Daily news update: National shutdown, Tembisa Hospital scandal and another court blow for Mkhwebane

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Daily news update: 25 August 2022

National shutdown: Cosatu members call for Ramaphosa to fall

Members of trade union federation Cosatu say they are angry at government for the challenging economic climate in the country and are calling for President Cyril Ramaphosa to fall.

Hundreds of members gathered at Burgers Park in Tshwane on Wednesday for a mass march.

Cosatu and the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu) are protesting in various cities across all nine provinces in the country.

One Cosatu member says he is angry at government.

Tembisa Hospital’s R500 000 skinny jeans contract one of the deals Babita Deokaran died for

The purchase of the jeans – for girls aged 6 to 7 – was one of the transactions questioned by whistleblower Babita Deokaran.

A year ago, Deokaran was shot and killed outside her home in Mondeor, Johannesburg. She had flagged several cases of possible corruption within the Gauteng Health Department.

The contract for the 200 pairs of jeans was given to the company Inez Chaste. It was run by former professional soccer player Themba Shabalala and his wife Evelyn.

Another day, another legal defeat for Mkhwebane

The Constitutional Court (ConCourt) has dismissed suspended Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane’s latest rescission application to overturn its earlier ruling on the lawfulness of Parliament’s Section 194 Committee regarding her fitness to hold office.

In its unanimous ruling on Wednesday, the ConCourt ruled that Mkhwebane’s last-ditch legal challenge should be dismissed “as no case has been made out for rescission”.

The apex court ordered Mkhwebane to pay the costs of the application in her personal capacity, after finding that her legal bid constituted an abuse of court processes.

WATCH: ‘You are killing my health system’ – Limpopo Health MEC lectures foreign patient

In a now viral video, Limpopo Health MEC Phophi Ramathuba can be heard telling an undocumented foreigner admitted at the Bela Bela Hospital that they are burdening the South African health system.

In the video, Ramathuba can be heard asking the patient what language they speak. The patient responds by saying they speak Shona.

‘I’m dying. I don’t want to die’ – Zoleka Mandela after another cancer diagnosis

The granddaughter of Nelson Mandela, Zoleka Mandela, is faced with another life threatening health scare as she has been diagnosed with cancer once again.

Taking to social media on Wednesday, Mandela said that she has been suffering from back pains for over a month now, and when she decided to consult her doctor and check what the problem might be, she found out that the pain she has been feeling is due to a pathological fracture and swelling that is caused by cancer.

Proteas stick with top six despite poor middle-order showing

Despite the poor middle-order batting performance in the first Test, Proteas captain Dean Elgar confirmed on Wednesday that there would be no change to their top six for the second Test against England, which starts at Old Trafford on Thursday.

At Lord’s last week, the top-three did a fine job laying a solid platform that took the Proteas to 160/2. But Aiden Markram (16), Rassie van der Dussen (19) and Kyle Verreynne (11) all missed out as they slipped to 210/6, allowing England back into the game.

It was thanks to the lower-order that South Africa had a lead of 161, enough to win by an innings.

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