News 15:00

BULLETIN 6 March 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Tshwane is on review for a Moody’s downgrade due to financial statement delays
# Cosatu warns against normalising low GDP growth rates
# And tennis: Nadal and Raonic face off in the first round of the Indian Wells Open

# Rating agency Moody’s has placed Tshwane on review for a downgrade, after the city missed a deadline to publish its financial results for 2022/23. This delay could lead to the suspension of trade in its listed debt instruments. Mayor Cilliers Brink says the city has met its commitments to the Auditor-General and is working to submit the audited financials by Tuesday. Meanwhile, Ekurhuleni has firmly rejected Moody’s recent unsolicited rating downgrade, stating it has no formal agreement for such evaluations. It’s considering legal options to address reputational damage from the unsolicited review.

# Union federation Cosatu warns against normalising low economic growth rates, stressing urgent action. Cosatu says with a mere 0.6-percent growth last year, the fragility of the economy persists, exacerbated by challenges at Transnet impacting vital sectors. The federation advocates support for Eskom, Transnet’s modernisation, and a holistic approach to combat crime and corruption. Cosatu’s Matthew Parks says extended social support programmes and strategic budget reprioritisation are crucial to avoid accepting a persistently low growth rate:

# The South African Petroleum Retailers Association cautions about the economic impacts of increased international fuel prices. Fuel prices in South Africa increased this morning. Sapra’s vice chairperson, Lebo Ramolahloane, emphasises potential inflationary pressures and their effect on consumer spending and monetary policy decisions. Ramolahloane says the surge in fuel prices will directly affect businesses reliant on transportation and logistics, strain household budgets, and increase production costs for industries, which will impact employment. Ramolahloane calls for government interventions to mitigate these effects.

# Tennis: Spanish veteran Rafael Nadal faces Canadian Milos Raonic in the first round of the Indian Wells Open tonight. The 37-year-old missed most of last year through injury. The 33-year-old Raonic in 2016 moved up to third in the world ratings, but is now in 222nd position after he was also plagued by injuries. Top-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia, who has won the tournament five times in the past, has a bye in the first round and plays his first match on Friday.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-86-cents and the euro at 20-rand-51-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand and Bitcoin trades at 67-thousand-133-dollars-50-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-128-dollars-3-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 82-dollars-49-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The City of Ekurhuleni says it has achieved a 90-percent tuberculosis treatment success rate in the latest reporting period from October 2021 to September 2022. According to the World Health Organisation, South Africa is on the three global lists of high-burden countries for TB, HIV-associated TB, and drug-resistant TB. The metro’s spokesperson, Zweli Dlamini, says they will continue intensifying awareness of TB treatment:

Stay tuned for more news………….