Brazilian drug mules hit SA, and dodgy R800 milllion tender probed

Here’s what is happening in and affecting South Africa today:

• Brazilian drug mule boom: Police have caught roughly a dozen suspected drug mules at OR Tambo International Airport over a few months, most with ties to Brazil’s São Paulo. Cops there, meanwhile, have noted a smuggling increase via the airport and found a house where ‘mules’ were prepared before flights. [Daily Maverick]

• Dodgy hospital tender probed: Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Dean Macpherson has launched an investigation into governance issues at the Independent Development Trust (IDT) after failing to receive requested documentation from the trust’s board about an allegedly irregular and corrupt R800 million hospital oxygen plant tender that was uncovered by amaBhungane and the Daily Maverick. [Moneyweb]

• Eastern Cape hospital nightmare: A mother from KwaNobuhle in Kariega says her sickly daughter has been sleeping on a thin blanket on the cold cement floor in the hallways of Uitenhage Provincial Hospital (UPH) for about a week. She is among dozens of patients lying on the hospital’s floor or on chairs due to a lack of bed space. [GroundUp]

• SACP’s 2026 plans: With the DA and other ‘neoliberal’ parties forming part of the GNU, the SACP has decided to contest the 2026 local elections independently. The party has campaigned for the ANC since South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994. Despite being critical of the ANC’s governance, including issues like state capture and poor service delivery, the SACP has refrained from leaving the alliance, often resuming its support once its leaders are included in government positions. [Business Day]

• Markets: The rand weakened against a stronger dollar on Tuesday as investors shifted their focus towards monthly U.S. and local inflation figures. On Wednesday (11 December), the rand was trading at R17.79 to the dollar, R22.74 to the pound, and R18.75 to the euro. Oil is trading at $72.58 a barrel. [Reuters]