Thabo Molokoane Daily update: Recent Episodes
Thabo Molokoane
The chairperson for Parliament’s joint committee on defence Cyril Xaba on Wednesday said he expected the case of an Alexandra man who was allegedly beaten to death by the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) to be thrown out of the Constitutional Court.
Collins Khosa died earlier this month after soldiers and police conducted an inspection around his home. It's alleged the soldiers beat him in front of his wife and accused him of drinking alcohol in public. He died hours later.
The total number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in the North West Province as at, Thursday, 22 April 2020 is 24.
Contact tracers in the Province had managed to track down all 100 contacts of a private doctor in Klerksdorp who tested positive for COVID-19. All 44 employees were isolated and tested. The results came back negative.
All 56 patients of the doctor were tracked down and isolated. Two showed COVID-19 symptoms. They were tested and results came back negative.
The doctor has been retested after isolation and the result came back negative. The doctor has recovered.
The threat of the new disease (Covid-19) could not have come at a worse time for millions of Zimbabweans already struggling with a deepening economic crisis bringing soaring food prices, stagnant salaries, water shortages and daily power blackouts.
Zimbabwe's annual inflation soared to more than 500 percent in February. The unemployment rate stands at more than 90 percent, medicines are scarce, and depleted state coffers mean that the government is unable to purchase sufficient supplies for the already weakened state-run medical facilities.
Dorothy Mazonde, a 39-year mother of five, echoed his fears.
"I can't afford to stock groceries because things are very expensive now," Mazonde, who sells airtime and drinks in the streets of Harare, told Al Jazeera.
"I am living hand to mouth from my vending activities."
The Ministry of Social Development has directed SASSA to explore various options to ensure that pay points, including the South African Post Office (SAPO), implement precautionary measures that will assist in minimizing and mitigating the spread of the Covid-19 virus
This follows the declaration by President Cyril Ramaphosa of COVID-19 as a national disaster.
According to Minister Lindiwe Zulu, as the pay points become overcrowded during paydays, they considering the staggering of payment dates to avoid gathering of large numbers of people.
Zulu says this is in line with the disaster management plan regulations.
She says that all their offices and SASSA pay points remain operational during this period and urged all facilities to adhere to Occupation Health and Safety guidelines.
Zulu adds that they are in consultation with stakeholders to mitigate against the using of biometrics system.
In Lily Mine today, even in the midst of pain, the families of the three miners still have hope that the bodies of their loved ones can still be recovered.
However, mine management who have placed security guards at the gate, barring anyone from entering, hinders that prospect.
The families continued to visit the mine area until one day when the mine management of Lily Mine concluded that it was too dangerous to do so because the ground on the vicinity is unstable.
In conversation with National Spokesperson Xola Mehlomakulu on their stance as a student movement amid the fears of Covid-19