Funeral parlours across the country are facing increasing pressure as the number of covid-19 related deaths spike. The industry says its employees are working long hours and that they now have to fetch the deceased from wards and not hospital mortuaries as has been standard practice for years, because of lack of space. The funeral service industry has called on the public to take safety precautions. To tell us more about the challenges they are facing is…

Guest: Muzi Hlengwa-President of the National Funeral Practitioners Association of South Africa.

As you’ve heard over the weekend that Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi was not happy with the Independent Examination Board for filing court papers compelling government to fund its private business. The IEB says it can't afford to pay for the assessment services offered by the Council for Quality Assurance in General and Further Education and Training – UMALUSI. Let’s hear now why the MEC is not happy with them and whether he will be opposing them in court as we welcome…

Guest: Panyaza Lesufi - Gauteng MEC for Education

The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) says it is hopeful that the curfew and the ban on alcohol sales over the festive season, will limit the annual holiday carnage on the roads. Holiday makers have begun making their way home as traffic volumes have started building up over the weekend. Let’s talk now about how different things were this under the current Covid-19 rules. The assumption is that there were less accidents on our roads and to find out, we are joined on the line by….

Guest: Simon Zwane – Spokesperson for the Road Traffic Management Corporation

Usually around this time of the year paramedics and law enforcement agencies have their hands full dealing with all sorts of incidents caused by unruliness. But this time around it seems like the curfew helped as some hospitals and medical staff experienced an incident-free celebration period and to get a sense of how things were on the ground, we are joined on the line by….

GUEST: Robert Mulaudzi - Spokesperson of the City of Johannesburg Emergency Management Services

As we close one of the hardest years in our lifetime, we speak to those who are in the forefront of taking care of the poor. Often those of us who are lucky enough to have jobs or have an income forget those who have nothing. We turn to leave it to charities to worry about the poor. We forget that charities do need us to contribute in different ways so that they can be able to feed those in need. We talk now to an NGO about the challenges they face while reaching out and how we as members of the public can get involved. Also look at the impact that Covid-19 had on them….

Guest: Qari Ziyaad Patel – Trustee and International Projects Co-ordinator of NGO Al-Imdaad Foundation Poverty Relief and Disaster Relief

We talk now to Molefe Pooe, author of a book entitled Money Talks. This is one of those topics that is best needed around this time as we look forward to the new year. His book touches in issues of how your environment limits your thinking and how to manage your money among other issues.

Guest: Molefe Pooe – Author of Money Talks

Let’s tell you now about exiting news for our music industry after seeing how so our musicians took the world by storm. Jerusalema was no doubt a super hit with many nations. This time around the South African Music Week is collaborating with world-respected Canadian Music Week, in 2021.This will see South Africa and Canada come together to explore ways in which to maximise how music, technology and business to forge a new path for success for all musicians. To tell us more on this and the long-term benefits for both countries, also why Canada,

Guest: Michael Moeti - Founder and CEO of South African Music Week

The Department of Basic Education has announced that it will be visiting exam marking centres around the country to make sure that they comply with Covid-19 regulations. So far 1659 teachers have died from Covid-19.

Guest: Basil Manual-Executive Director for the National Teachers’ organisation of SA (NAPTOSA)

2020 has no doubt been a very heavy year for all of us. It was a year of great loss for many with lives lost. We speak now to Metropolitan who says that if we don’t speak about it, we won’t learn from it. If we don’t own it, we can’t grow from it. Mental health is a major challenge which many people don’t really talk about.

GUEST: Baatseba Mothoa - a healthcare practitioner, specialising as a Psychologist - Clinical, in Pretoria

South Africa will only receive the Covid-19 vaccine during the second quarter of 2021. President Cyril Ramaphosa revealed during his address of the nation on Monday about the country's response to the current surge in coronavirus infections. Ramaphosa also announced the decision to move the country back to adjusted level 3 lockdown as the country surpassed 1 million cumulative Covid-19 infections. The address follows meetings held by the president and his cabinet as part of the National Coronavirus Command Council on Sunday after two record increases of over 14,000 cases last Thursday and Friday. Our reporter Nomalizo Mandela has more…

Guest: Lucky Ntimane – Convenor of the Liquor Traders Association