News 06:00

BULLETIN 11 September 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Godongwana says the Revenue Service is busy curbing illicit financial flows
# Transnet reports its first annual profit in four years
# And JD Vance defends Trump’s post-election payments to all Americans

# Finance minister Enoch Godongwana says the South African Revenue Service is intensifying its fight against illicit financial flows and the broader illicit economy. During the 2024/2025 financial year, SARS recorded ten-thousand-142 customs seizures worth 6.3-billion-rand. It also collected 763.7-million-rand through fuel and petroleum schemes, and recovered 6.1-billion-rand linked to value-added-tax fraud and illicit gold trading. In response to a parliamentary question, Godongwana says these results show SARS’s work to curb illicit financial flows is active, coordinated, and linked to direct revenue recovery.

# State-owned logistics group Transnet has reported a 4.6-billion-rand profit for the financial year ending March 2026, its first annual profit in four years. The company says the result was driven mainly by the sale of its Pier 2 terminal and improved rail and pipeline volumes. Revenue increased 7.1-percent to 88.6-billion-rand. Transnet’s recovery has been supported by government guarantees, which strengthened liquidity and helped the debt-laden company avoid a potential default.

# Statistics South Africa says manufacturing production increased by 1.1-percent in July compared with the same month last year. Food and beverages, as well as petroleum and chemical products, were among the biggest contributors to the growth. Seasonally adjusted production also rose by 2.2-percent from June. Stats SA’s Nicolai Claassen says manufacturing sales increased by 3.9-percent in July after falling in the previous two months:

# The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union says the escape of an inmate from Rooigrond Correctional Centre in North West has put challenges at correctional facilities under the spotlight. The union welcomes Edward Madiba’s rearrest; however, the incident raises concerns about ageing infrastructure, security weaknesses and staff shortages. Popcru’s Johannes Dire says correctional officers need enough staff, equipment and proper working conditions to keep facilities secure:

# US vice president JD Vance has suggested that the post-election payments president Donald Trump has promised American adult citizens would come from revenues raised by the trade tariffs. Trump has vowed to pay every adult citizen 80-thousand-rand if his Republican Party retains the House and Senate in November’s midterm elections. Reports estimate this will cost over 16-trillion-rand. Vance says the administration is taking in an extraordinary amount of revenue because Trump is actually standing up to both foreign countries and companies who’ve been taking advantage of America’s workers.

# Athletics: Prize money of over 160-million-rand is on offer in World Athletics’ inaugural Ultimate Championship, starting in Budapest, Hungary, today. About 380 athletes, including six from South Africa, will participate. The world record holder in the men’s pole vault, Swedish-American Mondo Duplantis, headlines the event, which doesn’t have a quota for countries, with inclusion solely based on performance. World Athletics’ president, Sebastian Coe, says the event was created to ensure every season culminates in a major global championship.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-18-cents and the euro at 18-rand-80-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-87-cents and Bitcoin trades at 76-thousand-836-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-315-dollars-90-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 111-dollars-2-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….