News 18:00

BULLETIN 22 March 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Finance minister is mum on tax hikes for the National Health Insurance as widespread criticism mounts
# The IFP says it’s committed to peace and stability ahead of the elections 
# And there is mixed reaction to the French president showing off his boxing skills

# The DA has criticised Finance minister Enoch Godongwana for remaining silent on potential tax hikes to fund the National Health Insurance Bill. They claim there is no current plan to finance the NHI and concerns linger about its affordability. The party alleges the NHI, awaiting president Cyril Ramphosa’s signature, is a political ploy rather than a genuine healthcare solution. The DA’s Dion George proposes an alternative model emphasising governance reform and private-sector collaboration for sustainable healthcare access without tax burden hikes:

# Inkatha Freedom Party leader Velenkosini Hlabisa reaffirmed the party’s commitment to peace and stability as the elections approach. He says ensuring free and fair elections is paramount and expresses a strong desire for stability beyond the electoral period. He dismissed allegations of violence against ANC supporters after the 110th commemoration of King Dinuzulu ka Cetshwayo in KwaZulu-Natal over the weekend. Hlabisa urges against frivolous accusations during this politically sensitive time:

# Eskom has announced stage two load-shedding from four this afternoon until eight this evening, followed by stage three until five tomorrow morning. The utility needs to replenish emergency reserves and lost three generating units. Stage two load-shedding will then resume until eight tomorrow night, followed by stage three until five on Sunday morning. Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena says unplanned outages total 15-thousand-409 megawatts, with over six-thousand megawatts undergoing planned maintenance:

# Soccer: North Korea pulled out of next week’s World Cup qualifier against Japan in Pyongyang, citing worries over infectious diseases in Japan. It wants the match to be moved to a neutral venue. Reuters reports the Asian governing body, AFC, cancelled the game and referred it to Fifa’s relevant committees. Japan won this week’s first qualifier against North Korea in Tokyo 1-nil. Syria and Myanmar are the other countries in qualifying Group B for 2026’s World Cup. The communist country last hosted a men’s international in 2019.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-96-cents and the euro at 20-rand-52-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-90-cents and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-98-dollars-57-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-173-dollars-53-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 85-dollars-60-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Photos of French president Emmanuel Macron hitting a boxing bag have caused amusement, bemusement and consternation. Posted to Instagram the black and white images show Macron working out in a tight-fitting dark T-shirt and gloves. One image shows him gritting his teeth and in another he wears a look of intense concentration. Commentators drew comparisons with Russian president Vladimir Putin and photos of him engaged in sports such as judo and horseback riding. Others have linked the images to Macron’s increasingly tougher stance against Moscow.

Stay tuned for more news………….