A recipient of 150 million Rands in Covid-19 relief fund, appeared in court on charges of bribery of a UIF official. Thabo Abel Simbini, a businessman from Skinkwater, in Hammanskraal near Pretoria, made a brief appearance in Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on charges of corruption. This follows Simbini's arrest when he was caught red-handed trying to bribe an official from the Department of Employment and Labour. But how did Simbini's company Impossible Solutions, manage to reportedly defraud the UIF COVID 19 Temporary Employee/Employer Relief Scheme of R150m? To answer this we're joined on the line by....
GUEST: Sipho Ngwema, NPA National Spokesperson

Today marks the deadline for individual taxpayers who are required to file an income return via the online platforms, namely the SARS MobiApp or eFiling. So what this means basically is that walk-in submissions as you may recall closed last month and the online system that allows you to accept or edit and submit your tax returns is expected to close today. Joining us to discuss today’s deadline is…….
Guest: Nathaniel Mabethwa, SARS Regional Director

World News today: Talks between Britain and the European Union resume in Brussels today as the two sides urgently try to agree a post Brexit trade deal. Under the terms of the Brexit transition, a deal has to be not only agreed by the end of December but ratified by parliaments in both Britain and the EU.
Guest: Brooks Spector is the Associate Editor at Daily Maverick

Action SA leader Herman Mashaba has finally agreed to change his party's logo. Mashaba says the majority of his members have voted for him to change his party logo as directed by the Independent Electoral Commission. He joins us now to elaborate further
Guest: Herman Mashaba, leader of ActionSA

Agri SA is appealing to the broader public to make their voices heard against farm attacks and crime in general. According to them, farm attacks are again on the increase, especially in the Free State and they say this is unacceptable.

Guest: Christo van der Rheede, Agri SA Executive Director

ANC secretary-general, Ace Magashule, has been granted bail of 200-thousand-rand by the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court in the Free State. He will be back in court on February the 19th next year. Magashule is charged with corruption which relates to the irregular awarding of the multi-million-rand asbestos roofing and assessment tender in 2014. Some of you have taken to Twitter to ask if Magashule can afford the bail money and how the magistrate reached this figure of 200-thousand-rand. So how is bail determined? When determining bail for an accused, what does the magistrate consider? To answer this we’re now joined on the line by…

GUEST: Vanessa Da Silva Faria, a senior associate at Ulrich Roux & Associates

How can we promote positive contact between locals and migrants and reduced anti-migrant sentiment in South Africa? We speak to Dr Steven Gordon, a Senior research specialist, at the Human Sciences Research Council, HSRC about their recent study that Study sheds light on how South Africa can best tackle prejudice against migrants

GUEST: Dr Steven Gordon, Senior research specialist, Human Sciences Research Council, HSRC

About few hours ago, Police Minister Bheki Cele announced the second-quarter crime statistics for South Africa, from 1 July to 30 September. According to him, murder figures have decreased by 6.2%, with a total of 5107 people killed. This is a 339 reduction, compared to the same period last year. Cele also cautioned South Africans against irresponsible consumption of alcohol, saying it was one of the leading causes of violent crime.

Guest: Lirandzu Themba, Spokesperson for the Minister of Police, General Bheki Cele

Still on the Magashule story. Earlier on today, ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule handed himself over to the Hawks ahead of his appearance in the Bloemfontein Magistrate's Court in the Free State where he was expected to face fraud and corruption charges after the Hawks issued an arrest warrant on Tuesday. Magashule's supporters who have converged at the Bloemfontein Magistrate's court have called for ANC president, Cyril Ramaphosa to step down, even going as far as burning T-shirts with his face on them. Some leaders of the ANC who are at the court have spoken out against what is alleged to be the use of state organs to settle political scores. What is really happening within the ranks of the ANC – is this the battle for the soul of the party and what about corruption charges against Ace – why can’t we see them for what they are? Joining us to unpack today’s events is…

Guest: Professor Sipho Seepe, Political analyst & Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of Zululand

There are currently more than 150 vaccines being developed around the world to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and their German lab partner BioNTech, this week announced that they will have a vaccine by end-December and manage to produce 1.3 billion doses in early 2021. While it is reported that several countries have already entered into deals with the manufacturers for access to the vaccine, what South Africans want to know is not only when a vaccine will be available locally, but whether it will be affordable. Paul Cox from health insurance provider, EssentialMED believes that a vaccine should be attainable in South Africa in about 12 to 18 months. He joins us on the line...

GUEST: Paul Cox, Managing Director at the Essential Group of Companies, which includes EssentialMED