News 06:00

BULLETIN 21 August 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The ANC is going to lay criminal charges against the DA’s Mark Burke and his company
# A third suspect is arrested in connection with the Reiger Park shooting
# And rugby: Rassie asks Bok supporters to respect the All Blacks’ Haka

# The ANC says it will today lay criminal charges against the DA’s chairperson of Federal Finance, Mark Burke, and the company he founded, Kastelo. The investment firm is under investigation by the South African Reserve Bank for exchange control violations. It is alleged that Kastelo has been using clients’ allowances to move funds offshore for its own benefit. The DA has removed Burke from Parliament’s finance-related committees. ANC chief whip Mdumiseni Ntuli says the allegations must be investigated properly and anyone found to have broken the law should face the consequences.

# Business for South Africa is shifting its focus to key sectors including mining, agriculture, tourism, hospitality and infrastructure. This follows the launch of phase three of the government-business partnership. The business organisation’s Martin Kingston says the government needs to achieve economic growth of more than three-percent to make a meaningful impact on youth unemployment. Kingston added the partnership will also work to improve investor confidence and support the City of Johannesburg:

Meanwhile, Discovery CEO Adrian Gore says South Africa must achieve economic growth of at least three-percent to create jobs and reduce unemployment. Speaking at the launch of phase three of the government-business partnership in Johannesburg, Gore said progress has been made in ending load-shedding, improving logistics and restoring investor confidence, but growth remains too slow. He added the government and business must now shift their focus from reform to growth:

# A third suspect has been arrested in connection with the murders of two Anti-Gang Unit officers and two women in Reiger Park, Johannesburg, earlier this month. The 27-year-old suspect was apprehended in Ekurhuleni following an intelligence-driven operation. Two other suspects in the matter, alleged gangster Regan Collis and 24-year-old Jamal Meyer, remain in custody. Hawks Gauteng spokesperson, Katlego Mogale, says the third suspect will appear before the Boksburg Magistrate’s Court today:

# President Volodymyr Zelensky says a failure by Ukraine’s allies to replenish its stock of air defence missiles ‌is costing lives. This comes after heavy Russian missile and drone bombardment killed at least 15 people and wounded 34 in and around Kyiv on Wednesday night into Thursday morning. Ukraine has a shortage of Patriot interceptors, which means it is struggling to defend itself against high-speed ballistic attacks. Zelensky says that as long as Ukraine does not have enough anti-ballistic missiles, Russia will not seriously think about peace.

# Rugby: Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has asked South Africa’s supporters to respect the All Blacks’ haka in tomorrow’s Test in Johannesburg. He wants the expected partisan crowd to remain quiet while the opponents perform their traditional pre-match ritual at Ellis Park. This follows after chants of “olé, olé” drowned out New Zealand’s challenge during recent Tests in South Africa. Erasmus says plenty of respect had been shown before the All Blacks’ tour matches against the Stormers in Cape Town, the Sharks in Durban and the Bulls at Loftus.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-11-cents and the euro at 18-rand-83-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-98-cents and Bitcoin trades at 72-thousand-702-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-521-dollars-70-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 94-dollars-49-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….