News 15:00

BULLETIN 5 Novemeber 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Government commends voters for exercising their democratic right in the local elections
# The Director of Public Prosecutions denies Fannie Nkosi’s bid to review the charges against him
# And tennis: The stage is set for the WTA Finals in Indian Wells

# Government has thanked South Africans for participating in the local government elections and exercising their democratic right to vote. It has commended the Electoral Commission, law enforcement agencies, employers and volunteers for their contributions towards ensuring a peaceful and credible election process. Government deputy spokesperson William Baloyi urged citizens to stay united and hold elected representatives accountable, adding democracy requires ongoing public participation beyond elections to improve service delivery:

The South African Communist Party meanwhile wants to strengthen municipalities as public institutions and build internal municipal capacity. National spokesperson Mbulelo Mandlana said at the Electoral Commission’s national results operations centre in Midrand, Gauteng, they reject outsourcing municipal functions and reliance on consultants, arguing these practices undermine employment. Mandlana says the SACP, who is contesting elections on its own for the first time, wants to promote greater working-class participation in local governance:

# The Director of Public Prosecutions has rejected former police sergeant Fannie Nkosi’s application to have criminal charges against him reconsidered. His lawyer, Katlego Maleho, has also withdrawn from the case. Nkosi appeared in the Pretoria North Magistrate’s Court today following his resignation from the Police Service last month. The charges against him include defeating the ends of justice, theft and fraud relating to alleged interference with police evidence in Limpopo, and possession of illegal firearms, ammunition and police documents.

# Western Cape MEC Ivan Meyer offficially welcomed delegates to Cape Town for the 31st Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth Conference held in the Mother City this week. Meyer told delegates agriculture connects people, economies and nations. He highlighted climate change, water scarcity and rising costs as major challenges. Meyer says innovation and collaboration offer opportunities for growth, food security and sustainable development across the Commonwealth:

# Tennis: The stage is set for the WTA Finals, starting in Indian Wells in the US on Sunday. The world’s eight best female players will compete in a round robin format, with the top two in each group advancing to the semifinals. Group One will see top-ranked Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan competing with Americans Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula, and Czech player Linda Noskova. World number two, Aryna Sabalenka, leads group two, also consisting of Russian Mirra Andreeva, Elina Svitolina of Ukraine and another Czech, Karolina Muchova.   

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-37-cents and the euro at 18-rand-38-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-4-cents and Bitcoin trades at 80-thousand-205-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-134-dollars-14-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 99-dollars-53-sents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….