South Africa

As the country celebrates 30 years of freedom and democracy, the Department of Social Development will launch the country’s Child Protection Week on Sunday, 19 May 2024. 

According to the department, South Africa has undergone a deliberate transformation, with one of the key priorities being to ensure the protection and upholding of the human rights of children. 

The previous laws, according to the department, were informed by colonial and apartheid systems, which brought the provision of services based on race and colour. 

Today is the first of two days South African citizens abroad can cast their vote in the National and Provincial Elections 2024.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has assured the families of the deceased and injured workers who were trapped inside the collapsed building in George, that government will do everything possible to assist.

Health Minister, Dr Joe Phaahla, has urged healthcare workers not to be swayed by fearmongers pushing for emigration from South Africa due to the National Health Insurance (NHI).

“Don’t listen to doomsayers and the scaremongers who are telling you that things are going to collapse and [you] must leave now that the President has [signed the Bill], [and you must] find the first flight [out of the country]. Stay here. Things are going to get better.

Six suspects were shot and fatally wounded and five firearms were recovered during two separate shootouts with KwaZulu-Natal police on Thursday.

The South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) is encouraging beneficiaries to ensure that they read SASSA notification letters. 

Police have arrested two suspects linked to the shooting of a five-year-old boy, Ditebogo Junior Phalane, in Soshanguve block UU during a car hijacking last week.

Small-scale fishermen in the Eastern Cape got a shot in the arm when Rural Development and Agrarian Reform (DRDAR) MEC, Nonkqubela Pieters, handed over much-needed fishing gear and equipment to help improve their fishing.

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE),  has entered into a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure on the preferential access for small scale fisheries co-operatives to public works facilities.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has emphasised the importance of the National Health Insurance (NHI) in providing equal access to healthcare services and addressing inequalities.

This, as he signed the NHI Bill into law on Wednesday. 

“[The Bill] is also about efficiency and quality. The provision of healthcare in this country is currently fragmented, unsustainable and unacceptable,” President Ramaphosa said, adding that he finally "found his pen" to sign the long-awaited Bill.