News 09:00

BULLETIN 21 April 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# A committee welcomes a High Court ruling in favour of the Auditor General
# The corruption case against Dudu Myeni has been postponed due to ill health
# And, rugby: The Lions power into the top eight of the URC but the Bulls and the Stormers are on a losing streak

# The Standing Committee on Auditor General has applauded the Gauteng High Court’s decision supporting the Auditor General South Africa in a case against the Road Accident Fund. RAF’s bid to challenge the Auditor General disclaimer opinion on its financial statements failed. Committee chairperson, Sakhumzi Somyo, hopes the ruling will resolve the matter, urging RAF to comply with court-prescribed financial reporting to Parliament.

# The DA has exposed a surge in the number of public servants in provincial and national government departments earning over one-million-rand annually, totalling 37-thousand-839. This excludes executives from entities like State Owned Enterprises and municipalities. The revelation, obtained from parliamentary questions, shows varying salary brackets, with some earning over 2.1-million-rand yearly. DA’s Leon Schreiber has criticised this cadre deployment as detrimental to service delivery, costing taxpayers nearly 47-billion-rand.

# The Richards Bay Magistrate’s Court has delayed former South African Airways board chairperson, Dudu Myeni’s corruption trial to 10 May 2024, for transfer to the High Court in Johannesburg. Investigating Directorate spokesperson Henry Mamothame cites Myeni’s hospitalisation for the postponement. Myeni and co-accused Trevor Mathenjwa face charges related to approximately 300-thousand-rand in corruption and fraud linked to BOSASA. Mamothame has confirmed that both are out on ten-thousand-rand bail:

# The United Democratic Movement Women’s Organisation has denounced Nestlé for allegedly selling baby food with added sugar in low- and middle-income countries, while offering sugar-free alternatives in Western markets under the same branding. Following an investigation by Public Eye and the International Baby Food Action Network, the organisation raised concerns over potential discrimination and health risks for African children. They call for accountability and equitable access to healthy food for all children.

# And, rugby: The Lions powered into the top eight on the United Rugby Championship log with a comprehensive 44-12 win over Leinster at Ellis Park yesterday. The win, plus a four-try bonus point, gave the Lions their first-ever playoff spot in the competition. The Stormers lived a horror in their URC encounter, losing 27-21 to Welsh side Ospreys at Cape Town Stadium last night. In Pretoria, a red card for Bulls flyhalf Johan Goosen cost his team their 21-game unbeaten record at Loftus Versfeld against overseas opposition, as defending URC champions Munster won a tense and brutal contest 27-22.

Stay tuned for more news………….