In the news today, President Cyril Ramaphosa has agreed to delay the implementation of the National Health Insurance.
Meanwhile, the 2030 Reading Panel’s 2026 report revealed that 15% of Grade 3 pupils in South Africa struggle with reading.
Furthermore, international flights in and out of Cape Town International Airport were suspended after a fire broke out on Tuesday morning.
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Ramaphosa halts NHI rollout until legal challenges are settled
President Cyril Ramaphosa has agreed to delay the implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI) until the Constitutional Court (ConCourt) hands down judgments on legal challenges to the NHI Act.
The ConCourt hearing is set to take place from 5 to 7 May 2026.
The Health Funders Association (HFA), the Medical Association, the Board of Healthcare Funders, the Private Practitioners Forum, and the Hospital Association have all taken legal steps against NHI. The Western Cape government and some trade unions have also approached the court.
Many of the cases relate to the public participation process that took place before the NHI Act was signed into law.
CONTINUE READING: Ramaphosa halts NHI rollout until legal challenges are settled
15% of Grade 3 pupils can’t read a single word
South Africa’s reading crisis is showing little sign of improvement, with the latest findings painting a bleak picture of early literacy in the country.
The 2030 Reading Panel’s 2026 report, released on Tuesday, reveals that 15% of Grade 3 pupils in South Africa cannot “decode even a single word by the end of their third year of formal schooling”.
At the same time, only 30% of pupils in Grades 1-3 are reading at grade level in their home language.The statistics have remained stagnant.
“Currently [2025], 81% of Grade 4 learners cannot read for meaning in any language, and only 30% of Grade 1-3 learners perform at grade level,” the report stated.
CONTINUE READING: 15% of Grade 3 pupils can’t read a single word
Flights in and out of Cape Town International Airport suspended
Airports Company South Africa (Acsa) has confirmed that international flights in and out of Cape Town International Airport in the Western Cape have been suspended.
All international flights en route to the airport have also been diverted.
This follows a fire on Tuesday morning. According to a source, the blaze left part of the airport without power.
An insider told The Citizen that major infrastructure and international airline offices were damaged in the blaze, affecting crucial passenger processing services.
CONTINUE READING: Flights in and out of Cape Town International Airport suspended
‘We are in two different worlds’: Brown Mogotsi on his undercover life
Supplementing its numbers on the frontlines with the impoverished men of world is Russia’s modus operandi, say critics.
Two European researchers and a diplomat on Friday gave a presentation on the alleged tactics used by the Russian military to bolster its military machine.
Four South Africans returned home this week after spending time near the disputed territories of eastern Ukraine, with the researchers singling out one local political party for criticism.
The uMhkonto weSizwe (MK) Party, through Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, were tied to the recruitment of South Africans, with researcher Thierry Vircoulon mentioning the party specifically as being aligned to Russia.
CONTINUE READING: ‘We are in two different worlds’: Brown Mogotsi on his undercover life
Sibiya admits sharing confidential audit report on Medicare24 contract with Matlala’s ‘friend’
Suspended Deputy National Police Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya’s confidence at the Madlanga commission continues to wane, with the suspended officer making several concessions on Tuesday.
Sibiya continued to insist he and tenderpreneur Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala were not friends, despite Matlala having attended an engagement party for Sibiya’s son on 14 September 2024 at his home.
Matlala’s company, Medicare24 Tshwane District, was awarded the R360 million Saps health services contract. In March last year, Sibiya was forwarded a journalist’s enquiry about an audit report on Matlala’s contract, which recommended that the national police commissioner, Fannie Masemola, terminate it.
Sibiya shared the confidential report with Witness F, even though he knew it might be shared with Matlala, as they were friends.
CONTINUE READING: Sibiya admits sharing confidential audit report on Medicare24 contract with Matlala’s ‘friend’
Yesterday’s News recap
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