News 17:00

BULLETIN 23 February 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Cadre deployment to positions is determined by loyalty to the ANC
# Parliament moves to impeach a commissioner at the Commission for Gender Equality 
# And Cricket: England comes out on top at the start of the fourth Test against India

# DA national spokesperson for Public Service and Administration, Leon Schreiber, has criticised the ANC’s cadre deployment policy, stating it prioritises loyalty over merit. Schreiber says loyal cadres are selected based on their allegiance to the party rather than their suitability for positions. He reveals the policy includes a loyalty ranking system, indicating loyalty as the primary criterion for selection:

# Parliament is gearing up for its second Section 1-9-4 impeachment against Gender Equality Commission commissioner Mbuyiselo Botha, looking to finalise it before the elections. Botha faces five charges for disrespectful comments about female colleagues. Known for gender activism, Botha is under scrutiny following the removal of former Public Protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane. Parliament aims to select an independent panel by next month to assess Botha’s case swiftly, marking another unprecedented impeachment after recent actions against Western Cape Judge President John Hlophe and retired judge Nkola Motata.

# British authorities have made their biggest-ever seizure of Class A drugs, confiscating about five-thousand-170 kilograms of cocaine worth over ten-billion-rand. The drugs were found in a container of bananas from South America at Southampton port. The National Crime Agency believes the shipment was destined for Germany. This seizure is described as a major blow to international drug cartels, which are estimated to make 76-billion-rand annually from the United Kingdom cocaine market, linked to serious violence. The previous record seizure was approximately three-thousand kilograms in 2022, also at Southampton.

# Cricket: England recovered from a bad start to the fourth Test against India in Ranchi. The visitors lost their third wicket with just 47 on the board after Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to bat. Then Jonny Bairstow and Joe Root steadied the ship before wickets started to tumble again. But Root stood firm and ended the day on an undefeated 106, with England on 302 for seven. They have to win the Test to rescue the series after winning the first match, but losing the next two.

# And finally: The mortal remains of Namibia’s late President Hage Geingob are being toured across the capital city, Windhoek, today. Deputy Chief of Staff and Joint Operations at the Ministry of Defence and Veterans Affairs, Rehabiam Kalimba, anticipates thousands of local and international mourners to attend Geingob’s official memorial service at Independence Stadium tomorrow afternoon, followed by his interment at the national heroes’ shrine on Sunday:

Stay tuned for more news………….