News 08:00

BULLETIN 23 August 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The government should be concerned about stakeholders not signing the health compact
# Donald Trump slams Kamala Harris on her immigration policies
# And road running: Four Comrades board members resign

# The South African Health Professionals Collaboration says the government refusing to address concerns raised about the Presidential Health Compact is problematic. About nine healthcare professional bodies representing more than 25-thousand healthcare practitioners have not signed the compact, saying it is nothing more than an attempt to lock in support for the National Health Insurance Act. SAHPC says they do not believe that NHI is a viable or workable model for achieving universal health coverage.

# Parliament’s portfolio committee on Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has raised concerns about the insufficient attention to complaints it has made to the Municipal Demarcation Board. This is about municipal demarcation and ward delimitation processes and decisions. Over 70-percent of the municipal amalgamations formed after the 2016 local government elections have not achieved their intended purpose. Committee chairperson, Zweli Mkhize, says the frequency of the delimitation, involving the shifting of voters and relocation of voting districts to different wards, causes instability:

# Workers affiliated with the South African Municipal Workers Union in Johannesburg have threatened to protest again today if their demands are not met. At least ten-thousand workers blocked the M1 and M2 highways in Braamfontein and the Johannesburg CBD yesterday, expressing their frustration over a wage dispute. Samwu has accused the city of failing to fulfil a politically facilitated agreement reached in 2016 following a strike by Pikitup workers. The city says it was considering approaching the labour court for an interdict to prevent further disruptions. 

# Former US president and Republican nominee Donald Trump has slammed his Democratic rival vice president Kamala Harris on immigration policies, labelling her as a failed border czar. He took a tour of the US-Mexico border in the battleground state of Arizona. According to the latest data, the number of illegal crossings along the US-Mexico border has fallen to the lowest level in years over the past few months. Trump reiterated his pledge to shut down the border and deport millions of people:

# Roadrunning: Four members of the Comrades Marathon Association have resigned with immediate effect. They are chairperson Mqondisi Ngcobo, vice-chairperson Leslie Burnard, and board members Kerwin Basson and Pumlani Ntuli. Ngcobo says the past few weeks have taken a toll on the association’s members, and he empathises with those who have been at the coalface dealing with the issues. Jeff Minnaar has been appointed interim chairperson, while Peter Proctor will serve as the interim vice-chairperson until the annual general meeting is held in November this year.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-98-cents and the euro at 20-rand-1-cent. One British pound costs 23-rand-57-cents and Bitcoin trades at 60-thousand-642-dollars-41-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-492-dollars-45-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 77-dollars-11-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….