News 07:00

BULLETIN 29 October 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The IEC chairperson urges political parties and candidates not to undermine the electoral process
# Solidarity calls for a strategic partner as SAA salaries fall into arrears again
# And rugby: Rassie expects a tough challenge in Europe next month

# The Electoral Commission chairperson, Mosotho Moepya, has urged political parties and candidates not to allow robust political contestation to turn into permanent enmity. This year, 546 political parties are contesting the local government elections, while 29.2-million South Africans are registered to vote, with 2.6-million registered for special votes. Moepya says robust political competition is a fundamental part of democracy, but rivalries should not undermine the legitimacy of political opponents or public confidence in the electoral process:

Moepya added vote counting will begin immediately after polls close next Wednesday evening, emphasising that transparency is one of the key factors in delivering fair elections. More than 23-thousand voting stations will be used across South Africa. The IEC has declared its national results operation centre in Midrand, Gauteng, ready. Moepya says all counting will take place where voting has taken place, and no ballots will be moved outside the voting stations:

# Trade union Solidarity says South African Airways and its technical division, SAAT, have again failed to pay salaries on time. The union has also raised concerns about unpaid overtime and other allowances at SAAT. Solidarity’s Derek Mans says employees should not suffer because of the airline’s financial problems. Mans added the airline needs a long-term solution instead of relying on government support whenever it faces another financial crisis:

# The Gauteng High Court has postponed the full court hearing on the detention of prospective asylum seekers to next month. This involves 33 urgent applications concerning the detention of undocumented foreign nationals who have indicated their intention to apply for asylum. The applicants are seeking clarity on the legality of their detention. The Office of the Chief Justice says the postponement is necessary due to the substantial expansion of the proceedings since they were enrolled. The hearing will now take place from the 16th to the 18th of November.

# Rugby: Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus is excited over the prospect of playing Italy, France and Ireland during next month’s Nations Championship visit to Europe. He says each one of them will pose different threats and challenge South Africa in various ways, and the fact that these matches now form part of a competition will add even more impetus. South Africa won all three Tests in the championship’s first stage, but Erasmus says this is an intense competition and it will be important to hit the ground running.

# Finally: US civil rights leader and pioneering labour organiser Dolores Huerta died at 96. She cofounded the United Farm Workers in the 1960s, working to change the lives of migrant workers. Her Spanish-language slogan “Sí, se puede!” which translates to “Yes, it can be done” was grounded in the belief that people could effect change. Her work over the decades earned her many accolades, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2012. The UFW says Huerta life’s work was to empower her community to face and overcome injustices.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-60-cents and the euro at 18-rand-52-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-13-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 79-thousand-934-dollars. Gold sells at vier-thousand-51-dollars-57-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 115-dollars-29-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….