News@3pmJune26

The Victoria High Court in Gauteng will deliver judgment on Friday regarding the cause of death of 141 patients transferred from live ECDME facilities. The National Prosecuting Authority will decide whether to pursue criminal prosecution after the judgment. SNDF soldiers were killed in an attack in the DRC, bringing the total deaths to 12 since December. The National Health Department dismissed travel restrictions due to the NPOS outbreak but encourages travelers to seek healthcare if ill. ESCOM is repairing a damaged transformer and will implement load shedding due to increased electricity consumption. Policy uncertainty worsened in the second quarter due to the elections. In Tirtop Stones this hour, court to deliver judgment on live ECDME inquest on Friday, our department dismisses report of travel restriction following NPPOS outbreak and ESCOM continues repair at solar substations. The time is 3 o'clock, I am Rhea Gantamashabane, good afternoon. The Victoria High Court in Gauteng is set to deliver the judgment in the live ECDME inquest on Friday. The inquest was for the court to determine the cause of the death of 141 patients transferred from live ECDME facilities to non-governmental organization in 2015 and 2016. The findings of the inquest also seek to determine whether anyone should be held accountable for the death. The National Prosecuting Authority will then decide whether to pursue criminal prosecution after the judgment. The South African Defence Force, SNDF soldiers were killed and others wounded in the Morto attack at a base in 2nd Democratic Republic of Congo yesterday. The tactical intelligence captains were part of the South African region force on the peacekeeping mission in DRC. In February, two soldiers were killed during an attack at the same base. This brings the total number of deaths within semi-DRC to about 12 since the force deployed to the DRC in December. The National Health Department has dismissed fears of possible travel restriction or lockdown due to the NPOS outbreak. According to the department, the World Health Organization has not recommended any travel restriction or possible lockdowns. However, travelers from NPOS and endemic countries are encouraged to seek health care if they are ill and to alert health officials about their travel for their clinical guidance. The country now has 16 laboratory-confirmed cases. The department's spokesperson for Stamohale says anyone can contract the disease and should not self-diagnose and use over-the-counter medication if they have symptoms but rather go to the health care facility. Of age, gender, sexual orientation and race, NPOS is a preventable and manageable disease and treatment for both mild and severe cases is available. People at higher risk include those living with chronic conditions such as HIV, TB and diabetes. ESCOM has announced that repairs to fix the damage transformer at the Zola Substation and Kauting are progressing so well. The damage was caused by a fire incident last week and according to the utility, the fire occurred due to the illegal connection and vandalism resulting in widespread outage in Ponto's Zola and surrounding areas. ESCOM managed to provide electricity supply to the affected areas using three other existing transformers but the temporary measures have led to increased electricity consumption. ESCOM Provincial Spokesperson Amanda Grady says due to increased consumption they'll implement load shedding and rotation between 5 o'clock in the afternoon and 10 o'clock at night. ESCOM starts at 10 p.m. daily until June 30, 2024. The schedule has been communicated to customers. It is important to note that load rotation is not the same as load shedding as load shedding has been suspended for 90 consecutive days. Considering the work completed so far and the remaining tasks, we estimate that all repairs will be concluded by Sunday 30 June 2024. Policy uncertainty worsened in second quarter, this according to the Northwest University Business School Policy Uncertainty Index. The report believes that the PUI moved further into negative territory from 65.8 to 68.3 points. The main driver of the second quarter outcome was the high level of uncertainty surrounding last month's elections. Recapping in the top stories this hour, court to deliver judgment on life is remaining in quotes on Friday. Health department dismisses reports of travel restriction following an impulse outbreak and ESCOM continues reports at solar substations. For Madueng FM News, I am Rhea Gantomashavani.