News 18:00

BULLETIN 17 May 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The EFF’s Mbuyiseni Ndlozi says crime in South Africa is a war 
# The Gauteng Health Department begins digitising its patient records 
# And rugby: It is crunch time for the URC playoff hopefuls

# EFF member of Parliament Mbuyiseni Ndlozi says crime in South Africa is a war. Speaking at the funeral of five-year-old Ditebogo Junior Phalane in Soshanguve, Ndlozi condemned the normalisation of crime and criticised Police minister Bheki Cele and the police for their lack of proactivity. Ditebogo was killed during a hijacking while running towards his father’s car. Ndlozi attributes the crime wave to poverty and high unemployment rates:

Meanwhile, Action Society criticises the South African Police Service for failing to release recent crime statistics, despite promises. They accuse minister Cele of prioritising the ANC over citizen safety. The cancellation of the stats release is seen as a betrayal to citizens, reflecting the collapse of police independence. Action Society’s Juanita du Preez believes crime is vastly underreported due to public mistrust in the police and the justice system:

# The Gauteng Department of Health has launched an initiative to digitise paper-based patient records in public hospitals, to improve care quality. Spokesperson Motalatale Modiba stated this project aims to digitise 800-million records over 36 months, starting with Chris Hani Baragwanath and Rahima Moosa hospitals. The eHealth system will enhance efficiency, accuracy, and secure storage using cloud technology. Modiba says this will significantly benefit Gauteng’s public healthcare system:

# Rugby: Three of the four South African teams will have everything to play for tomorrow when they take to the field in the penultimate pool round of the United Rugby Championship. The Bulls can still finish in the top two, the Stormers still harbour hopes of a top four finish and the Lions are still in the running for a quarterfinal spot. The Bulls will host Benetton, the Lions will meet Glasgow Warriors in Johannesburg, the Stormers play away against Connacht in Ireland and the Sharks take on Cardiff in Durban.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-18-cents and the euro at 19-rand-75-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-5-cents and Bitcoin trades at 66-thousand-164-dollars-11-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-401-dollars-79-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 83-dollars-37-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Lack of employment opportunities has been identified as one of the major reasons that South African youth may turn away from the ANC. According to a study by the Centre for Social Development in Africa, youth are 1.5-times more likely to vote for opposition parties due to high unemployment and a weaker connection to the ruling party. Lead researcher Professor Leila Patel says youth voter turnout in the May 29 elections could favour parties like the EFF instead. The study surveyed three-thousand-511 participants, with 51-percent aged 18 to 34.

Stay tuned for more news………….