Can South Africa use tragedy to pivot to better following the deaths of 14 soldiers in the DRC peacekeeping mission? Commander-in-Chief, President Cyril Ramaphosa said at the repatriation ceremony and memorial service that "they lost their lives in the name of duty, in pursuit of peace and in the cause of silencing the guns across our beloved continent, Africa." To what extent will this be factored-in, in Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana's Budget Speech on Wednesday?   To discuss this we have the South African National Defence Union (SANDU) National Secretary, Advocate Pikkie Greeff. Also joining us is Bongani Mahlangu who is an economics and governance analyst. John Stupart is the Director at African Defence Review. And Thabang Bogopa is an independent policing and crime researcher. The digital audience also weighs in.

'We are witnessing the rise of nationalism and protectionism, the pursuit of narrow interests and the decline of common cause. This is the world that we, as a developing economy, must now navigate. But we are not daunted. We will not be deterred. We are a resilient people. We will not be bullied.' It's an excerpt from President Ramaphosa's State of the Nation address. Days later, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order stating that the U.S. shall not provide aid or assistance to South Africa And now the Head of US Government Efficiency, Elon Musk, has threatened to sanction EFF leader, Julius Malema. What's the reaction to this? To unpack this issue, we have Chrisphin Phiri, DIRCO Spokesperson and Patrick Lukusa Kadima an International Law Expert.... We also have Afriforum's CEO Kallie Kriel, and Professor Christopher Gevers from Wits University School of Law, as well as Yvette Raphael the co-founder of the Advocacy for prevention of HIV/Aids, who is joining us via Teams alongside the Digital Audience.

The situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Tense, volatile, hard to predict. Sadly, fourteen South African soldiers have fallen. To what extent will it dominate the upcoming State of the Nation address? How will recent developments change the tone, tenor and sentiment of President Cyril Ramaphosa's 8th SONA? To unpack this issue and others, we have Prof Kedibone Phago (Director of the School of Government Studies at the North West University) and Bophelo Seleke (Independent Economics Analyst). The Digital Audience also weigh in.

The Expropriation Act. Met with mixed reaction. It repeals the pre-democratic Expropriation Act of 1975. It sets out how organs of the State may expropriate land in the public interest for varied reasons. So basically, it outlines how expropriation can be done and on what basis. Local, provincial and national authorities will use this legislation to expropriate land in the public that seeks to, among others, promote inclusivity and access to natural resources. Some have welcomed the act. Some believe it doesn't go far enough. Others feel it goes too far! Is the Expropriation Act on solid or shaky ground? Could it LAND up in the courts? Our guests tonight are representing the DA, the EFF, the PAC and Rise Mzansi.

Children having children. That's the shocking reality South Africa had to face over the festive season when children as young as 12 and 13 years old were recorded as new mothers in hospitals across the country. This prompted some premiers in provinces like Limpopo and the North West to institute probes of statutory rape into some of the fathers. Does this new technique signal a turning point in the fight against child and teenage pregnancy? To discuss this, we are joined by the MEC for Social Development in the Eastern Cape, Bukiwe Fanta. Centre for Child Law Director at the University of Pretoria, Karabo Azoh and Javu Baloyi, Commission for Gender Equality spokesperson. The digital audience also weighs in.

In this episode, we take stock of some of the major news stories that received widespread attention throughout the year.

This week we are looking at ways to stay afloat during the festive season and beyond. One of the mechanisms that are popular in South Africa is stokvels, with over 11 million people taking part in 800 thousand stokvel groups. Is this way of group savings your best option? To discuss this we are joined by John Manyike who is the Group Head for Financial Education at Old Mutual and Busisiwe Skenjana from the Stokvel Academy. The Digital Audience made up of Stokvel members, also weighs in.

There have been recent reports of Eskom infrastructure theft in SA. A collaborative operation involving Eskom Gauteng Distribution Security, the South African Police Service, City Power, and Eskom-contracted security personnel uncovered a large-scale illegal electricity operation during a raid at three houses located on a farm, in Leeupoort in Gauteng. Eskom says intelligence investigations uncovered that stolen electrical equipment was being used to supply electricity illegally to nearby informal settlements in exchange for payment. The elderly suspect appeared in court on a charge of tampering with essential infrastructure worth 90-thousand-rand, theft of electricity worth 6 million rand and theft of meter boxes worth over 400 thousand rand. What sort of dent are arrests like this making in reducing incidents of sabotage and criminality affecting Eskom?