South Africa

A series of recent government interventions have seen a drastic reduction in unanswered Parliamentary questions.

Government has reiterated that law enforcement institutions investigating the alleged theft of foreign currency at President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala farm must be allowed to complete their investigations, says Deputy President Paul Mashatile.

Public Service Commission (PSC) Commissioner, Anele Gxoyiya, says the Commission has observed excessive delays in the handling of precautionary suspensions following misconduct proceedings in the Public Service.

President Cyril Ramaphosa says the South Africa and Belgium’s respective histories, which share some similarities, should form a basis for greater dialogue between the two countries.

Deputy President Paul Mashatile will on Friday lead the official commemoration of World TB Day in Rustenburg, North West.  

According to the Presidency, TB remains one of the leading causes of ill health and death in South Africa, while patients face the challenge of not finishing treatment.

The World TB Day commemoration was designated for March 24 every year to create awareness about the health, social and economic impact of TB locally and around the globe.

South Africa remains among the nations hardest hit by TB. 

The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (dtic), in partnership with the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC), will host the Intellectual Property and Technology Commercialisation Colloquium at the North West University, Mahikeng campus from 28-29 March.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) believes that South Africa’s implementation of structural reforms, combined with fiscal consolidation, could help boost private investment, employment and growth.

IMF officials held a series of meetings with South Africa this month as part of their routine economic surveillance function, as prescribed in the IMF’s Articles of Agreement.

The IMF said restoring energy security will require attracting private sector participation in the electricity market and addressing Eskom’s operational and financial deficiencies.

A director who unsuccessfully facilitated the undue processing of permits for Gupta associate Ashu Chawla and others in Ethiopia and in the United Arab Emirates has been dismissed from the Department of Home Affairs.

Sentencing proceedings for a Mpumalanga businessman who attempted to bribe a Special Investigating Unit (SIU) investigator are expected to kick off at the Mbombela Magistrates’ Court this morning.

The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) has announced that the detection rate of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is rising sharply. 

The NICD has since issued a warning to clinicians and hospitals to prepare for an uptick in paediatric admissions. 

RSV, according to the public health institute, is the most common cause of bronchiolitis and lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI) among young children. It is highly contagious and transmits mainly by respiratory droplets.