News 16:00

BULLETIN 15 May 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Denosa says the signing of the NHI Bill marks a milestone in healthcare reform
# Energy experts demand a review of the Free Basic Electricity policy
# And cricket: Kagiso Rabada withdraws from the IPL, but hopes to be fit for the T20 World Cup 

# Nursing organisation Denosa hails the signing of the National Health Insurance Bill by president Cyril Ramaphosa as a significant milestone in healthcare reform. It says this move represents a decisive shift away from a dual healthcare system towards universal health coverage, ensuring equal access to quality healthcare regardless of financial status. Denosa spokesperson Sibongiseni Delihlazo expects this to boost job satisfaction among nurses and the majority of healthcare workers:

# Energy expert Chris Yelland has added to calls demanding a review of the Free Basic Electricity policy. This comes as the country celebrates National Energy Month. The policy’s role is to provide electricity through the provision of a limited amount of free electricity to poor households. During a roundtable discussion hosted by the Government Communication and Information System on the electrification programme, the panel spoke about electricity provision in the country over 30 years of democracy. Yelland highlighted issues of accessibility and affordability:

# YouTube says it will comply with a Hong Kong court order to curb access to videos related to a protest song. Hong Kong’s appeal court last week granted the government’s request for an injunction against “Glory to Hong Kong”, an anthem that emerged during the city’s 2019 pro-democracy movement. The court order banned a range of acts including performing and broadcasting the song with criminal intent. YouTube confirmed that it would block access to 32 videos listed by the court from Hong Kong users with immediate effect.

# Cricket: The Proteas still hope ace bowler Kagiso Rabada will be fit in time for next month’s T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and the United States, despite withdrawing from the rest of the Indian Premier League. He suffered a leg injury playing for Punjab Kings, but Cricket South Africa says he just needs an acute dose of antibiotics and rest. Its medical team is closely monitoring him. The Proteas play their first World Cup match against Sri Lanka in New York on the third of June.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-38-cents and the euro at 19-rand-91-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-19-cents and Bitcoin trades at 62-thousand-492-dollars-39-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-362-dollars-62-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 81-dollars-94-cents a barrel.

# And finally: A survey of one-thousand-500 respondents conducted by Corruption Watch has unveiled alarming statistics on corruption across sectors in South Africa, including interactions with judges and magistrates. Shockingly, between 600 and 700 respondents admitted to giving gifts or favours to officials. About 24-percent reported giving gifts or favours to police officials, car license officials, and traffic management officials. Approximately one in ten confessed to providing bribes to prosecutors, elected government representatives, and judges or magistrates. These findings indicate the widespread nature of corruption, penetrating even into the judicial system.

Stay tuned for more news………….