News 18:00

BULLETIN 22 February 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Fikile Mbalula warns that Jacob Zuma will be held accountable if the ANC fails in the elections
# A firm warns the two-pot retirement system could lead to government dependency
# And Rugby: Antoine Dupont makes his sevens debut in Vancouver 

# ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula says former president Jacob Zuma will be held accountable if the ruling party fails in the upcoming elections. The elections are set to take place on 29 May. Briefing the media on readiness for the manifesto launch rally on Saturday at the Moses Mabhida stadium in KwaZulu-Natal, Mbalula threw shade at Zuma for endorsing the uMkhonto we Sizwe party. He says the former president has strengthened the hand of their opponents by collaborating with the enemy:

# Everest Wealth has warned the two-pot retirement system may lead to increased government dependency. This follows Finance minister Enoch Godongwana’s announcement the system is expected to yield a five-billion-rand tax windfall for government. The firm’s head of advisory services, Riaan Grobler, says frequent withdrawals could diminish long-term savings, potentially leaving more people reliant on social grants. He calls for effective education of the public on the consequences of tapping into retirement funds prematurely.

# The City of Tshwane has deployed additional personnel from the Electricity and Energy Department to region three after severe thunderstorms caused extensive damage and power outages. The storms uprooted trees and caused branches to fall on roads and powerlines, leading to prolonged blackouts in Pretoria and surrounding areas. The city’s Lindela Mashigo says a team has been assembled to supplement capacity and speed up repairs as technicians are overwhelmed by the restoration backlog:

# Rugby: France’s former 15-man captain, Antoine Dupont, starts his sevens career in Canada this weekend. He was included in the country’s team for the world series tournament in Vancouver. Dupont announced shortly after last year’s World Cup he wants to try for a place in France’s sevens team for the Olympic Games in the capital of Paris. This means he isn’t playing in the Six Nations. The country plays their group matches in Vancouver against the United States, Australia and Samoa.

# Financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-14-cents and the euro at 20-rand-70-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-15-cents and Bitcoin trades at 51-thousand-95-dollars-42-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-and-23-dollars-86-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 82-dollars-79-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The former First Dog’s diplomatic skills are under scrutiny after documents showed US president Joe Biden’s German shepherd doesn’t like his boss’s bodyguards one bit. The dog, Commander, has reportedly bitten Secret Service agents at least 25 times before he was removed from the White House last year. In some incidents, bodyguards had to receive stitches to deep wounds. BBC News reports an unnamed senior agent advised his colleagues to be creative to ensure their safety. Commander apparently lives with other family members now.

Stay tuned for more news………….