The National Pulse

In conversation with Gideon Tshisimba who hails from Matidza village in Limpopo. Tshisimba has invented a money counting machine named, Verti Note Counter. His machine is programmed to work with over 40 different currencies and it has already been endorsed by the Central Bank of China. This is indeed another remarkable South African story. GUEST: Gideon Tshisimba, Inventor of Verti Note Counter

    Earlier on, I spoke to Febe Potgieter, ANC NEC Member, about the party’s readiness for the January 8th statement taking place in Cape Town. During a press briefing today, the party announced that it is going to institute disciplinary proceedings against Tony Yengeni and Obed Bapela for bringing the party into disrepute. Political Analyst from the University of the North West, P...

Flight overbooking is a common strategy employed by airlines worldwide. This practice involves selling more tickets than there are available seats on an aircraft, with the rationale that some passengers will not show up for their flights. However, this strategy raises ethical questions and can lead to significant inconvenience for travellers. To help us understand this strategy a bit more, I am jo...

  The Road Freight Association noted a statement from Minister of Transport, Barbara Creecy approving the publishing of the Transnet Network Statement for the rail network in South Africa. The Network Statement facilitates open access to South Africa’s rail network by third-party operators. Gavin Kelly, CEO of the Road Freight Association, joins me on the line to tell us what this means...

China is experiencing a surge in infections of a respiratory virus, leading to reports of overcrowded hospitals, new monitoring measures and public concerns about an outbreak. Should we be concerned? To help us understand what exactly HMPV is, I am joined on the line by… GUEST: Professor Tulio de Oliveira, Director of the Centre for Epidemic Response and Innovation (CERI) at Stellenbosch Un...

Let’s now tell you more about what is happening in the North West province where patients have been moved from the General De Le Rey Hospital in Lichtenburg, due to flooding at the institution. According to health officials the hospital will remain closed because more rain is expected this week. Fore more on this, we are joined by…. GUEST: Tshegofatso Mothibedi - Spokesperson for the...

The South African Weather Service has warned that South Africans must prepare for disruptive rainfall. The forecast weather conditions are anticipated to lead to the flooding of roads, bridges, and settlements, posing a significant risk to infrastructure and property. For more on this, let’s speak to…….   GUEST: Mnikeli Ndabambi, Meteorologist who is also an Executive at t...

As the ANC prepares for its annual January 8th statement which outlines the organisation’s programme for the year. The party has announced that it is going to institute disciplinary proceedings against Tony Yengeni and Obed Bapela for bringing the party into disrepute. Yengeni has been a critic of ANC President Cyril Ramaphosa while Bapela on the other hand misrepresented the party’s p...

We unpack Wang Yi’s visit to Africa as Beijing continues to make its presence felt on the continent. Yi’s visit to the continent marks the 35th consecutive year that a Chinese Foreign Minister makes Africa the first overseas trip of the new year. But why is China so interested in Africa? GUEST: Dr Emmanuel Matambo, Research Director at the University of Johannesburg’s Centre for...

Today we are joined by two exciting guests who are passionate about environmental issues, and they are Riaan Manser who needs no introduction really and L’chelle Bester, who was one of the top 5 learners - selected from a competitive pool of candidates from across Africa to join Manser on his annual environmental expedition to Antarctica. The trip was part of Manser’s ongoing efforts t...

Five emerging farmers in Odendaalsrus have accused land reform and rural development officials in the Free State of corruption. They say they’ve been living under the threat of eviction from the Melkkraal farm since 2019. Free State Premier, MaQueen Letsoha-Mathae, says the province has undertaken to ensure that farmers never experience such traumatic events again. The Premier joins me on th...

Civic movement Save South Africa says Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Velenkosini Hlabisa should reconsider the retrenchment of workers aged 55 and above. The movement’s Tebogo Mashilompane joins me on the line to share some of the reasons they believe the Minister should reconsider… GUEST: Tebogo Mashilompane, Director at Save South Africa

North West police say more illegal miners are continuing to emerge from underground at different disused shafts in Stilfontein. Government says it needs R7.8 million to bring all the illegal miners to the surface. Several illegal miners have been arrested so far.. Human Rights Lawyer, Richard Spoor, has views on the situation in Stilfontein… GUEST: Richard Spoor, Human Rights Lawyer

Political Analyst, Tara Roos, wrote an interesting opinion piece for news 24 about how the NPA's failure, is a looming threat to South Africa's democracy. Tara Roos joins me on the line to tell us about this… GUEST: Tara Roos, Political Analyst

Police Minister Senzo Mchunu has instructed Police Commissioner Fanie Masemola to disband the Police Task Team handling political killings in KwaZulu-Natal and across the country. Mchunu argues that the unit has failed to add any value to policing in South Africa hence it is no longer required. Some of you may recall that the task team was established in 2019 after the release of the Moerane Commi...

The MK Party has warned party members who recently staged a protest outside former president Jacob Zuma’s home in Nkandla not to promote ill discipline within the ranks of the organisation. This after a group of disgruntled MK Party members from KwaZulu-Natal demanded the reinstatement of three provincial executive committee members who were recently suspended by the party’s national h...

Today we celebrate Professor Robert Wilkinson for his contribution in the battle against tuberculosis. On Monday, King Charles III honoured Professor Wilkinson with the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his outstanding contributions to global health. Surely this is a proud moment for South Africa.   GUEST: Professor Robert Wilkinson, Director of the Centre for Infectious Diseases Research...

The Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution says it will make a submission to Parliament this year on allowing impeached individuals to become parliamentarians. Parliament’s constitutional review committee will be faced with considering what many legal commentators believe to be a legal anomaly on impeachments. CASAC's executive director, Lawson Naidoo joins me on the l...

Commissioner of the Border Management Authority, Dr Michael Masiapato will be visiting the Beitbridge border post to oversee operations between today and Sunday as the volume of south bound traffic peaks to mark the end of the festive season. We have the commissioner on the line to tell us more about today’s visit… GUEST: Dr. Michael Masiapato, Commissioner of the Border Management&nb...

The highly anticipated Tweede Nuwe Jaar minstrels parade will hit the streets in Cape Town this Saturday. This year, the Kaapse Klopse Karnival Association expects more than 80,000 spectators for the annual cultural celebration. Kaapse Klopse Karnival Association director, Muneeb Gambeno, joins me on the line to tell us more about this weekend’s expectations… GUEST: Muneeb Gambeno, Ka...

Back in November 2024, Judgment was reserved in the DA's court case challenging the city of Joburg's adoption of the vip protection policy. The party had asked the court to declare the VIP policy unlawful, invalid, and unconstitutional. Judgment was finally delivered today in what is being reported as the first Johannesburg High Court judgment for 2025. To tell us more about the judgment, I am joi...

Joburg Water has confirmed that some Johannesburg residents will unfortunately continue to experience water restrictions as the entity continues to manage its water operations. Some of you may recall that Joburg Water has been battling to provide water since Rand Water reduced supply to the entity due to overconsumption. For more clarification on this, we are joined by…. GUEST: Nombuso Shab...

Chairperson of Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa), Songezo Zibi shares thoughts on the recent Supreme Court of Appeal ruling on government contracts. In summary, the appeal court ruled that government accounting officers must ensure that departments do not overspend their budgets.   GUEST: Songezo Zibi, Scopa Chairperson

Ivory Coast has announced that French troops will leave the West African nation this month, which is not surprising considering similar announcements from West African countries, most recently Chad and Senegal. Also in recent years, there has been a sharp rise in criticism of France in its former African colonies, with many accusing the French of neocolonialist business practices and patronising a...

Today we celebrate another teen star, Tanya Jakeni who has made her school proud again after being awarded the titles of “Best Speaker and Best Researcher of the Annual International Public Speaking Competition” that recently took place in the U.S in Texas. In October last year, Tanya represented South Africa in another international debating competition that took place in Germany and...