News 07:00
BULLETIN 11 March 7 am
Good morning. I am……..
In this bulletin:
# President Ramaphosa criticises the DA’s request for foreign help with the monitoring of the elections
# A political analyst says minister Gordhan is not entirely responsible for the crisis at SOEs
# And, Tshwane residents are warned about the persisting heatwave
# ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa has accused the DA of trying to mortgage South Africa’s democracy to the USA. This follows the official opposition requesting the US and several other countries, including the European Union, to help provide resources for independent domestic observers ahead of the 29 May polls. Ramaphosa says this is the DA’s agenda of selling the country to the global superpowers:
# Political analyst, Dale McKinley, says Public Enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan cannot be entirely blamed for the dysfunctional state of some of the state-owned enterprises. The minister is set to retire after the 29 May general elections. Gordhan has been accused by some opposition parties of leaving SOEs in a worse state than they were during Jacob Zuma’s presidency. McKinley says the SOE crisis is very deep and structural, and it goes way beyond an individual including the present leadership of the ANC itself.
# The Judicial Conduct Committee’s appeals committee has recommended that Gauteng judge president Dunstan Mlambo face a judicial conduct tribunal. This is to investigate whether he lied to Parliament and the Justice minister, Ronald Lamola, in a protracted dispute with KwaZulu-Natal advocate Anthony Brink. Eight complaints were lodged against Mlambo in his capacity as then Legal Aid South Africa board chairperson by Brink over his non-appointment to a senior post at the firm which he was shortlisted for in 2009. The JCC says the allegations are serious.
# The US military says a ship carrying the first equipment to establish a temporary port to deliver humanitarian supplies to Gaza is heading towards the Middle East. In his State of the Union Address last week, president Joe Biden announced that the military would begin establishing a port, that could receive large shipments of critically needed food and medical supplies. The port could take up to two months to build and become fully operational. The United Nations has warned that famine in the Gaza Strip is almost inevitable.
# Rugby: France performed a dominant second half to beat a spirited Wales 45-24 in round four of the Six Nations in Cardiff. The visitors scored tries through Gael Fickou, Nolann Le Garrec, Georges-Henri Colombe, Romain Taofifenua, and Maxime Lucu, with Thomas Ramos adding 20 points, as they secured a bonus-point victory. This win lifts France to fourth in the standings, while Wales remains bottom of the table as Warren Gatland’s side are winless in the competition.
# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-79-cents and the euro at 20-rand-55-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-14-cents and Bitcoin trades at 68-thousand-399-dollar-57-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-177-dollars-48-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 81-dollars-45-cents a barrel.
# And finally: The City of Tshwane’s Emergency Services is warning residents the current heatwave will persist until tomorrow. The South African Weather Services is predicting high temperatures peaking at 37 degrees over the next two days. The metro’s spokesperson, Lindela Mashigo, says residents are urged to be aware of adverse effects that may be caused by extended exposure to extreme heat weather conditions:
Stay tuned for more news………….