Author: Gugu Lourie
The Constitutional Court challenge launched by an undisclosed foundation which is against the 21-day lockdown has been dismissed, News24 reported. The application was seeking leave to challenge President Cyril Ramaphosa’s order to implement a 21-day lockdown to curb the spread of COVID-19. The application was brought by South African civil society group Hola Bon Renaissance (HBR), who applied for direct access to the Constitutional Court on the basis of urgency. News24 reported that the Constitutional Court said the case had no prospect of success and decided not to award costs. Also read: Coronavirus: South Africa to Oppose an Undisclosed Foundation…
President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday night revealed that the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases has risen to 1,326 – and three people are confirmed to have died from the coronavirus. He was addressing the nation four days into the 21-day nationwide lockdown. “We are now entering a new phase in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic,” he said. In the coming days, the government will be rolling out a screening, testing, tracing and medical management programme on a huge scale. “Around 10,000 field workers will be visiting homes in villages, towns and cities to screen residents for COVID-19 symptoms,” added…
Netcare, one of South Africa’s largest private hospital groups, announced on Monday that it is committed to working with Government and all other stakeholders to assist in containing and treating the pandemic. “We have proposed to the national and provincial Departments of Health that Netcare will treat public patients in Netcare facilities,” Netcare informed investors on JSE SENS news. “Given the exceptional circumstances and to ensure sustainability, Netcare will provide these services to COVID-19 related patients on a not-for- profit basis, seeking only to recover costs. “Given our limited capacity, any referrals from the public sector will need to be assessed…
As part of its efforts to escalate help to customers during the COVID-19 lockdown, FNB announced on Monday that it’s Connect customers will receive free data. “In April, individual and business customers on FNB Connect will also receive 1GB of free data to help them stay connected during the lockdown,” Jacques Celliers, FNB Chief Executive Officer, said on Monday. “We are also working with industry partners to ensure that customers can use any bank’s ATMs without paying additional fees over and above the fees charged by their bank.” In June 2015, FNB became the first bank in South Africa to…
The Health Minister Zweli Mkhize announced on Sunday that a 74-year-old man died in ICU in Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal. South Africa has 1280 confirmed cases of Covid-19 on Sunday 29 March. “It is with sadness that we announce the second death of a patient who had tested positive for COVID-19,” said Mkhize. The 74-year-old male had been in ICU and ventilation in a private hospital in Ladysmith. He had travelled to Kruger National Park with his family and came back with flu-like symptoms. He was confirmed to be COVID-19 positive on the 27th of March 2020. “It has been reported to…
Standard Bank revealed on Sunday that you will not be charged Saswitch fees for utilising the ATM of a competing bank. “The banking sector has collectively decided to waive Saswitch fees during the lockdown,” said Africa’s largest bank by assets. “This means that a customer can use any ATM, including those offered by competing banks and only pay the usual fees charged.” Bankserv Africa said on its website when it launched Saswitch – a switching system that allows for customers to use just about any ATM, regardless of which bank they belong to – it was a world-first in interbank…
Standard Bank has announced a second wave of relief to help its customer base navigate financial commitments as Covid-19 continues to impact the livelihood of many individuals across the country. The payment reprieve is aimed at easing the financial burden of customers earning R7Â 500 or less, who will receive three-month instalment relief if they are not in arrears on any of their accounts (as at 31 March 2020). The bank said this relief applies to qualifying customers and their associated accounts, which include home loan, vehicle and asset finance, credit cards as well as short term loans. Customers who opt…
South Africa’s competition watchdog has blocked Naspers deal to acquire WeBuyCars, a dealer in used vehicles in South Africa. The Competition Tribunal announced its decision on Friday issued an order prohibiting the proposed transaction involving MIH eCommerce Holdings (MIH), trading as OLX South Africa (OLX), and WeBuyCars. MIH is ultimately controlled by Naspers, a JSE-listed group. The reasons for the Tribunal’s prohibition will be made available in due course. The Commission – which investigates and assesses large mergers before referring them to the Tribunal for a decision – recommended that the proposed transaction should be prohibited as it is likely…
The WACS (West Africa Cable System) undersea cable, which is critical to South Africa connection with the world, is broken again. TENET, which is the operating partner of the South African national research & education network (SA NREN), said it detected the break by 23:28 last night. We are observing our WACS capacity as down since 23h28 UTC/27th March 2020. A call has been logged with our provider for feedback. Traffic has failed over to SEACOM and EASSy cable systems and there is currently no impact for SA NREN traffic. — SA NREN Operational Updates & Alerts (@RENAlerts) March 28,…
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases has reached 1170, an increase of 270 cases since Thursday, the South African government confirmed. Minister in the presidency, Jackson Mthembu, said on Friday evening that health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize had asked him to relay the figure. Earlier on Friday, it was announced that two people had died as a result of Covid-19, the respiratory illness caused by the coronavirus. However, Mthembu clarified that one of the deaths was confirmed to be linked to Covid-19. The second case, he said, was linked to Covid-19 but had not yet been confirmed. In light of…