The National Pulse

The High Court in Johannesburg has dismissed former Crime Intelligence boss, Richard Mdluli and his co-accused, Mthembeni Mthunzi's, applications for leave to appeal their convictions and sentences. Mdluli and Mthunzi were each sentenced to five years imprisonment earlier today by High court Judge, Ratha Mokgoatlheng. The case relates to the 1999 murder of Oupa Ramogibe - a taxi driver who alleged...

The Electoral Commission has written to ACTIONSA informing the party that its application to be registered as a political party has been rejected. ACTIONSA was informed in writing yesterday of the failure of its application based on the similarity of its symbol or distinguishing mark to that of another party already registered as well as the fact that their logo includes the South African national...

World News: Chadian politician Moussa Faki Mahamat is running unopposed for re-election as chairman of the African Union Commission and this has provoked outrage from observers of the African Union, with some saying his run is undemocratic – even going as far as accusing the AU of failing to represent the needs of the continent’s people. But how did he perform during his first term and why so much...

According to the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey that was released by Stats SA earlier on today. The South African economy shed 2,2 million jobs in the second quarter of 2020. This unprecedented change is the largest quarter 1 to quarter 2 decline since the survey began in 2008 Guest: Risenga Maluleke, Statistician-General

Last week, you may recall that the chief of the South African National Defence Force General Solly Shoke warned serving members not to get involved in political party affairs. Shoke was reacting to a planned meeting where senior members of the military had been invited to discuss undisclosed issues affecting the ANC. We're joined now by Lieutenant General Maomela Motau who is a Retired SANDF Gener...

Former Mpumalanga MEC for Finance and Economic Development has reportedly been arrested for allegedly raping his two daughters. The accused we understand is also a member of the PEC in the province. GUEST: Sasekani Manzini, ANC Mpumalanga Provincial Spokesperson

Earlier on today, the office of the Public Protector hosted a webinar focusing on issues affecting the use of official languages, including those of the Khoi and San communities, where matters of good governance are concerned. Recently, during an interaction with members of the public, the Public Protector was met with allegations of prejudicial use of official languages in the public administrati...

Is South Africa prone to earthquakes and what is it that caused the latest tremor in the Western Cape and should we be worried? The Council for Geoscience has confirmed that an earthquake did occur on Saturday night in the Western Cape at nineteen minutes to nine. According to the Council, the earthquake registered six point two on the Richter scale but no tsunami warning has been issued by the In...

Human Trafficking: Deputy Minister of Justice, Mr John Jeffrey joins us to outline the objectives of the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act. The Act outlines legal prescripts for arresting and prosecution of perpetrators of Trafficking In Persons as well as required support services for the victims. I’m sure you heard in the news that Northern Cape serious organised crime and i...

The number of new Covid-19 infections has been steadily declining in South Africa. Positive news is that our country has dropped to 10th position on the Worldometers ranking of countries affected by the coronavirus pandemic. What is it that we have been doing right as a nation? Guest: Professor Mosa Moshabela, from UKZN’s Nelson R. Mandela School of Medicine

Members of the Umkhonto we Sizwe Military Veterans Association in KwaZulu-Natal have made their way to the ANC offices in Durban. They are demanding to engage with ANC leaders but are being prevented from entering the office by police officers. A disgruntled group has threatened to shut down the province, calling on government to offer them more support. Some members are carrying placards saying t...

The Free Lungisa Campaign has expressed optimism over taking an application to the Constitutional Court - for the case against Nelson Mandela Bay ANC politician, Andile Lungisa. Lungisa was granted bail of 10-thousand-rand this morning - after his legal team argued that they are awaiting a decision for his application in the Constitutional Court - for leave to appeal his two year prison sentence....

Early this month, the Cannabis for Private Purposes Bill was tabled in Parliament, with public comments period closing on the 9th of October, which is just around the corner. It’s almost two years now since the landmark Constitutional Court judgment legalising the private use of cannabis - but not much progress has been made in terms of meeting the role player’s expectations. Why is this and why t...

Are we as South Africans accepting of the Afrikaner heritage? Are we allowing events of our turbulent past define or create a negative perception of all Afrikaners and their heritage? Over the years we have seen our government trying to transform the country and all its institutions in a manner which reflects the country's demographics. Through this initiative we have seen the names of some street...

Did you know that during the last weekend of August 2020, Jamie Marais became the only known person to cycle a vertical ascent of 9,000 metres, the equivalent elevation of Mount Everest (8,845m), in a Big 5 game reserve over 36 hours? Jamie chose to put himself through extreme discomfort and great personal risk to raise much needed funds to protect endangered wildlife and feed communities affected...

Who would stand to win or lose if South Africa were to hold all elections on the same day? This discussions around synchronizing all the elections was sparked by ANC and EFF, who want all elections to be held on the same day, presumably in 2024. For more on this, we're joined on the line by Professor Dirk Kotze, a professor of political studies at Unisa, who says for parties participating simultan...

We hear from Operation Hunger on why they think the rate of malnutrition is increasing in South Africa, particularly now as we begin to enjoy the benefits of Level 1 lockdown. The organisation has witnessed the desperate measures taken by the vulnerable in society, such as eating dog or cat food, in a bid to survive. Guest: Sandy Bukula, interim CEO at Operation Hunger

The South African National Defence Force has issued a statement warning its members not to get involved in political party affairs. According to their statement, General Shoke has reliably learnt that some senior military members of the defence force will be or are being invited to attend a covert meeting that will discuss political party matters of the ruling party. Guest: Sphiwe Dlamini, Spokesp...

The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (Denosa) in KwaZulu-Natal say nurses have been given eviction notices to make room for returning Cuban-trained doctors. The Union says their members living at the Wentworth and King Edward Hospitals' residences, have been told to move out before the first of October GUEST: Mandla Shabangu, provincial secretary for the Democratic Nursing Organisat...

On World News today we establish the facts behind the death of elephants in Botswana. Government officials in our neighbouring country say the deaths of hundreds of elephants in recent months were caused by toxins produced by cyanobacteria in water. However many questions remain unanswered as to why is this bacteria killing the elephants only and not other animals. The latest from the country is t...

Today marks the deadline for motorists to renew vehicle licence disks that expired between March and May this year. Road Traffic Management has urged motorists to comply and avoid penalties and they have also warned that those who fail to renew their licences by end of business today will incur additional costs for late renewal Guest: Simon Zwane, Spokesperson of the RTMC

The Nigerian Union SA (Nusa) say a planned march to the Nigerian embassy in Pretoria this week, will probably spark xenophobic violence. The organisation, Action for Change, which also supports the hashtag "Put South Africans First", is planning to march to the Nigerian embassy against crime, on Wednesday. GUEST: Nandisa Gschwari, Founding member of Action for Change GUEST: Collins Thomas Mbo, Hea...

As we commemorate World Alzheimer’s Day - we highlight the importance of talking about dementia and also raise awareness in terms of how it impacts the daily lives of people affected by the condition. Currently, more than 50-million people globally live with dementia, a figure expected to treble in the next 30 years Guest: Dr Sihle Nhlabathi, Member of the South African Society of Psychiatrists (S...

World News: On World News today we ask: Is Mozambique capable of defeating terrorism? In recent weeks the Mozambican government denied that terrorists have effective control over the town and port of Mocimboa da Praia but this doesn’t take away the fact that the country continues to face a growing threat of terrorism that could give terror groups a foothold to expand in the region Guest: Izak Khom...

In conversation with ACDP Member of Parliament, Steve Swart on the importance of government introducing a legislation that will prevent an admission of guilt fine from incurring a criminal record. According to him, the ministry of justice and correctional services is currently considering a draft legislative proposal, in the form of the bill that would revise the current admission of guilt fine Gu...