News 11:00

BULLETIN 28 July 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Godongwana says the proposed salary package of the NSFAS administrator must be reconsidered
# Over 170 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since 9 July
# And tennis: Djokovic and Sabalenka headline the US Open mixed doubles teams

# Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana, has proposed that the salary package of National Student Financial Aid Scheme administrator, Hlengani Mathebula, be reconsidered. Mathebula was appointed by minister of Higher Education and Training Buti Manamela in May after NSFAS was placed under administration. He will earn eleven-million-rand over 24-months. Mathebula’s four technical advisers are set to earn a combined 9.9-million-rand. Godongwana told News24 the salary package must be aligned with the remuneration of previous administrators and with other university administrator appointments.

# Union federation Saftu strongly condemns the latest unilateral decision by the US to impose new trade tariffs on South Africa and dozens of other countries for allegedly failing to prohibit or effectively combat forced labour. The US trade representative has imposed tariffs of 12.5-percent on South Africa. Saftu’s Asive Dyani says the country has repeatedly demonstrated it possesses a comprehensive constitutional, legislative and institutional framework prohibiting forced labour:

# The DA says Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital has run out of a critical dialysis medicine because the Gauteng Department of Health has failed to pay suppliers. The party claims the hospital has been forced to borrow emergency sodium bicarbonate solution from Helen Joseph Hospital, while essential dialysis filters have reportedly not been supplied for six weeks. The DA’s Madeleine Hicklin urges the department to settle its debts and restore life-saving medicine supplies:

Moving abroad:

# More than 170 civilians have reportedly been killed and one-thousand-and-28 were injured in Ukraine since 9 July, amid intensified Russian attacks. At least 16-thousand-431 civilians have been killed in Kyiv since Moscow’s war started in February 2022, including 803 children. The United Nations’ Indrika Ratwatte says continued hostilities in Ukraine are inflicting mounting harm on civilians, damaging critical infrastructure and threatening wider global food and energy security:

# Tennis: Women’s world number one Aryna Sabalenka and 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic will play together in the US Open mixed doubles, starting in New York on August 25th. Last year’s runners-up, Iga Swiatek and Casper Ruud, have entered along with Elena Rybakina and Taylor Fritz, and the Japanese duo of Naomi Osaka and Kei Nishikori. Six teams with the best combined singles ranking will be automatically entered into the main draw. Eight teams will be given wild cards, and the final two places will be decided through a qualifying tournament.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-76-cents and the euro at 19-rand-6-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-29-cents and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-561-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-and-48-dollars-24-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 88-dollars-86-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….