News 09:00

 BULLETIN 11 April 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Cosatu advocates for the Eskom Debt Relief Amendment Act to support economic growth
# The FF Plus says the SANDF continues to waste money on a large scale
# And Trump’s latest attempt to delay his hush-money trial is rejected

# Union federation Cosatu says the Eskom Debt Relief Amendment Act will enable the power utility to prioritise maintenance to end load-shedding. They welcome president Cyril Ramaphosa’s approval of the Act, crucial in stabilising Eskom. The federation has long supported the need for the government to take over Eskom’s unsustainable debt levels as part of measures to stabilise and support economic growth, and rebuild the crucial electricity provider. Cosatu’s Matthew Parks urges comprehensive plans to address corruption, municipal debt, and tariff hikes:

# The Freedom Front Plus says while there is no stopping the decay of the South African National Defence Force, money is still being squandered on a large scale. Minister of Defence and Military Veterans, Thandi Modise, revealed that the utility rates at the official home of the Defence Force chief in Waterkloof amounted to 251-thousand-128-rand. The house has been vacant since November 2021. The party says the SANDF’s military bases across the country have decayed to such an extent that it will cost an estimated eight-billion-rand to repair.

# Tshwane mayor Cilliers Brink says they are doing everything possible to ensure Hammanskraal residents get clean water. Water and Sanitation minister Senzo Mchunu and the mayor yesterday checked on progress in dealing with challenges at the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Works. The area has been getting water from tankers, following an outbreak of cholera last year. Brink has conceded that the upgrade of the Rooiwal wastewater treatment works was a job that was 20 years past its deadline:

# A New York Appeals Court judge has rejected the latest attempt by Donald Trump’s lawyers to delay his hush-money trial. The former US president is charged with falsifying business records related to reimbursements for a payment to adult film star, Stormy Daniels, before the 2016 presidential election. In the latest attempt, Trump’s lawyers wanted the trial put off indefinitely while they fought to remove the presiding judge, Juan Merchan, and challenge several of his rulings. The trial is scheduled to begin on Monday.

# Soccer: Five-time winners Barcelona defeated Paris St-Germain three-two in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal tie in France. Andreas Christensen came off the bench to score a late winner for Xavi Hernández’s side. Meanwhile, in Spain, Atletico Madrid held off a late Borussia Dortmund fightback to hold a slender two-one advantage heading into the second leg next week. Dortmund manager, Edin Terzić, says he is happy they are still in with a chance to make the semifinals:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-73-cents and the euro at 20-rand-13-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-50-cents and Bitcoin trades at 70-thousand-560-dollars-97-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-343-dollars-59-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 90-dollars-73-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….