News 12:00

BULLETIN 20 October 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Health minister condemns medication abuse in public clinics
# The Madlanga commission is to hold partially in-camera hearings on criminal cartels
# And soccer: Liverpool’s manager acknowledges defensive weaknesses in the defeat to Man United

# Health minister Aaron Motsoaledi has condemned patients exploiting the public healthcare system by collecting duplicate medications from multiple clinics. He says the practice undermines healthcare integrity and diverts resources from those in need. Motsoalei’s remarks follow last week’s bus crash in Limpopo where bottles of medication were found at the scene, prompting investigations into their origin and legality. He warned that new electronic health records will soon prevent such abuse.

# Three witnesses are expected to testify before the Madlanga commission of inquiry in Pretoria this week, with proceedings partially heard in-camera. Witnesses A, B and C will take the stand from a remote location, but with their voices audible. The commission’s spokesperson, Jeremy Michaels, says the three were serving detectives, attached to either the Gauteng Counterintelligence operations unit or the KwaZulu-Natal political killings task team. He says their testimony relates to their experiences investigating crimes related to the criminal cartels, which form the subject matter of the commission’s investigations.

# The Freedom Front Plus says it is a gross violation of the Constitution’s principle of equality that Nguni leaders enjoy full legal status, while Khoi-San leaders remain oppressed. The Constitutional Court has suspended the declaration of invalidity of the Traditional and Khoi-San Leadership Act for two years until May 2027. The FF Plus says during this time, national, provincial and local governments are free to adopt legislation without guaranteeing the rights of Khoi and San communities. It says the government has a historic opportunity to correct this injustice.

# Soccer: Liverpool manager Arne Slot has expressed his frustration over his team’s set-piece vulnerabilities, saying they need to focus on improving both scoring and defending, especially from set pieces. The reigning Premier League champions suffered a fourth consecutive loss in all competitions, losing 2-1 to Manchester United at Anfield yesterday. Since May, Liverpool has conceded two or more goals in eight of their 12 league games, more than any other team. Slot says he is confident they will bounce back:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-32-cents and the euro at 20-rand-20-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-24-cents and Bitcoin trades at 110-thousand-998-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-258-dollars-94-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 60-dollars-79-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Western Cape Agriculture, Economic Development and Tourism MEC, Ivan Meyer, has congratulated all South African destinations and products nominated for the World Travel Awards. South Africa has been nominated for the world’s leading destination, while Airports Company South Africa is up for the world’s leading airport operator. Cape Town has been nominated in several categories, including the world’s leading city destination, with Table Mountain up for the world’s leading tourist attraction. Meyer says the awards are the ultimate hallmark of industry excellence:

Stay tuned for more news………….