News 09:00

BULLETIN 15 February 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The South African Medical Association urges Ramaphosa to fix the healthcare system before signing NHI Bill
# The GOOD Party says the state’s proposal to stop providing subsidised homes ignores the Constitution
# And, the Israeli Prime Minister vows to press ahead with the offensive in Rafah 

# The South African Medical Association says the country is not yet ready to roll out National Health Insurance and it will legally challenge the law as soon as President Cyril Ramaphosa signs it. SAMA chairperson Dr Mvuyisi Mzukwa says issues like sewers freely flowing through hospitals, the lack of specialised medicine, and broken equipment will negatively impact the rollout of the NHI. He said SAMA fully supported universal health coverage but did not believe it would be achieved through a single-purchaser, single-payer system as articulated in the bill. 

 # FNB senior economist, Siphamandla Mkhwanazi, says shopping activity declined by one-percent last year, compared to 2022, reflecting a subdued consumer demand environment. This is expected to persist in the near term, driven by sticky inflation, high interest rates, and depressed consumer confidence. According to Mkhwanazi the prevailing tight lending standards and high debt service cost environment should keep credit growth relatively contained, both in the bank and non-bank sectors, and thus provide less support to consumption:

# The GOOD Party says the White Paper for Human Settlements presented to Parliament’s Human Settlements portfolio committee undermines the rights of South Africans to adequate housing. Drafted in the context of current fiscal constraints, the White Paper seeks to restructure the current housing programme – not to enhance it – which is urgently required to reduce the state’s constitutional responsibility to deliver adequate housing. The GOOD Party secretary-general, Brett Herron says access to decent housing is about more than shelter:

# Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted his troops will advance on the Gazan city of Rafah, defying outside pleas to reconsider. French president Emmanuel Macron was the latest to warn Netanyahu about the human cost of such an operation. Spain and the Republic of Ireland have meanwhile asked the European Union to examine urgently whether Israel is complying with its human rights obligations in Gaza. More than 28-thousand people, mostly women and children, have been killed in Gaza since the Hamas attack on 7 October last year.

# Motorsport: Red Bull boss Christian Horner will attend Red Bull’s 2024 car launch today. He is facing allegations by a female colleague but categorically denies the claim that he behaved in an inappropriate and controlling way. He was quizzed on Friday by a lawyer for eight hours as part of a Red Bull probe that could last for several weeks. The 50-year-old Horner has been Red Bull’s team principal since 2005. During his time with Red Bull, Horner has overseen seven drivers’ world championships and six constructors’ titles.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-6-cents and the euro at 20-rand-45-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-95-cents and Bitcoin trades at 52-thousand-277-dollars-8-cents. Gold sells at one-thousand-991-dollars-43-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 82-dollars-15-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….