News 09:00

BULLETIN 18 June 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Paul Mashatile will respond to questions in the National Council of Provinces today
# The government allocates 12.3-billion-rand to municipalities
# And, the US holds interest rates steady for the fourth consecutive time

# Deputy president Paul Mashatile will respond to questions in the National Council of Provinces today. In his capacity as the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cabinet Committee chairperson and leader of Government Business in Parliament, he will outline measures to detect and prevent corruption in the police. He will also highlight corrective actions by the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation and the National Prosecuting Authority in light of the Madlanga Commission. Mashatile will also answer questions on illegal migration, the land reform programme and the National Water Security Plan.

# Minister of Water and Sanitation, Pemmy Majodina, says government is intensifying efforts to address the country’s water and sanitation challenges. Government has allocated 12.3-billion-rand in infrastructure grants to municipalities during the current financial year. This is aimed at improving water security, rehabilitating ageing infrastructure, and expanding access to reliable services across all provinces. Majodina has acknowledged that many communities continue to face water interruptions, sewage spillages, deteriorating wastewater treatment systems and high levels of water losses:

# The eThekwini Municipality and government departments, including Home Affairs, have agreed on a 72-hour plan to urgently speed up processing and deportation of undocumented foreign nationals. Thousands of Malawians have camped at the Sherwood Hall in Durban, awaiting to be repatriated to their home country, amid anti-illegal immigration protests. eThekwini mayor Cyril Xaba says the implementation of the plan will help stabilise the situation and reduce humanitarian and public health risks:

# US Federal Reserve Chair, Kevin Warsh, says he is launching a reform agenda to reshape how the central bank conducts and communicates monetary policy. Fed governors have voted to hold interest rates steady for the fourth consecutive meeting, leaving their benchmark lending rate at a range of 3.5-percent to 3.75-percent. Warsh, who has replaced Jerome Powell, says they have the capability and commitment to deliver on their price stability objective of two-percent:

# Soccer: England launched their bid to end a 60-year World Cup title drought with a 4-2 victory against Croatia in their Group L opener in Dallas. Captain Harry Kane struck twice as the Three Lions overcame two Croatia equalisers with second-half goals from Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford to seal the victory. In Houston, the Democratic Republic of Congo produced a strong defensive performance to hold Portugal to a 1-1 draw. Meanwhile, Ghana’s Caleb Yirenkyi scored a 95th-minute winner to deny Panama their first-ever World Cup point in Toronto, Canada.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-31-cents and the euro at 18-rand-79-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-71-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-963-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-312-dollars-61-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 77-dollars-78-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….