News 12:00

BULLETIN 12 March 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# My Vote Counts says the proposed amendments to the party funding law are opportunistic 
# Minister Pravin Gordhan’s departure raises hopes for Mango’s sale 
# And tennis: Novak Djokovic is knocked out of Indian Wells

# My Vote Counts says the proposed amendments to the Electoral Matters Amendment Bill are opportunistic and unconstitutional. The ANC is set to use its numbers to push through the bill in the National Assembly today. The legislation controversially changes the funding formula of how political parties and independents represented in legislatures receive allocations from state coffers. My Vote Counts says several of the amendments related to political party funding have strayed far beyond the scope of what is necessary to be in line with the amended Electoral Act.

Meanwhile, the Independent Electoral Commission has fired the official behind the ANC and uMkhonto we Sizwe candidate lists leak. Last week Friday, the two lists started circulating on social media, hours after they were submitted by the parties. The IEC says its preliminary investigation shows the documents were generated from a work station in its headquarters before they were deleted. IEC CEO Sy Mamabolo says the official made submissions on why she should not be fired and based on this she was dismissed.

# As Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan exits politics, Mango’s business rescue practitioner, Sipho Sono, sees a chance for progress. He says Gordhan’s opposition to the sale of the subsidiary of South African Airways may dissipate, potentially aiding the troubled airline’s revival. Legal hurdles linger, with an urgent court application pending. Despite delays, Sono believes Mango’s sale remains crucial to its rescue plan, offering hope to sidelined employees awaiting potential job reinstatements.

# Nehawu’s strike at the University of Pretoria has ended after the two parties reached a settlement agreement. The workers went on strike on the 15th of last month, demanding an above-inflation salary increase and other benefits. The university’s spokesperson, Rikus Delport, says workers have accepted a 5.1-percent increase and a once-off payment of one-thousand-200-rand for this year:

# Tennis: Lucky loser, Luca Nardi, has knocked out world number one Novak Djokovic in the third round of Indian Wells. The 20-year-old Italian, ranked number 123 in the world, beat the Serbian 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to record the biggest win of his career. He is the lowest-ranked player to defeat Djokovic at ATP Masters one-thousand or Grand Slam level. Nardi says he has been inspired by the recent success of his compatriot, Jannik Sinner:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-62-cents and the euro at 20-rand-35-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-82-cents and Bitcoin trades at 71-thousand-779-dollars-80-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-176-dollars-87-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 82-dollars-65-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….