News 07:00

BULLETIN 30 July 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The EFF supports the decision not to call the authors of the Phala Phala report
# The DA says the Tshwane court battle is a fight against state capture
# And Olympic Games: Ukraine appeals the Olympic Committee’s  decision to reinstate Russia

# Parliament’s Impeachment Committee has resolved that the members of the independent panel who authored the Section 89 report will not be required to appear before it. This follows legal advice that doing so could compromise its constitutional role. The panel led by former chief justice Sandile Ngcobo found that president Cyril Ramaphosa has a case to answer regarding the 2020 Phala Phala scandal. The EFF’s Omphile Maotwe supported the committee’s decision, saying the panel has completed its mandate:

# Three presidential advisory bodies say that, in the midst of growing geopolitical uncertainty, South Africa should accelerate renewable energy deployment, expand transmission infrastructure and advance electricity market reform. The conflict in the Middle East has disrupted the global economy, triggering energy supply shocks due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The Presidential Climate Commission, the National Planning Commission and the President’s Economic Advisory Council have identified several short-term priorities, including maintaining economic stability, accelerating energy security reforms, promoting competition in the electricity sector and addressing structural inequality.

# The DA says its urgent court application against the suspension of Tshwane city manager Johann Mettler is about protecting the rule of law and preventing political interference in the city’s administration. The party argues the High Court in Pretoria should overturn the council’s decision, as it undermines accountability. The DA’s Cilliers Brink says removing Mettler at the start of the municipal financial year could weaken oversight of public spending and procurement:

# Tiger Brands has invested more than 200-million-rand to transform its historic Paarl facility in the Western Cape into a new culinary mega-site aimed at boosting local manufacturing and improving supply of its iconic food brands. The upgraded site now includes a vinegar production plant, in-house production of Mrs Ball’s Chutney, and new recyclable packaging for its jam products. The company says the investment forms part of its broader strategy to strengthen local production, improve efficiency and support long-term growth.

# The United Nations International Organisation for Migration is warning that hundreds of thousands of people are trafficked every year on the promise of legitimate work abroad, only to be held captive and forced into online scam operations. Victims from over 80 countries are lured into scam centres through fake job offers on social media. Scam losses across East and Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand reached an estimated 1.91-trillion-rand in 2025. The organisation’s Amy Pope says they have assisted over three-thousand-500 survivors from 33 countries:

# Olympic Games: Ukraine has launched an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport against the International Olympic Committee’s decision to reinstate Russia to its competitions provisionally. Earlier this month, the IOC lifted its sanctions on Russian athletes, scrapping restrictions that had been in effect since the earlier phases of Moscow’s war against Kyiv in 2023. The decision opens the door for Russian athletes to compete for their country at the 2028 Olympic Games. The National Olympic Committee of Ukraine says the IOC’s decision is premature and violates the Olympic Charter.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-62-cents and the euro at 19-rand-4-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-19-cents and Bitcoin trades at 64-thousand-116-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-88-dollars-75-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 91-dollars-99-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….