News 17:00

BULLETIN 3 April 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The ANC is found guilty of contempt of court for withholding its cadre deployment records 
# President Cyril Ramaphosa signs the Judicial Matters Amendment Act into law
# And soccer: The former president of the Spanish governing body is arrested for corruption 

# The DA welcomes a ruling by the High Court in Johannesburg, finding the ANC and its secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula, guilty of contempt of court. This comes after the ANC failed to disclose records of its cadre deployment committee, dating back to 2013 when president Cyril Ramaphosa was chairperson. The court has ordered the ANC to pay the DA’s costs and provide the requested information within 15 days. The DA’s Leon Schreiber urges Ramaphosa to comply with the ruling:

Meanwhile, Ramaphosa has signed into law the Judicial Matters Amendment Act, 2023, aimed at improving various aspects of the justice system under the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. The amendments include empowering the Chief Master to supervise High Court Masters and allowing the expungement of criminal records for certain offences, including those related to the Covid-19 state of disaster regulations. The act also introduces measures to combat corruption in the private sector, penalises false declarations in domestic violence protection order applications, and repeals common law on defamation.

# Taxi Association SANTACO is expected to fully roll out its new online booking system by the end of the year. The system allows commuters to book long-distance travel conveniently. The initial rollout in KwaZulu-Natal has seen success with commuters giving a preference to it. However, spokesperson Rebecca Phala says commuters are calling for improved functionality:

# Soccer: The former president of the Spanish governing body, Luis Rubiales, has been arrested on corruption charges. He is accused of receiving illegal commissions while negotiating the staging of the Spanish Super Cup competition in Saudi Arabia. BBC Sport reports he was detained when returning from a trip to the Dominican Republic. Rubiales is also on trial for sexual assault after kissing a member of Spain’s women’s team, Jenni Hermoso, after they won last year’s World Cup. This led to him being forced to resign.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-80-cents and the euro at 20-rand-28-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-62-cents and Bitcoin trades at 65-thousand-737-dollars-89-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-275-dollars-36-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 89-dollars-47-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The public will be able to visit the late Queen Elizabeth’s favourite residence, Balmoral Castle, in the coming British summer. King Charles announced guided tours of the castle in Aberdeenshire in the Scottish Highlands for five weeks from the first of July. Tickets cost two-thousand-300 rand each, and increase to three-thousand-500-rand when afternoon tea is included. Only 40 visitors will be allowed daily. According to Balmoral Castle’s webpage, it will be the first tours of this kind since the building was completed in 1855.

Stay tuned for more news………….