Former Health Ombudsman Professor Malegapuru Makgoba said the Life Esidemeni incident where 144 people died left him, particularly, shocked. The outgoing Health Ombudsman, Professor Malegapuru Makgoba, announced on 31 May 2023 that his office completed 10,861 complaints in the past seven years. Picture/SA Government News JOHANNESBURG – Former Health Ombudsman Professor Malegapuru Makgoba described the South African health system as “dysfunctional” and “a mess”.Makgoba, who was the country’s inaugural ombuds served his final day in office on Wednesday.During his seven-year term, Makgoba’s office investigated over 10,000 complaints.He said the Life Esidemeni incident where 144 patients died left him particularly shocked,…
Author: Kross Marcellus Moses
Cape Town – Health Minister Joe Phaahla has expressed optimism about the decreasing number of cholera cases in Tshwane, although the source of the waterborne disease remains unknown. The minister on Wednesday provided an update on the government’s efforts to combat the outbreak, saying that the number of cases in Free State, Ngwathe Municipality has remained stable. “The numbers are going down drastically and we’re very hopeful that in the next few days [the numbers will go down even further] and happy that there haven’t been new deaths this week and severe illness at this stage,” said Phaahla. [WATCH] Health…
Sudan’s army suspended talks with a rival paramilitary force on Wednesday over a ceasefire and aid access, a Sudanese diplomatic source said, raising fears the six-week-old conflict will push Africa’s third largest nation deeper into a humanitarian crisis. The negotiations with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which began in early May, had produced a declaration of commitments to protect civilians and two short-term ceasefire deals, although those deals were repeatedly violated. Residents had reported heavy clashes in southern Khartoum and in Omdurman across the River Nile until late on Tuesday. The army, which relies on airpower and artillery, and the…
Auditor-General Tsakane Maluleke has highlighted Tshwane as the only Metro, that has presented unreliable financials. This came out during her presentation of the consolidated general report on the local government audit outcomes for the financial year 2021/2022 in Parliament earlier. She found that only 38 municipalities out of 257 achieved clean audits and municipalities racked up almost R4.7 billion in fruitless and wasteful expenditure and R25 billion in unauthorised expenditure. She says many municipalities are failing on almost every metric of good governance and integrity. “Tshwane is one of the eight metros and it’s the only one that has an…
During his tenure at 702, McKaiser was critical of the government and its policies and never backed away from a thought-provoking debate, even with listeners. FILE: Eusebius McKaiser. Picture: 702 JOHANNESBURG – The journalism fraternity is mourning the loss of veteran broadcaster Eusebius McKaiser, who has been remembered for his fierce and determined journalistic style.The renowned columnist, author and political analyst passed away on Tuesday, at the age of 45.During his tenure at 702, McKaiser was critical of the government and its policies and never backed away from a thought-provoking debate, even with listeners.His illustrious career saw him occupy a…
Harare – Zimbabwe will hold nationwide elections on 23 August, the government gazette said on Wednesday, ending months of speculation over the date. The government’s official record, seen by AFP, said President Emmerson Mnangagwa “fixes the 23rd day of August, 2023, as the day of the election to the office of President”. Elections for the National Assembly and local government will also be held that day. Mnangagwa’s Zanu-PF party, which has been in power since independence in 1980, will face off against the Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) led by Nelson Chamisa, a 45-year-old lawyer and pastor. He will be…
Nigeria’s state oil corporation NNPC is proposing hiking fuel prices to nearly R24 per litre from around R10, according to a circular it sent to fuel stations on Wednesday. The circular came after panic buying caused prices to jump to about that level as Nigerians rushed to fill their tanks ahead of the expected end of a government subsidy that had been keeping prices low. NNPC’s spokesperson declined to comment. Nigeria’s new President Bola Tinubu said during his inauguration speech on Monday that the subsidy would be scrapped in addition to reforms to the country’s multiple exchange rates, triggering the…
The Chairperson of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Health, Dr Kenneth Jacobs says they are confident that the National Health Insurance Bill (NHI) will pass constitutional muster. The Committee adopted the Bill which will now be debated in the National Assembly. The aim of the Bill is to ensure comprehensive healthcare services from accredited health facilities, the move, however, has prompted warnings and threats of legal action from the health industry. Dr Jacobs says they are ready to defend any court challenges. “We have been informed throughout the public hearings and throughout the committee deliberations by political parties and by those who…
Financial Mail editor Rob Rose said that the Constitutional Court’s ruling that a blanket ban on disclosing taxpayer information was invalid was ‘a victory for our access to information laws’. A view from the gallery of the Constitutional Court. Picture: SA History JOHANNESBURG – Financial Mail editor Rob Rose said that the Constitutional Court’s ruling that a blanket ban on disclosing taxpayer information was invalid was “a victory for our access to information laws”.The ruling comes on the back of a case from the Financial Mail and amaBhungane. The two publications went to court after applications they had made in…
Cape Town – Electricity Minister, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, has expressed confidence in drastically reducing load-shedding in the country by December. Ramokgopa said several interventions, such as importing power from Mozambique and expediting the procurement of emergency power, which he believes will contribute to the reduction in load-shedding stages, were in place to solve the crisis. “Once we get to do all of this intervention, [including] importing from Mozambique as an example [and] accelerating the procurement of emergency power, I’ll be able to aggregate what are those megawatts that are possible. “And on the basis of those megawatts, I’ll be able to…
As the deadline for the expiry of the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) looms, permit holders say they do not have a plan post 30 June 2023. An estimated 178 000 Zimbabweans living in South Africa face possible deportation at the end of next month, unless they apply and secure other permits. What was known as the breadbasket of Africa suffered an unexpected fate in the early 2000s. Under the Robert Mugabe regime, political violence and economic instability became the order of the day in Zimbabwe. There was only one place to turn to a country not too far from reach, a…
Community policing forums (CPFs) in Durban say they fear the sector’s R70 million budget allocation could become a breeding ground for corruption. Police Minister Bheki Cele made the announcement recently when he released quarterly crime statistics that R70-million will be made available to CPFs to strengthen their crime fighting resources. According to the SAPS’ 2020-2021 annual report, there are over 1 100 functional CPFs across the country. “Without community participation, police will never win the war against crime. Demonstrative to our commitment to work hand in glove with communities, for the first time in the history of policing, this administration…