Ruling Party Branches Fail to Nominate Candidates Ahead of 2024 Elections
More than a third of African National Congress (ANC) branches have failed to nominate candidates for the 2024 elections, TimesLive reports. Andisiwe Makinana and Kgothatso Madisa write that the ruling party's inactive branches, and at least three recent opinion polls pegging projected ANC support at less than 50%, are among the warning signs that senior party officials say the ANC will ignore at its peril. The dire state of the ANC was highlighted at a special national executive committee meeting. It heard that disillusionment with the party has spread to its lower structures, as hundreds of branches could not meet to nominate candidates to send to parliament. The assessment was contained in a report by the party's electoral committee, chaired by former president Kgalema Motlanthe. Party insiders who attended the November 22 meeting say the electoral committee revealed that only 2,533 branches submitted lists while more than 1,000 could not do so. The ANC had a total of 3,942 branches before last year's national conference.
Three More Muggings on Table Mountain, A Day After Ultra-Runners Attacked
Three marathon runners were mugged during the RMB Ultra-trail race on Table Mountain in Cape Town, and there are reports of three other muggings after the race, News24 reports. Western Cape police spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Malcolm Pojie said the three runners had not yet opened cases by Sunday afternoon (November 26). He said they were assisted by metro police on the day. They were advised to open cases, but the runners wanted to first complete the race. Taahir Osman from Take Back Our Mountains, an NPO focused on protecting the mountain's biodiversity, confirmed that there were three other mugging incidents on Sunday.
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Patient Dies in Front of Clinic After Security Guard Denies Him Access Due To Load Shedding
A patient died at the entrance of Northam Clinic, Limpopo after a security guard denied him entry, News24 reports. The man's family had brought him to the clinic around 3am on Saturday (November 25). At the time, the patient was bleeding from all his bodily orifices, according to the Limpopo Department of Health. The security guard informed them that due to rotational power cuts, the clinic would not open for them, but instead gave them contact numbers for emergency medical services. According to the department, the man had already died by the time the ambulance arrived. MEC Phophi Ramathuba said: "While we are still waiting for the full report on what transpired, we are hurt, saddened, and equally angered by the allegations. Denying access to healthcare services contradicts our commitment to upholding basic human rights."
