News 11:00

BULLETIN 14 March 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The African Transformation Movement says the cancellation of the SAA-Takatso deal is a victory for accountability
# The magistrate who presided over a former Eskom group CEO’s corruption case failed to declare his own business interests in the power supplier
# And rugby: Eddie Jones is eyeing a new style of play for Japan

# The African Transformation Movement says the cancellation of the South African Airways-Takatso Consortium deal is a victory for integrity and accountability. Public Enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan announced yesterday the deal to sell a 51-percent stake in SAA to Takatso had been scrapped. He said in a post-Covid market, a new valuation on the national carrier’s worth was made and this overshot Takatso’s original three-billion-rand offer. ATM’s Zama Ntshona says the safeguarding of national assets is vital:

# The magistrate who presided over the corruption case against former Eskom group CEO Matshela Koko and seven co-accused, allegedly failed to disclose his business dealings with the power utility. The case was struck off the roll last year. According to News24, acting magistrate Stanley Jacobs is a director and shareholder of BEP African Consulting. The company was allegedly paid 14.3-million-rand by Eskom during the time Koko and co-accused Frans Sithole held senior positions at the utility. Jacobs says there was no reason to disclose anything, as the company was dormant.

# The DA says it is evident that the City of Tshwane is heading towards financial recovery. This comes as the audit outcome of the metro has shown improvement from adverse in 2022 to qualified last year, indicating progress in governance. The DA’s Tshwane’s spokesperson, Kwena Moloto, says mayor Cilliers Brink and his leadership have made massive strides to enhance fiscal responsibility and curb wasteful expenditure and corruption:

# A ship carrying humanitarian aid, which departed the port city of Larnaca in Cyprus on Tuesday, is nearing Gaza. The vessel is carrying 200 tonnes of food, which equates to almost half-a-million meals. The organisation that will distribute the aid, the World Central Kitchen, says a second and much bigger vessel is on standby in the port of Larnaca to ship more aid to Gaza. The United Nations has warned that at least 576-thousand Palestinians in Gaza, one-quarter of the population, are one step away from famine.

# Rugby: Japan head coach Eddie Jones says he wants to create a new style of play that is adventurous and attacking. The 64-year-old is coaching the Brave Blossoms for the second time, after parting ways with Australia last year when the Wallabies failed to make the World Cup knockout stages for the first time in history. Jones’s first game in charge is in June against England, a team he coached from 2015 to 2022. He says he wants to bring on new Japanese talent:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-61-cents and the euro at 20-rand-36-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-82-cents and Bitcoin trades at 73-thousand-419-dollars-35-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-167-dollars-93-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 84-dollars-17-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….