News 15:00

BULLETIN 7 March 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA files an urgent contempt of court application against the ANC’s Fikile Mbalula
# The GOOD party accuses the DA of political hypocrisy
# And cricket: The local T20 competitions kick off

# The DA vows to use all means to compel the ANC to obey the law and reveal its dirty cadre secrets. They launched an urgent contempt of court application in the High Court in Johannesburg against ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula for failing to comply with a Constitutional Court order. The ANC was ordered to hand over complete records related to its national cadre deployment committee since January 2013, when president Cyril Ramaphosa became chairperson. The DA’s Leon Schreiber demands compliance and transparency:

Meanwhile, the GOOD party in the Western Cape says the DA’s decision to redeploy the recently axed Drakenstein Municipality mayor, Conrad Poole, to the provincial legislature, is a slap in the face of the people of the province. The party says the DA clearly has no problem providing a soft landing for political cadres who have corruption allegations to answer for, instead of holding them accountable. The GOOD party’s Keagen Gertse says this is something the DA criticizes the ANC for doing:

# Western Cape MEC of Health and Wellness, Nomafrench Mbombo, has confirmed that Joslin Smith’s siblings are safe with family as minors. This follows Joslin’s mother, Kelly, and her boyfriend, Jacquin “Boeta” Appollis, being among four accused in her disappearance. Mbombo says the accused appeared in the Vredenburg Magistrate’s Court facing trafficking and kidnapping charges:

# Cricket: Division One of the local competition CSA T20 is starting tomorrow, with eight teams competing for the title. Division Two already started yesterday, with seven lower-tier teams fighting it out. Cricket South Africa says the CSA Women’s T20 Challenge will also be amplified with four double-headers played alongside the men’s teams. CSA CEO Pholetsi Moseki says the tournaments offer players the opportunity to showcase their skills and inspire younger players to follow in their footsteps.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-78-cents and the euro at 20-rand-47-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-96-cents and Bitcoin trades at 66-thousand-652-dollars-69-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-154-dollars-2-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 82-dollars-29-cents a barrel.

# And finally: A report by the International Organisation for Migration has revealed that 2023 was the deadliest year for migrants since 2014, with at least eight-thousand-565 people dying on migration routes worldwide. The report underscores a 20-percent increase in fatalities compared to 2022, emphasising the urgent need for action to prevent further loss of life. The organisation’s Missing Migrants project documents these deaths and disappearances, highlighting the perilous journeys migrants undertake due to a lack of safe, regulated pathways.

Stay tuned for more news………….