May 14, 2024.

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

Making headlines:

Unemployment rate worsens to 32.9%

Concerns heighten as Ramaphosa readies to sign NHI Bill into law

And, Pathology services seek to expedite identification as George building collapse death toll reaches 32

Unemployment rate worsens to 32.9%

South Africa’s official unemployment rate has widened by 0.8 of a percentage point to 32.9% in the first quarter of the year, compared with 32.1% in the fourth quarter of last year.

The number of employed people in South Africa increased by 22 000 to 16.7-million, but the number of unemployed people increased by 330 000 to 8.2-million, Statistics South Africa reports.

Further, according to the expanded definition, the unemployment rate increased to 41.9% in the first quarter of the year.

Stats SA reports that people aged between 15 and 34 years remain the most vulnerable in the labour market, with the number of unemployed youth having increased by 236 000 to 4.9-million in the quarter.

The youth unemployment rate, however, decreased by 1.3 percentage points to 44.5% in the first quarter.

Concerns heighten as Ramaphosa readies to sign NHI Bill into law

Business and political parties have expressed disappointment with President Cyril Ramphosa’s announcement that he will, on Wednesday, sign into law the controversial National Health Insurance Bill.

On Monday, Ramaphosa announced that he would publicly sign the Bill, which government hoped to use to achieve universal coverage for health services and, through this, overcome socioeconomic imbalances and past inequities.

Business Unity South Africa said it was deeply concerned by the announcement, given the Bill’s many “substantive and procedural constitutional flaws”.

The South African Health Professionals Collaboration believes its members’ concerns and recommendations throughout the parliamentary process were systematically ignored, raising serious questions about the fairness and effectiveness of the democratic process.

Meanwhile, ActionSA said it was disappointed that Ramaphosa had ignored the plea to avoid signing the Bill into law, in order to “avoid State capture 2.0”.

Democratic Alliance leader John Steenhuisen said the Bill presented an “existential risk” to South Africa’s public and private healthcare systems and that it would impose an “unbearable” new tax burden on citizens.

Pathology services seek to expedite identification as George building collapse death toll reaches 32

Forensic Pathology Services and the South African Police Service are planning to expedite the identification of persons killed in a building collapse in George, in the Western Cape, with only six of the 32 deceased persons identified thus far.

Eighty-one people were working on site on the partially built building when it collapsed on May 6.

By 09:00 this mor, 20 people were still unaccounted for, while 12 were in the hospital. The death toll had also increased to 32, as rescue efforts continued.

In an update to the public, the George municipality says Forensic Pathology Services is making use of fingerprints, DNA testing and photographs of unique markings, such as tattoos, as part of efforts to identify the deceased.

It is also calling on families who have lost contact with people who may have been working on site when the building collapsed to go to the George Civic Centre and provide the Department of Social Development with the accurate names and other details.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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