News 06:00

BULLETIN 25 July 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa calls for unity and trust in democracy
# Sections of the National Health Insurance Act are declared unconstitutional
# And Olympic Games: The Blitzboks are in danger of an early exit after losses to Ireland and New Zealand

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for renewed unity and trust in democracy amidst prevailing challenges. Speaking during the Presidency’s budget vote debate, he acknowledged widespread public disillusionment and frustration, noting a decline in voter participation and increasing extremism. As Members of Parliament prepare to vote on the budget today, Ramaphosa urged political leaders and citizens to work together to restore faith in democracy and achieve the constitutional promise of dignity and equality:

# Trade union Solidarity welcomes the ruling by the High Court in Pretoria declaring sections 36 to 40 of the National Health Insurance Act unconstitutional. The court ruled that it is unlawful for the government to restrict where doctors can practice, invalidating the NHI’s controversial certificates of need. The Department of Health has been ordered to cover the union’s legal costs. Solidarity’s Dirk Hermann vowed a continued legal fight against the act’s centralisation of healthcare funds:

# The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa has reinstated axed group CEO Zolani Matthews after a protracted legal battle in the Labour Court. Earlier this month, the court dismissed Prasa’s bid to set aside the reinstatement of Matthews. He was fired in 2021 for holding dual citizenship, which the state-owned entity said was a material breach that he did not disclose. It remains unclear what will happen to current CEO Hishaam Emeran’s contract. Prasa says it is now engaging Matthews to discuss the implications of the judgment.

# The bail applications of two people accused of murdering former world champion high jumper Jacques Freitag will only be heard in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court next week Wednesday. Disbarred lawyer Rudi Lubbe and his long-time friend, Shantelle Oosthuizen, were arrested in Mpumalanga while on the run after Freitag’s body was found in the capital early this month. They also stand accused of attempted murder and conspiracy to murder Oosthuizen’s fiancé, Louis Harmse, whom Freitag allegedly assaulted with a brick last month.

# Africa will overtake Asia as the continent with the highest number of people experiencing hunger in the world by 2030. This is according to the United Nations State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World Report. In 2023, 384.5-million people in Asia were facing hunger, compared with 298.4-million in Africa. Around 733-million people globally faced hunger last year, with conflict, climate, and high costs pushing nutritious food out of reach for millions. The UN warns that the world is falling short of achieving zero hunger by 2030.

# Olympic Games: The Springbok Sevens lost both of their pool matches on the opening day of the Rugby Sevens tournament in Paris yesterday. They lost 10-5 to Ireland, followed by a 17-5 loss to New Zealand. The Blitzboks can still make it to the quarterfinals as two of the best third-placed sides, however, they need to beat Japan today and hope other results go in their favour. Coach, Philip Snyman, says they need to play better:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-34-cents and the euro at 19-rand-89-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-67-cents and Bitcoin trades at 65-thousand-441-dollars-14-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-398-dollars-24-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 81-dollars-46-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….