News 14:00

BULLETIN 17 April 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The High Court strikes Jacob Zuma’s private prosecution case against Billy Downer and Karyn Maughan off the roll 
# South Africa’s inflation fall is unlikely to prompt interest rate cuts 
# And boxing: Minister Zizi Kodwa welcomes the ruling on the appointment of a Boxing SA Accounting Authority 

# Judge Nkosinathi Chili has struck former president Jacob Zuma’s case to privately prosecute advocate Billy Downer and journalist Karyn Maughan off the role in the High Court in Pietermaritzburg. Zuma accused Downer and Maughan of illegally leaking a doctor’s letter to the media. Downer is the lead prosecutor in the multibillion-rand arms deal against Zuma. Zuma’s legal team intend to approach the Constitutional Court to appeal the order:

# The South African Reserve Bank is unlikely to be swayed towards interest rate cuts just yet, despite a larger-than-expected drop in inflation to 5.3-percent last month. This decline, which beat forecasts, primarily stemmed from decreases in food and goods inflation. According to the Reserve Bank, it is crucial to align inflation rates with the 4.5 percent midpoint of its target range, particularly considering the looming fiscal risks ahead of May’s election. Consequently, interest rate cuts are not expected until post-election, with an anticipated 50 basis points reduction by year-end.

# The Automobile Association has raised concerns over the record-high fuel prices despite no increases in government levies in three-years. 93-octane petrol, which cost 21-rand-51-cents-per-litre in May 2022, rose to 23-rand-1-cent in May 2023. Current data from the Central Energy Fund indicates another 37-cents-per-litre increase in May, nearing 25-rand-15-cents-per-litre. In addition, 95-octane may rise to around 25-rand-50-cents-per-litre. The AA has welcomed the expected decrease in the diesel price by 35-cents-per-litre and illuminating paraffin by 28-cents-per-litre. It warns of potential currency pressures due to Middle East tensions, impacting prices in May.

# Boxing: Sport, Arts and Culture minister, Zizi Kodwa, has welcomed the ruling by the High Court in Pretoria on the National Professional Boxing Promoters’ Association matter. The court dismissed with costs the association’s application to declare the appointment of the Boxing SA Accounting Authority as irregular and invalid. The minister’s spokesperson, Litha Mpondwana, says it’s important to restore stability and ethical governance at Boxing SA:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-97-cents and the euro at 20-rand-19-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-66-cents and Bitcoin trades at 62-thousand-923-dollars-16-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-388-dollars-40-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 89-dollars-7-cents a barrel.

# And finally: A groundbreaking oral history of The Beatles, All You Need Is Love, is currently number two on Amazon’s music books chart, a week after its release. The 352-page hardcover is presented in a question and answer interview format, with the band members, friends and families sharing unpublished stories. All the interviews in the book, written by Peter Brown and Steven Gaines, were conducted between 1980 and ’81. Meanwhile, Disney Plus is adding the 1970 Beatles film Let It Be to its platform on the eighth of next month.

Stay tuned for more news………….