Daily news update: Pfizer vaccine side effects, Digital Vibes and load shedding

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Daily news update 09 March 

Digital Vibes: Special Tribunal reserves judgment in SIU’s joinder application 

 
The Special Tribunal on Tuesday reserved judgment in the Special Investigating Unit’s (SIU) joinder application, as the unit seeks to recover millions of rand from six entities and individuals who allegedly received money from the Department of Health’s unlawful contract awarded to Digital Vibes. 

The matter was before Judge Lebogang Modiba, who heard arguments virtually from the legal representatives of the companies and individuals implicated in the SIU’s investigations into the R150 million contract awarded to former health minister Zweli Mkhize’s close associates. 

Mkhize stepped down last year after the SIU submitted its damning report to President Cyril Ramaphosa. 

Stage 2 load shedding to continue until Saturday 5am 

South Africa’s embattled power utility, Eskom, has announced that stage 2 load shedding will continue for the rest of the week, until Saturday 5am. 

The power utility provided an update on Tuesday on the current challenges that the system is facing. 

Eskom implemented stage 2 load shedding on Monday. 

The power utility said there had been multiple generating unit failures over the past 24 hours. 

Six arrested after violent clashes in Alexandra

Police have arrested at least six people for leading and taking part in the “Operation Dudula” campaign targeting illegal foreign nationals in Alexandra. 

Several people were reportedly injured on Monday when clashes broke out between street vendors and members of the Alexandra Dudula Movement near the Pan Africa Mall in the township. 

The Dudula Movement were allegedly trying to remove foreign shop owners and force them to close their businesses. 

The group is a vigilante organisation that targets foreign nationals in Alexandra, accusing them of taking jobs from locals, with some of their actions being deemed not legal.

Pfizer vaccine side effects: Much ado about nothing, here’s why

Anti-vaxxers thought they were given an early Christmas present when the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA’s) Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (CBER) for the first time allowed the public to access Pfizer data from its clinical trials in support of a Covid-19 vaccine licence.

The ‘confidential report’ details several side effects from the vaccine, sending anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theorists into a frenzy.

American podcaster Liz Wheeler read part of the report to her audience on Twitter, saying the big pharma wanted to “keep it from the public for next 70 years”.

“They wanted the government to allow them to keep it secret from us until we’re all dead,” said Wheeler.

Russian invasion spells disaster for diesel-guzzling Eskom 

As Russia’s attack on Ukraine intensifies, so does the knock-on effect on the global economy, particularly as oil and gas prices hit record highs. 

In the past decade, South Africa’s embattled power utility Eskom has become increasingly reliant on the country’s open cycle gas turbines (OCGT) to supplement the energy mix. 

The parastatal’s Chief Financial Officer, Calib Cassim, has predicted that Eskom’s diesel use for 2022 could reach somewhere in the region of R9 billion, which includes fuel for two independent power producers (IPPs). 

Icasa to finally auction off high-demand spectrum 

After almost a decade, communications regulator the Independent Communications Authority of South Africa (Icasa) is expected to auction off high-demand spectrum. 

The auction will take place on Tuesday and will be conducted through the opt-in process and is only open to tier-2 operators which includes Cell C, Liquid Telecoms, Rain Networks and Telkom. 

Vodacom and MTN are described as tier-1 operators. 

Icasa said the radio frequency spectrum in the 700 MHz, 800 MHz, 2600 MHz, and 3500 MHz bands is made available through this licensing process for the purposes of providing national broadband wireless access services to all South Africans. 

ALSO READ: Daily news update: Foreign nationals vs Dudula Movement, load shedding and Zuma backs Russia