February 12, 2025.

For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Halima Frost.

Making headlines:

South Africa business mood steady on improved economic prospects

Healthcare coalition proposes de-politicising healthcare management, says NHI ‘deeply flawed’

And, Egypt's Sisi to not attend any White House talks if Gaza displacement on agenda, Egyptian sources say

South Africa business mood steady on improved economic prospects

South African business sentiment was little changed in January, after surging to a decade-high at the end of last year, indicating that firms remain upbeat about the nation’s economic prospects and the performance of its coalition government.

A gauge of the mood among firms compiled by the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry edged down to 120 from 121 in December. It averaged 112.6 last year, compared with 109.6 in 2023.

The inclusive government is “feeding expectations that a more free-enterprise and free-market economic policy environment will emanate over the medium to longer-term,” Sacci said. “Although many challenges persist, the goodwill towards South Africa in rectifying and addressing pressing problems is acknowledged.”

The indicator has surged since May elections, which saw the African National Congress lose its majority for the first time since 1994. The party then formed a governing alliance with the business-friendly Democratic Alliance and eight smaller rivals, and it has prioritised growing the economy and fixing energy and logistic bottlenecks.

Healthcare coalition proposes de-politicising healthcare management, says NHI ‘deeply flawed’

A group of healthcare organisations, the Universal Healthcare Access Coalition, has expressed its belief that the National health Insurance Act is “deeply flawed,” highlighting that its proposals are not “feasible and potentially detrimental” to healthcare access.

The group held a media briefing today, where it laid out why it believes the NHI remains unimplementable and presented its proposed framework for healthcare reform in South Africa.

It explained that the NHI plan lacks alignment with the current healthcare system, neglects necessary reforms and fails to address governance and equality issues in public and private healthcare.

The group pointed out that improving governance in the public health system and better regulating the private system for cost efficiency and equity, will address the currently polarised system of “an underperforming public sector and an expensive private sector.”

UHAC steering committee member and SA Medical Association chair Dr Mvuyisi Mzukwa said the NHI does not materially depart from the weaknesses of the current system but instead centralises control without resolving fundamental problems.

Egypt's Sisi to not attend any White House talks if Gaza displacement on agenda, Egyptian sources say

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will not travel to Washington for talks at the White House if the agenda includes US President Donald Trump's plan to displace Palestinians from Gaza, two Egyptian security sources said.

In a call between Trump and Sisi on February 1, the US president extended an open invitation to Sisi to visit the White House, the Egyptian presidency previously said. No date has been set for any such visit, a US official said.

The Egyptian presidency and foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Trump has infuriated the Arab world with a plan to permanently displace the population of more than 2-million Palestinians from the Gaza Strip, claim US control of Gaza and turn it into the "Riviera of the Middle East". He has demanded Egypt and Jordan take in the Palestinians who would be expelled.

He discussed the plan during a visit by Jordanian King Abdullah to the White House on Tuesday, where the monarch appeared uncomfortable.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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