News 13:00

BULLETIN 7 July 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Madlanga commission postpones Matlala’s testimony to next Wednesday
# The National Treasury temporarily freezes grant transfers to 69 municipalities
# And soccer: Neymar quits the international game as Brazil’s all-time top scorer

# The Madlanga commission has postponed businessman Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala’s testimony to next Wednesday. Evidence leader Mahlape Sello requested the postponement after confirming his Regulation 10.6 statement was not ready due to logistical challenges. Matlala’s appearance will come two days after appearing before the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court for the SAPS-Medicare24 plea deal hearing. His lawyer, Anneline van den Heever, also agreed his statement will be submitted tomorrow:

# National Treasury is temporarily withholding the July equitable share transfers to 69 municipalities to instill fiscal discipline and ensure public money is properly managed. Among those affected are the City of Johannesburg, Mangaung, and Nelson Mandela Bay. Treasury says the decision follows persistent and serious non-compliance with the Municipal Finance Management Act, despite support provided by the institution. It adds the local authorities will only receive their money once they prove they have taken corrective action.

# Forum for South Africa is calling on government to invest far more aggressively in border security, immigration enforcement, and modern surveillance technology. The Department of Home Affairs is recruiting an additional 301 immigration officials to strengthen immigration enforcement capacity. FOSA leader Tebogo Mashilompane believes this is far from sufficient to deal with the scale of the country’s illegal immigration crisis:

Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Exemption Permit Coordinating Committee says thousands of Zimbabwean learners are being withdrawn from South African schools due to deportations, raising concerns about their education continuity. The committee warns matric and senior grade learners face major curriculum barriers if relocated mid-study. It has proposed that affected learners continue with the South African curriculum and assessment policy statement curriculum in Zimbabwe. The group plans to escalate the matter to both governments.

# Soccer: Brazilian great Neymar departs as Brazil’s all-time top scorer after a glittering international career spanning 16 years. It ended on a low after his country lost to Norway in New Jersey in the US in the World Cup’s round of 16. The 34-year-old midfielder confirmed his retirement after scoring his country’s only goal in the 2-1 loss at the same stadium where he scored his first goal for Brazil in 2010. He ended with 80 goals in 130 matches since making his debut.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-24-cents and the euro at 18-rand-55-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-73-cents and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-148-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-126-dollars-27-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-80-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….