News 16:00

BULLETIN 3 August 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The voters’ roll tops 29-million after a successful registration weekend
# The petrol price decreases amid a fuel price adjustment
# And rugby: Many tickets are still available for the All Blacks’ matches against South African franchises

# The Electoral Commission says the voters’ roll has grown to more than 29-million ahead of the 4 November local government elections. Nearly two-million voter registration transactions were recorded during the final registration weekend, including almost 292-thousand first-time registrations. KwaZulu-Natal recorded the highest turnout, followed by Gauteng and the Eastern Cape. IEC CEO Sy Mamabolo says more than 750-thousand new voters have been added through this year’s two registration weekends:

# Forum for South Africa has welcomed lifestyle audits at the National Prosecuting Authority’s Investigating Directorate against Corruption, announced by Justice and Constitutional Development minister, Mmamoloko Kubayi. Leader Tebogo Mashilompane says public confidence in law enforcement and prosecutor agencies has been severely damaged by allegations of corruption, political interference, and the slow prosecution of high-profile corruption cases. He says lifestyle audits will help ensure those entrusted with fighting corruption are beyond reproach:

# Motorists will pay less for petrol but more for diesel from Wednesday as the August fuel price adjustments take effect. Petrol prices drops by 52-cents-a-litre, while diesel prices rises by between one-rand-23- and one-rand-38-cent-a-litre. Illuminating paraffin prices increase by one-rand-52-cents-a-litre, while LP gas becomes cheaper. The Department of Mineral and Petroleum Resources says lower petrol prices were driven by weaker international petrol prices, while diesel costs rose because of global supply shortages and refinery constraints.

# Rugby: High prices are touted as possible reason why ticket sales are slow for the All Blacks’ tour matches. Prices start at 650-rand for Friday’s match against the Stormers in Cape Town, and varies for the matches against the Sharks in Durban, the Bulls at Loftus and the Lions at Ellis Park. Tickets are also still available for the third Test against the Springboks at Johannesburg’s FNB Stadium, ranging from one-thousand-650- to four-thousand-rand. SA Rugby reportedly admitted sales for the tour matches had been from modest to poor.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-47-cents and the euro at 18-rand-99-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-18-cents and Bitcoin trades at 62-thousand-565-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-and-53-dollars-19-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 86-dollars-83-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Research by Stellenbosch University highlighted the urgent need for women-centred addiction treatment, saying many women face barriers that prevent them from accessing care. Researcher Danyschka Jacobs says stigma, poverty, trauma, childcare responsibilities, and fear of losing their children often delay women from seeking help. She says women-specific treatment facilities remain limited and many existing programmes fail to meet their needs. Jacobs is calling for government funding and trauma-informed, gender-responsive services:

Stay tuned for more news………….