News 11:00

BULLETIN 27 July 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Ramaphosa assures the NPA of government support after accepting Andrea Johnson’s resignation
# The DA calls for private operators to take over key freight rail lines
# And soccer: Banyana Banyana’s coach says victory in the Wafcon opener will set the tone for the rest of the tournament

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has assured the leadership and staff of the National Prosecuting Authority of government’s unwavering support for its work in the fight against crime and corruption. He has accepted the immediate resignation of Investigating Directorate Against Corruption head, Andrea Johnson, following her request to vacate office. She has been in the spotlight in the past week due to her testimony at the Madlanga commission. Ramaphosa appointed Johnson in February 2022, with the mandate of strengthening the fight against corruption and state capture.

# The DA is calling for South Africa to move away from Transnet running the country’s freight rail network and allow private companies to take over the operation of key rail lines. This follows the release of the Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager’s latest Network Statement. The DA’s Chris Hunsinger says the plan allows some private companies to run their trains on the network, but Transnet will still control the tracks, infrastructure and management of the network:

The Special Investigating Unit has meanwhile secured a preservation order from the Special Tribunal to freeze two multimillion-rand properties linked to former Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa Group CEO Lucky Montana. The SIU’s spokesperson, Selby Makgotho, told Newzroom Afrika its investigation uncovered a money trail linking the properties to PRASA’s controversial 5.6-billion-rand Integrated Security Access Management System tender:

Moving abroad:

# Two people were killed and five others wounded, including a two-year-old boy, in a shooting at Seattle’s popular Bite of Seattle food festival in the US. According to the BBC, witnesses heard loud pops of rapid gunfire before fleeing and taking cover, some describing the scene as pure chaos and mayhem. Mayor Katie Wilson called the shooting an act of horrific violence. One suspect has been taken into custody. The shooting is one of at least 271 mass shootings in the US already this year.

# Soccer: Banyana Banyana head coach, Desiree Ellis, has stressed the significance of winning their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Group B opener against Tanzania in Casablanca, Morocco, this evening. In their last meeting, the two countries played to a draw. Ivory Coast and Burkina Faso are also in the group. The four semifinalists will qualify for next year’s World Cup in Brazil. Ellis says they have prepared well for the tournament:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-67-cents and the euro at 19-rand-2-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-25-cents and Bitcoin trades at 65-thousand-343-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-and-97-dollars-54-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 91-dollars-78-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….