News 12:00

BULLETIN 24 August 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA says Gayton McKenzie’s scheme of cadre deployment makes him unfit to be a minister
# The Western Cape police appeal for information after the discovery of four burnt bodies in Du Noon
# And Akani Simbine, Pieter Coetze and Prudence Sekgodiso take top honours at the SA Sport Awards

# The DA says the deployment of more insider cadres of Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie to key jobs in his Department of Sport, Arts and Culture shows he is unfit to be a minister. The party claims at least 19 senior government jobs are occupied by McKenzie’s own insiders. The DA’s Leah Potgieter says they have long raised the alarm about his disgraceful cadre deployment:

# Political analyst Ongama Mtimka has likened the ANC’s current position to that of a sports coach with excellent game analysis, but lacking the organisational firepower to execute the on-field strategy. The party’s manifesto sets out six key priorities aimed at rebuilding public trust, including addressing critical service delivery challenges. Mtimka told Newzroom Afrika while it outlines a desire for ethical, capable leadership, the reality of candidate shortlisting tells a different story:

# Western Cape police are appealing for information that could assist their investigation into the murder of four people whose charred bodies were discovered metres apart in Du Noon, Cape Town, yesterday. Spokesperson Novela Potelwa says police were called out to the N7 off ramp on Malibongwe Drive where they discovered the bodies on an open field adjacent to the road:

# Mobile operator MTN ​Group has reported a 21.3-percent increase ‌in half-year adjusted profit today, largely driven by subscriber growth in the second quarter and double-digit growth ​in service revenue. Africa’s biggest telecom operator says its adjusted headline earnings ​per share rose to 793-cents in the ​six months ended June 30, up from 654-cents a year earlier. Locally, South Africa’s highly competitive cell phone market limited MTN SA’s domestic service revenue growth to 1.5-percent, with local subscribers dipping slightly to 39.5 million.

On to sports news:

# Olympic silver medallist sprinter Akani Simbine was named Sport Star of the Year at the South African Sport Awards held in North West. Swimmer Pieter Coetze and middle-distance runner Prudence Sekgodiso won Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year, respectively. Sportsman of the Year with a Disability went to Puseletso Mabote, with Simoné Kruger claiming the women’s category. Olympic silver medallist Bayanda Walaza won Junior Sport Star of the Year. Team of the Year went to the Proteas Men’s cricket Test side.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-2-cents and the euro at 18-rand-68-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-83-cents and Bitcoin trades at 76-thousand-832-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-631-dollars-87-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 94-dollars-25-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….