News 16:00

BULLETIN 16 February 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Police minister announces ongoing efforts against the construction mafia 
# Paul Mashatile says coalitions may not be viable for now
# And Rugby: SA Rugby says the Boks are not for sale 

# Police minister Bheki Cele has reported a surge in arrests against the construction mafia, with 61 suspects detained since April. Notable successes include thwarting an extortion attempt on a 320-million-rand housing project in Randfontein, Gauteng. Briefing the media on the quarterly crime statistics, Cele says the Western Cape showcased substantial progress in dismantling the construction mafia, leading to the arrest of allged key figures such as Ralph Stanfield and Nafiz Modack:

# Deputy president Paul Mashatile says the National Dialogue on Coalitions, that is led by the government, is showing that coalitions in South Africa may not at this conjuncture be the most viable, given the complex nature of society. He was addressing an ANC engagement with Palestine Solidarity at the Riverside mosque in Durban. Mashatile says it is for this reason that the ANC is making the call for leaders and members of the communities to support it, and the vision it has for South Africa.

# Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has died in prison. He was serving a 19-year-term at the Arctic prison colony. Russia’s federal penitentiary service says Navalny lost consciousness after going for a walk and could not be revived by medics. The country’s Investigative Committee says it had opened an investigation into his death. Citing his spokesperson, Russian news agencies reported that president Vladimir Putin had been informed of Navalny’s death. The 47-year old Navalny won a huge following with his criticism of corruption in Russia.

# Rugby: SA Rugby’s CEO Rian Oberholzer has written an open letter to South Africans to allay fears that the Springboks are being sold. Oberholzer says SA Rugby is engaged in conversations with a private equity company to invest in its future commercial growth. If the deal is approved, it will entail a company investing in a minority shareholding in the commercial rights to SA Rugby’s activities. SA Rugby will remain the majority shareholder. Oberholzer says this process is not about a quick cash injection; it is about securing the long-term financial sustainability of the game.

# And finally: The Freedom Front Plus in Gauteng says the attacks launched by premier Panyaza Lesufi on Orania are ridiculous. It says he should, instead, look a little deeper into the lessons that this Northern Cape community can teach him about public governance and service delivery. The FF Plus’s Anton Alberts says Lesufi’s opportunistic and populist attacks are a desperate attempt to divert attention away from his own unfulfilled promises, which he has to report on during his annual state of the province address on Monday:

Stay tuned for more news………….