Sunday round-up: News headlines this week
South African scientists identify new Covid variant first, government makes a fuel blunder, and coalition talks wrap up. These are some of the stories making headlines this week.
Omicron: World’s reaction not science based
The world’s reaction to the discovery of the new coronavirus variant, Omicron, is based on politics and not science. This is the opinion of Dr Angelique Coetzee, chairperson of the board of the South African Medical Association.
South Africa is seeing a rise in Covid-19 infections, particularly in Gauteng, with the new B.1.1.529 variant behind many of the new cases.
In reaction, several countries have restricted travel to and from Southern Africa, despite epidemiologists saying travel curbs may be too late to stop the Omicron variant from spreading globally.
WATCH: The head of the South African Medical Association chats to journalist Izak du Plessis about the new Covid-19 variant.
Fuel price blunder by DMRE underscores need for fuel price review – AA
On Wednesday (December 1), after the December fuel price adjustment had already come into force at retailers across South Africa, and two full days after the official announcement of the fuel price by Minister Gwede Mantashe, the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) announced it had made a mistake with its fuel price calculations.
The department announced that instead of the 81c/l increase, it had erred in incorporating six cents into the price which it had already included in the September fuel price adjustment. According to the DMRE, the 6c/l difference is ‘… due to the fact that the adjustment of wages for service stations workers had already been implemented in September 2021’.
The Automobile Association (AA) says the error has already caused many South Africans to pay higher prices for fuel than they should have, and that this situation must be rectified.
Coalitions: Parties cannot micromanage coalitions
Power struggles and instability marked the coalitions formed after the 2016 municipal elections, but multi-party politics is here to stay, and parties have to put their differences aside and make decisions based on what is good for the residents, says an independent analyst.
WATCH: Political analyst Wayne Sussman chats to journalist Izak du Plessis about coalitions politics in South Africa.
‘Long overdue’ e-toll decision date set for February 2022
The long-awaited decision on whether the Gauteng e-tolls will be scrapped has now been moved to February 2022.
This is according to a statement on Monday by Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula. The road-user pay system was implemented in December 2013. The scheme was met with public hostility, with motorists refusing to pay.
This led to President Cyril Ramaphosa appointing a task team in 2019 to resolve the impasse over e-tolls. Mbalula said the final decision on the matter was a ‘priority for the Cabinet.
“The final determination is about how best to carry the cost burden of the Gauteng Freeway Improvement Project, while maintaining these roads in pristine condition,” Mbalula said.
“We agreed with the minister of finance that the announcement of the final decision will be made during the budget speech in February.”
Rage festivals cancelled
Just one day after the opening of the 2021 Ballito Rage, organisers decided to cancel the event after 36 positive Covid-19 cases were detected in initial testing.
Of the 940 matric leavers tested over the course of the first day, 32 tested positive, with another four staff also added to the list.
“The festival opened for the first time on Tuesday, November 30, with unprecedented Covid-19 protocols in place, including mandatory vaccinations for all staff and guests and pre-arrival Covid-19 tests for all guests.
“A testing facility was set up near the event site and staff testing commenced on November 29; of the first 122 staff tested, zero presented positive,” said festival spokesperson Darren Sandras.
The remaining staff and all guests were tested on Tuesday, which is when the positive cases were identified.
Meanwhile, the Plett festival was scheduled to start on Friday and continue through to next Tuesday.
“Almost all schools set to attend Plett Rage have positive cases. Based on the trajectory of this virus, this is only a tiny percentage of what we are now certain will show up. The numbers are only going to increase rapidly. Although we, as organisers, have implemented the most stringent Covid-19 preventive measures, there was no way to pre-empt the devastation that the current surge of Covid-19 cases nationally would cause,” a statement read.
