News 11:00

BULLETIN 14 Mei 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Electoral Commission says three ballot papers will not hinder the counting process
# ActionSA is disappointed that Ramaphosa is going to sign the Health Insurance Bill
# And a member of the UN security staff is killed in Gaza

# The Electoral Commission has reassured South Africans that voting on three ballot papers in the general elections will not hinder the counting of results. Citizens will cast their votes on the 29th of this month. They will have three ballots to make their mark on, a national, a regional for National Assembly representation, and a provincial for provincial legislatures. The IEC says while the additional ballot will not delay counting after the elections, it may slow down the choosing process due to the additional vote to cast.

# ActionSA is disappointed that president Cyril Ramaphosa ignored pleas to not sign the National Health Insurance Bill into law. The president will sign the bill at the Union Buildings in Pretoria tomorrow. ActionSA’s Tebogo Mathibane says while the NHI is well-intentioned to address healthcare inequality in South Africa, in its current form it is opening the health system to corruption as seen during the Covid-19 pandemic:

# The George Municipality says it has implemented strict verification processes for the family members of the deceased or missing from last week’s building collapse. The death toll now stands at 32 while 20 construction workers are still unaccounted for. The municipality’s spokesperson, Chantel Edwards-Klose, says they now have adequate numbers of fluent practitioners in Chewa, Portuguese, and Shona on site to assist survivors and their families:

# A staff member of the United Nations’ Department of Safety and Security has been killed and another injured, when their vehicle was struck as they travelled to the European Hospital in Rafah, Gaza. The Israeli military says an initial inquiry indicated the vehicle was struck in an active combat zone. UN Secretary-General António Guterres’s deputy spokesperson, Farhan Haq, says a full investigation into this tragic incident must be conducted:

# Cricket: Retired England bowler Stuart Broad says there is a pressing need for a new generation of bowlers to bed into their roles in good time for the next Ashes tour in 2025 and ’26. This comes as England’s all-time leading wicket-taker, James Anderson, will call time on his career after the first Test against the West Indies at Lord’s in July. Broad says with Anderson departing, the team’s bowling attack risks being exposed in the short term, not least by a West Indies team that recently beat Australia.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-42-cents and the euro at 19-rand-87-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-13-cents and Bitcoin trades at 61-thousand-939-dollars-58-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-338-dollars-91-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 83-dollars-35-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….