News 16:00
BULLETIN 13 March 4 pm
Good afternoon. I am……..
In this bulletin:
# Mediclinic is cleared of intentional bill manipulation
# The Freedom Front Plus says the ANC’s push for more funding is a desperate move
# And rugby: The Springbok Women are preparing for two Tests on their European tour
# Mediclinic has been cleared of intentional bill manipulation by an independent investigation. An inquiry found no deliberate effort to manipulate billing or coding, with errors deemed incidental and promptly addressed. Whistleblower claims prompted the investigation, initially focusing on six hospitals and later expanding. Mediclinic Southern Africa CEO Greg van Wyk acknowledged errors, but stressed their minimal impact compared to transaction volume. The hospital group engages with medical aids regularly to address and mitigate errors.
# The Freedom Front Plus says the Electoral Matters Amendment Bill, proposed by the ANC, is a blatant attempt to increase funding for the ruling party at taxpayers’ expense. They vow to oppose the bill, comparing it to failed attempts to justify expenses at Nkandla in KwaZulu-Natal. The party argues the bill violates the Constitution and undermines democracy. The FF Plus’s Corné Mulder warns that the ANC’s actions could disrupt the upcoming elections and pledges to challenge the bill in court if necessary:
Meanwhile, the United States says its up to South Africa and the Independent Electoral Commission to decide if observers are needed for elections. This follows the DA’s letter which implied doubts about the IEC’s capacity and requested the country’s intervention. The US embassy has instead affirmed SA’s sovereignty in electoral processes, trusting the IEC’s reputation for conducting free and fair elections. President Cyril Ramaphosa has also criticised the DA for allegedly attempting to sway US influence by seeking additional observers for the elections.
# Rugby: The Springbok Women are currently on a European tour that will include two Test matches. They had a training session against Scotland at Murrayfield in Edinburgh yesterday, with another practice session coming up against the Welsh Women in Swansea on Saturday. The Boks will then play Test matches against Spain in Valladolid next Saturday, and a week late against the USA in London. Assistant coach Franzel September is happy with their preparations:
# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-69-cents and the euro at 20-rand-44-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-91-cents and Bitcoin trades at 73-thousand-5-dollars-18-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-163-dollars-19-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 83-dollars-23-cents a barrel.
# And finally: Table Mountain National Park has experienced a successful tourism season, with over 1.7-million visitors between December and January. Popular attractions like Cape Point and the Table Mountain Aerial Cableway were key drawcards. Ahead of the holiday season the park addressed safety concerns and reduced visitor crime incidents through collaboration with role-players and the relaunch of the Table Mountain Safety Forum. The Western Cape government also donated drones for aerial surveillance and search and rescue operations. Despite over 100 fires reported during the season, no significant losses were recorded.
Stay tuned for more news………….