, KwaZulu-Natal. Reports indicate that angry community members are shutting down certain areas, demanding urgent action from authorities to address crime. GUEST: Nonjabulo Mntungwa Makamu, SABC News Reporter

In conversation with SA Ambassador to South Sudan about the country’s fragile security situation. We understand that fighting in recent days has threatened an already fragile peace agreement between President Salva Kirr and Vice-President Riek Machar that was signed in 2018. Worried about the ongoing situation, the UN Human Rights Commission for South Sudan has warned of an alarming regressi...

With rapid advancements in Artificial Intelligence, we examine the role of South Africa’s insurance sector in empowering professionals with necessary skills to ensure the industry remains globally competitive and aligned with the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR). Next week, the Insurance Sector Education and Training Authority will host its first ever Insurance Skills Indaba that will disc...

Given the ongoing Budget impasse, Neil Coleman from the Institute for Economic Justice is calling on Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to resign for misleading the country. This as he argues that the SRD grant should not be used to justify a 2% VAT increase.   GUEST: Neil Coleman, Senior Policy Specialist at the Institute for Economic Justice

Today we are joined by someone who is passionate about football and who will always be remembered as someone who transformed female football in this country, Fran Hilton-Smith. She will tell us more about her journey, both as a coach and football administrator, as we salute her for her tremendous contribution to the beautiful game of football. GUEST: Fran Hilton-Smith, former Banyana Banyana head...

  Yesterday I had a conversation with OUTA CEO, Wayne Duvenage about some of the suggestions the organisation had for government to deal with the budget shortfall besides implementing a 2% VAT. One of the things OUTA suggests is taxing the taxi industry. This is what Wayne Duvenage said about taxis paying tax… GUEST: Bafana Magagula – Chief strategic manager at SANTACO

As tomorrow marks International Women’s Day. We tell you more about this wonderful initiative driven by Wikimedia, titled “Knowledge is Human, Knowledge is Her” campaign that is aimed at enhancing gender equity on Wikipedia and beyond. This campaign celebrates contributors from Africa and beyond who have helped write, edit and source articles about notable women on Wikipedia. To...

As peace efforts to end the Russia-Ukraine war continue. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has revealed that Ukrainian and American teams have resumed work in preparation for the US-Ukraine talks that are scheduled to take place in Saudi Arabia next week. Interestingly Zelenskyy will also visit South Africa next month. Some of you may recall that in 2023 South Africa led a delegation of seve...

We are back to load shedding again as Eskom announces that stage 3 load shedding will be implemented from today until Monday next week. The power utility says their decision comes after a loss of 2700MW in the past 14 hours. But what are some of the major contributing factors to this? For more on this, we are joined by….. GUEST: Craig Morkel, Chair of the Gas Economy Leadership Team at the...

Earlier on, I spoke to Wayne Duvenage, OUTA CEO, about some of the interesting proposals the organisation came up with to potentially resolve the country’s budget impasse without squeezing taxpayers further. I’ll discuss some of these with my next guest and maybe get an idea on what he, Xhanti Payi, thinks needs to be done to deal with this budget impasse. GUEST: Xhanti Payi, Economist

The Concerned Makhanda Residents will meet at the Makhanda police station at 12 noon tomorrow to travel to Vergenoeg, one of the town's working class and impoverished communities, which has been without water for weeks. For more on this, I am joined on the line by… GUEST: Archbishop Nkosinathi Ngesi

Kevin Allan, MD of Municipal IQ, joins me on the line to react to some of the comments the President made about the City of Joburg and Gauteng Metros… GUEST: Kevin Allan, MD of Municipal IQ

In the next four days, the Electoral Commission will host a three-day e-voting conference in Cape Town to start a public conversation about the prospect of electronic voting, during South African elections. To outline some of the key issues that are going to be discussed during this important meeting is….. GUEST: Mr Masego Sheburi, IEC’s Deputy Chief Electoral Officer  

As trade tensions rise between China and the United States of America. Beijing has made it clear that it will do whatever is necessary to firmly safeguard its legitimate interests. This after revealing that they are going to impose additional tariffs of up to 15% on some US goods from the 10th of this month. The retaliatory measures were announced soon after U.S tariffs took effect on Chinese good...

OUTA has come up with some interesting proposals that are aimed at resolving the country’s budget impasse without squeezing taxpayers further. This as they believe that there is little left to extract from taxpayers and any increase of VAT must be an absolute last resort. To unpack some of these proposals, we are joined by ….. GUEST: Wayne Duvenage, OUTA CEO

The MMC for Public Safety in the City of Joburg, Dr. Mgcini Tshwaku launched Operation Nomakanjani Manje Namhlanje. The operation focused on Undocumented Foreigners and Crime Prevention in the Inner City of Johannesburg. GUEST: Dr. Mgcini Tshwaku, MMC for Public Safety in the City of Joburg

The death toll in the Free State horror crash between a truck and a bus stood at 10 earlier today. The crash took place in the early hours of this morning on the N6, approximately 15 km south of Reddersburg towards Smithfield. To get an update on this, I am joined on the line by… GUEST: Sipho Towa, District Manager for Free State EMS Control Centre

We continue with the story. Joining me on the line now is… GUEST: Jean-Pierre Smith, Western Cape Safety & Security MMC

You might have seen the video on social media but if you haven’t, there’s a video making rounds showing what seems like a forceful arrest of a minibus taxi driver. This footage has dramatically escalated tensions between the taxi industry and authorities in Cape Town. Mandla Hermanus, the South African National Taxi Council chairperson in the Western Cape joins me on the line to tell u...