News 07:00

BULLETIN 5 September 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Judgment is reserved in president Ramaphosa’s Phala Phala review application
# Eskom reports a successful 2026 winter
# And in cricket, the Proteas beat Namibia by 11 runs, to secure a place in the final of the T20 tri-series

# The Western Cape High Court reserved judgment in president Cyril Ramaphosa’s bid to overturn the Section 89 Independent Panel report on the Phala Phala farm scandal. The three-day hearing led by Judge President Nolwazi Mabindla-Boqwana, considered whether the Constitutional Court stayed within its mandate while making its findings on the report. Ramaphosa’s legal team argued that the panel relied on untested evidence and want the findings set aside. Four opposition parties including the Mk Party argued that a lower court lacks jurisdiction in the matter. Public impeachment hearings remain interdicted.

# The GOOD Party says the latest food poverty figures highlight the inadequacy of the 370-rand social relief of distress grant. The party argues the grant falls well below the 868-rand monthly amount needed to meet an adult’s basic daily food requirements. GOOD secretary-general Brett Herron calls for the SRD grant to be replaced with a basic income grant of at least one-thousand-457-rand to help millions of unemployed South Africans meet their basic needs:

# According to the state, scholar transport driver Ayanda Dludla’s life could be in danger if he is granted bail, due to continued public anger over the accident that killed 14 learners in Vanderbijlpark earlier this year. The state told the Vanderbijlpark Magistrate’s Court that Dludla’s release would not be in the interests of justice. Dludla faces 14 murder charges, three counts of attempted murder and several driving-related charges.

# Eskom says it fully met electricity demand during the 2026 winter, with South Africa recording 476 consecutive days without load-shedding. The utility’s year-to-date Energy Availability Factor rose to 67.79-percent, its highest since 2020, while unplanned outages fell to 19.47-percent. Eskom Spokesperson Daphne Mokwena says diesel expenditure dropped by 4.84-billion-rand to 1.08-billion-rand. She says more than 1.2-million customers have also been removed from load reduction:

# A Russian drone hit the headquarters of Ukraine’s SBU security service ​in Kyiv yesterday, one of the most high-profile targets struck during the war, as Russia intensified its campaign of air strikes against ‌Ukraine. At least 12 people were injured in the attack. This comes as two US peace negotiators were planning to visit Kyiv tomorrow. President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Russia to halt its airstrikes on Ukraine during the visit, and said Kyiv would guarantee the safety of the Russian airspace for their trip to Moscow.

# And finally cricket: The Proteas have beaten Namibia by 11 runs in Windhoek yesterday, securing their place in the final of the T20 tri-series. South Africa posted 228 for four, with Lhuan-dré Pretorius smashing his maiden T20 International century, scoring 101 off 53 balls. Connor Esterhuizen also impressed with 88 from 40 deliveries. Namibia fought back strongly in their chase, but were restricted to 217 for three. The victory is South Africa’s first over Namibia in international cricket. The Proteas face Zimbabwe in Sunday’s final.

Stay tuned for more news………….