First Take SA

The Gauteng government convened a meeting over the weekend to draft proposals to the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) to allow for stricter enforcement of lockdown regulations. This in an attempt to curb the soaring Covid-19 numbers in the province. The meeting came as the SA Medical Association, SAMA, claimed that Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg hospitals have the lowest number of Covid-19 beds available, a clear problem when considering Gauteng has recorded the second-highest infection rate after the Western Cape. To discuss this is Gauteng Government spokesperson, Thabo Masebe...

The Basic Education Department has blamed its failure to provide meals to over nine million learners nationwide on logistics and lack of infrastructure. Equal Education approached the Pretoria High Court on an urgent basis to seek an order to compel government to provide meals to learners, regardless of whether they have returned to school or not. The programme which feeds nine million learners was suspended in March due to the lockdown. It resumed on June 8 when schools reopened, but Equal Education says seven and a half million children did not received meals on June 8, and close to 4 -million are still deprived of meals despite the programme being fully funded.

While President Cyril Ramaphosa urges South Africans not to panic as COVID 19 infections rise rapidly -- some are calling for a return to higher levels of lockdown. South Africa has registered its highest number of infections to date within a 24-hour cycle. The number of confirmed cases has risen by over eight-thousand, bringing the national total to nearly 159-thousand-400. The number of COVID19-related fatalities stands at over two-thousand-700.

Four unions at the South African Airways have agreed to sign the voluntary severance packages offered as part of the national carrier's business rescue process. The Department of Public Enterprises announced yesterday that the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (SATAWU), the National Transport Movement, the Aviation Union of Southern Africa, Solidarity and representatives of non-unionised staff, have expressed their readiness to sign the deal. However, three other unions have not signed. SAA went into business rescue in December last year following years of losses and repeated state bailouts

Auditor General Kimi Makwetu has pointed that only 20 of the country's 257 municipalities received clean audits. Makwetu has blamed municipalities failure to adhere to prescribed regulations for the increase in irregular spending.

As millions of South Africans continue to bear the brunt of the of the Covid-19 economic lockdown, many medical general practitioners and private sector specialists are also feeling the financial pressure as numbers of patients in their practices decline. This is due clients' fear of contacting the coronavirus and limitations on hospital admissions and surgical procedures. Major representative organisations of the medical profession together with Progressive Health Forum, have tabled a proposal for medical schemes to pay private practitioners in order to guarantee their income for the next coming months.

The Auditor General, Kimi Makwetu's report for 2018-19 has found that municipalities lost 32-billion-rand in irregular expenditure. This is an increase of 7-billion-Rand from the previous financial year. Makwetu says there continues to be a lack of financial management, accountability and wasteful spending among a number of municipalities in most the country's provinces. Makwetu was presenting the local government audit outcomes for 2018-19 in a virtual media briefing.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged South Africans not to panic and be alarmed by the rising number of Coronavirus infections in the country. He was speaking during the virtual Presidential Imbizo on the Covid-19 pandemic last night. The president interacted with communities across the country through over 80 community radio stations and some SABC platforms.

The ACDP Leader Kenneth Meshoe says government should carefully examine and consider studies that have been conducted to investigate whether there is a link between Gender Based Violence , rape and pornography. Meshoe was participating in the Debate of National Importance on GBV during a hybrid sitting of the National Assembly.

The Federation of Trade Unions says negotiations are underway between government, organised business and labour to extend the UIF Covid- 19 'temporary employer-employee relief scheme' which ended YESTERDAY. The Labour Department and the UIF had earlier pronounced that the scheme, which has been running three months, will not be extended beyond the June 30th deadline. The fund has so far paid out roughly 30 billion rand of the 40 billion budgeted to help workers affected by the Covid-19 crisis from April.