News 14:00

BULLETIN 9 July 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Madlanga commission hears the police have skipped lifestyle audits for the past five years
# Hormuz ship traffic grinds to a near halt after the American and Iranian strikes
# And rugby: Moodie says they are ready for Scotland’s dangerous attack

# The Madlanga commission has heard the Police Service has not conducted a single full lifestyle audit in the past five years. Anti-corruption expert Albertus Schoeman testified police relied only on lifestyle reviews and investigations. He explains reviews compare declared assets with income, while investigations probe possible unexplained wealth or illicit income. Schoeman says no cases were escalated to full lifestyle audits during the period under review:

# Municipal workers’ union SAMWU demands that the National Treasury reverse its decision to temporarily withhold funding to 69 municipalities. General secretary Dumisane Magagula says this will push already struggling authorities closer to collapse, with devastating consequences for workers, communities, and the delivery of essential public services. He says municipal workers are not responsible for the financial mismanagement plaguing local government:

Moving abroad:

# Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz came to a near standstill after the US struck Iran for a second straight day as a fragile truce between the two sides looked increasingly shaky. Ship-tracking data shows observable movements in the world’s most vital energy conduit largely occurred along an Iranian-approved route nearer to the waterway’s north, while the US-supported Omani corridor was quiet. Some 14 commodity carriers crossed the strait in both directions yesterday, the least since the interim peace deal came into effect in mid-June.

# Rugby: Springbok winger Canan Moodie says they are expecting a tough battle against a very dangerous Scotland in Saturday’s Nations Championship second-round clash at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria. South Africa defeated England 45-21 in their opener last weekend, while Scotland got the better of Argentina 47-38. Moodie, who will earn his 25th cap for the Boks, says they are anticipating an aerial battle, which they are prepared for:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-37-cents and the euro at 18-rand-70-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-94-cents and Bitcoin trades at 62-thousand-904-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-105-dollars-38-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 77-dollars-84-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The EFF has commended the University of Pretoria for launching its Degrees Delivered campaign. The three-year fundraising initiative aims to unlock opportunities for graduates whose qualifications remain inaccessible because of outstanding historical student debt. The campaign seeks to raise 50-million-rand between this year and 2028 to help clear historical debt for qualifying graduates. The EFF says it has consistently maintained that historical student debt is one of the greatest barriers to economic participation confronting South Africa’s youth.

Stay tuned for more news………….