For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Lumkile Nkomfe.

Making headlines: Mixed reactions to signing of second Health Compact; Macpherson planning decisive action against construction mafias; And, Cholera spreads as Sudan grapples with rains and displacement

Mixed reactions to signing of second Health Compact

The Democratic Alliance averred that the recent signing of the Health Compact is nothing more than a “blatant attempt to coerce and feign support” for the National Health Insurance Act.

On Thursday, Acting President Paul Mashatile signed the pact at the Union Buildings, on behalf of President Cyril Ramaphosa.

This is the second Heath Compact to be signed after the first was signed in 2018 by Ramaphosa.

DA spokesperson on health Michele Clarke highlighted that the second Health Compact undermined the good-will and collaboration between government and various stakeholders, including health professionals, the business community, and labour unions to improve South Africa’s health sector as called for by the first Compact.

Meanwhile, Health Portfolio Committee chairperson Dr Sibongiseni Dhlomo said the signing marked a significant milestone in government’s collective journey towards improving the health and wellbeing of the nation.

Dhlomo pointed out that the Compact assigned roles and responsibilities to a broad range of stakeholders to support the strengthening and preparation of health systems for the implementation of the NHI.

Macpherson planning decisive action against construction mafias

Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson and KwaZulu-Natal Public Works and Infrastructure MEC Martin Meyer have agreed on the need for an urgent meeting with the respective MECs in every province, as well as Ministers in the Law Enforcement Cluster, to develop a response to construction mafia activity in the country.

During a meeting between the two officials today, Meyer provided Macpherson with a report on how the problem of construction mafias had resurfaced in KwaZulu-Natal.

Macpherson publicly vowed, shortly after his appointment, to deal decisively with the construction mafia issue and to restore the rule of law at construction sites countrywide.

He deems it “simply unacceptable” that people are being fatally attacked and assaulted and that this activity is threatening additional infrastructure investment in the country.

And, Cholera spreads as Sudan grapples with rains and displacement

For the second consecutive year, Sudan is in the grip of a cholera outbreak that has left at least 28 people dead in the last month as rains fall in areas crammed with those fleeing the country's 16-month-old war, officials said.

Since July 22, when the current wave began, 658 cases of cholera have been recorded across five states, World Health Organization country director Shible Sahbani told Reuters in Port Sudan.

With much of the country's health infrastructure collapsed or destroyed and staffing thinned by displacement, 4.3% of cases have resulted in deaths, a high rate compared to other outbreaks, Sahbani said.

Some 200 000 are at high risk of falling ill, he said.

The country is dealing with a total of five concurrent disease outbreaks include dengue fever and measles.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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