Daily news update: ANC staff take party to court, WC Covid-19 cases and ActionSA ballot paper saga

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ANC staff to take legal action against party over outstanding salaries

Disgruntled employees of the African National Congress (ANC) have decided to go the legal route in an attempt to get several months of unpaid salaries out of the governing party.

The ANC has been experiencing cash flow problems for some time, with workers complaining that they have not been receiving salaries on time since at least July 2021.

It was unclear whether the ANC would pay its employees ahead of Christmas after the party missed its own 15 December deadline.

9 out of 10 current Covid patients in ICUs are unvaccinated

A significant number of Covid-19 patients in intensive care units (ICU) are unvaccinated, according to the South African Medical Association (Sama), with 633 new hospital admissions reported in the past 24 hours.

Sama chairperson Dr Angelique Coetzee said 90% of the people ending up in ICU were unvaccinated against Covid-19.

“The people in ICU, 9 out of 10 are unvaccinated people lying there with severe disease. They have never been vaccinated and the ones that have been vaccinated have got a lot of comorbidities.

Zimbabwe says it respects SA’s decision to terminate exemption permits

The Zimbabwean government says it respects the South African government’s decision to not renew the Zimbabwe Exemption Permits (ZEPs).

The exemption permits were granted to more than 250,000 Zimbabweans who crossed the border during Zimbabwe’s political and economic crisis in 2008 and 2009.

Cabinet decided in November that it would not extend the permits when they expire on December 31.

According to City Press, Home Affairs Minister Aaron Motsoaledi is adamant that Home Affairs will push ahead with the termination of the permits.

Western Cape’s new Covid infections increase to over 3000 daily

New Covid infections continue to increase daily in the Western Cape, with on average 3383 new diagnoses.

Hospital admissions have also increased with 138 admissions per day, but deaths rates remain low with fewer than two deaths daily.

Overall, there is a 35% week on week increase in cases in the Cape Town Metro, but most sub-districts are only seeing a small percent increase in cases.

Western Cape’s rural districts are also seeing increases in cases, with the largest number of infections coming from the Garden Route in George followed by the Cape Winelands.

But there is good news, infections are expected to decrease by next week.

Scientists discover perfectly preserved 66 million year-old dinosaur embryo

Scientists on Tuesday announced the discovery of an exquisitely preserved dinosaur embryo from at least 66 million years ago that was preparing to hatch from its egg just like a chicken.

The fossil was discovered in Ganzhou, southern China and belonged to a toothless theropod dinosaur, or oviraptorosaur, which the researchers dubbed “Baby Yingliang.”

“It is one of the best dinosaur embryos ever found in history,” University of Birmingham researcher Fion Waisum Ma, who co-authored a paper in the journal iScience, told AFP.

ActionSA ballot paper saga finally resolved, one and a half months after polls

The ActionSA ballot paper saga has been finally resolved and the party is looking forward to seeing their name next to their logo on future ballots..

“ActionSA is pleased to report that the process it undertook in terms of Section 16(A) of the Electoral Commissions Act has been concluded and ActionSA will now be represented correctly on all ballot papers going forward,” said the party in a statement.

Before elections, ActionSA took legal action against the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) after the party’s name was left out from the ballot list ahead of the upcoming local government elections.

Prepare for heavy congestion on the N3, if you’re planning a trip to the coast

As holiday-makers make their way down to KwaZulu-Natal for the festive season, the N3 Toll Concession has warned motorists to plan for heavy traffic conditions on the N3 Toll Route from Wednesday to Friday this week.

The N3 Toll Concession’s operations manager, Thania Dhoogra, said traffic volumes on the N3 could quickly increase to over 2,000 vehicles per hour during peak periods, which could lead to congestion and possible delays.

Dhoogra urged motorists to plan their routes prior to departing on their holiday trips, and to stay informed of road and traffic conditions.