News 06:00

BULLETIN 27 August 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Thoko Didiza survives the motion of no confidence against her
# China urges its citizens to leave Eswatini over security risks
# And rugby: Rassie hopes Cape Town will also be quiet during the Haka on Saturday

# The EFF’s motion of no confidence in National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza failed yesterday. A total of 282 members of Parliament voted against the motion and 101 in favour. EFF leader Julius Malema tabled the motion in June over Didiza’s decision not to oppose president Cyril Ramaphosa’s Western Cape High Court application last month to halt proceedings of the Impeachment Committee. Only the EFF, MK Party, African Transformation Movement, ACDP, National Coloured Congress and the United Africans Transformation supported the failed motion.

EFF leader Julius Malema says Didiza failed to discharge her constitutional responsibilities with independence, impartiality and integrity. Malema accused the Speaker of choosing the ANC’s interests over her constitutional responsibility in Parliament:

# Alleged crime kingpin Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala has told the Madlanga commission that former KwaZulu-Natal Hawks head, Lesetja Senona, gave him a 20-thousand-rand loan after police raided his Pretoria home in December 2024. According to Matlala, police carried out two raids that month and seized his phones. He says Senona promised to investigate the second raid but never came back with information:

# The ANC Youth League in Ekurhuleni is demanding urgent appointments for young people who applied for cleaner, security and grass-cutting jobs in the municipality. They accuse the city’s human resources department of delaying the recruitment process, despite the posts being advertised, budgeted for and approved. The league’s regional spokesperson Poula Mmakola calls for a written response and a time-bound plan, with appointments made by 15 September. Mmakola has threatened to mobilise affected applicants and occupy HR offices if demands are not met.

# China’s Foreign Ministry has urged its citizens to evacuate or relocate from Eswatini to relatively safer countries, including neighbouring South Africa, due to security risks. The advisory follows the southern African kingdom’s crackdown on illegal online gambling operations, which led to the arrest of dozens of Chinese nationals. The ministry says the security situation in the country is complex, with crimes involving online fraud and illegal gambling rampant and public security and safety risks extremely high. The Eswatini government says any suggestion that the country is a security risk is regrettable.

# Rugby: Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus hopes Cape Town will follow Johannesburg’s example on Saturday by respecting the All Blacks’ haka before the second Test. He asked the Highveld’s spectators to be quiet during the traditional pre-match performance after shouts of “olé olé” droned out the haka during previous matches in South Africa. Erasmus says the crowd was largely quiet last weekend, while the few who weren’t were hushed by those around them. He says the Boks regard it as an honour to face the haka.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 15-rand-94-cents and the euro at 18-rand-58-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-68-cents and Bitcoin trades at 78-thousand-600-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-607-dollars-35-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 89-dollars-3-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….