News 06:00

BULLETIN 19 May 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Health Department says the Constitutional Court ruling has no direct impact on the NHI Act
# The UN investigates the death of a Rwandan genocide suspect in custody
# And tennis: There is no word on Alcaraz’s return

# The Department of Health says a Constitutional Court ruling declaring parts of the National Health Act unconstitutional has no direct impact on the rollout of the NHI. The court found that sections 36 to 40 of the act were unconstitutional and invalid. The department’s Foster Mohale says the judgment relates to sections of the Health Act passed more than 20 years ago that have never been implemented:

Meanwhile, the DA says it remains adamant that the National Health Insurance, in its current form, is not the vehicle for achieving universal quality healthcare, as it risks undermining public and private healthcare systems. This comes after the Constitutional Court decision that the state may not dictate where healthcare professionals can practise. The DA’s Michele Clarke says this ruling has important implications for the implementation of the NHI Act:

# The South African Canegrowers’ Association has expressed concern at the high levels of imported sugar entering the local market from countries such as Brazil, India, and Thailand. The association says for every ton imported, the sugar industry loses more than seven-thousand-500-rand. In March, 16-thousand ton of imported sugar entered South Africa, double that of March last year. SA Canegrowers chairperson Higgins Mdluli says the current sugar tariff mechanism is outdated and does not adequately protect the local industry against heavily subsidised global competitors. 

# The National Prosecuting Authority has suspended a prosecutor involved in the taxi boss Joe “Ferrari” Sibanyoni case after failing to appear in court. The high-profile extortion and money laundering case against Sibanyoni and three co-accused was struck off the roll in the Kwaggafontein Magistrate’s Court in Mpumalanga as a result. The NPA’s Mthunzi Mhaga says the prosecutor will face disciplinary action following the incident:

# The United Nations says an inquiry has begun into the death of 1994 Rwandan genocide suspect, Félicien Kabuga, who died in custody in The Hague, Netherlands. The 93-year-old was declared unfit to stand trial in 2023 due to dementia and reportedly died in hospital over the weekend. Kabuga was accused of funding Hutu extremist media, including RTLM radio and Kangura magazine, which promoted the killings of Tutsis. In 2020, he was arrested near Paris after 26 years as a fugitive. It is unclear if his remains will be repatriated to Rwanda.

# Tennis: Carlos Alcaraz isn’t sure when he will be able to return after sustaining a wrist injury in the Barcelona Open in his homeland of Spain last month. In the world number two’s absence, number one Jannik Sinner has gone from strength to strength, clinching a record sixth Masters One-thousand title at the Italian Open on Sunday. Alcaraz congratulated Sinner on completing a career-Gold Masters, saying he deserved it. The Italian is the absolute favourite to win the clay-court Grand Slam tournament, the French Open, starting on Sunday.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-56-cents and the euro at 19-rand-21-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-25-cents and Bitcoin trades at 76-thousand-981-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-574-dollars-79-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 105-dollars-92-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….