News 16:00

BULLETIN 7 May 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA remains hopeful for successful rescue efforts in George
# The Electoral Commission declines involvement in the MK Party’s internal affairs
# And, rugby: A female referee is set to make Bok history in Bloemfontein

# The DA has expressed optimism about the ongoing rescue efforts in the aftermath of a multi-storey building collapse in George in the Southern Cape. Collaborative initiatives between the local municipality, the City of Cape Town, and the Western Cape government are underway to save trapped survivors. Six fatalities have been confirmed. The DA’s Mimmy Gondwe extended condolences to the families of the victims:

# The Electoral Commission has declined involvement in the internal affairs of the MK Party following a letter demanding the removal of former president Jacob Zuma from its membership list. The commission has confirmed receiving a letter from the party’s representative, Jabulani Khumalo, demanding the removal of Zuma as the face and president of the party. As Zuma remains the registered leader of the party since 10 April, the commission cannot act on the request to remove him from the list of members of Parliament of the party.

# Parents have called for government to simplify the application process to ensure that more children are speedily diagnosed and admitted at appropriate schools. This comes as children with special needs across Limpopo continue to face challenges with school admissions. Local government has been lauded for ensuring children have access to basic education and economic opportunities, but urged to make the processes seamless. The Education Department’s Cebile Khanye says assessments are key to addressing placement barriers:

# Rugby: History will be made when the Springboks meet Portugal for the first time in a Test in Bloemfontein in July. The match will be refereed by Scotland’s Hollie Davidson, the first woman to take charge of a Bok Test. World Rugby announced the match officials for all the June and July internationals. Ireland’s Chris Busby takes charge when the Boks play Wales at Twickenham in London on 22 June. Australia’s Angus Gardner and Karl Dickson from England will handle the Boks’ two Tests against Ireland in Pretoria and Durban, respectively.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-48-cents and the euro at 19-rand-92-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-20-cents and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-592-dollars-30-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-311-dollars-70-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 83-dollars-13-cents a barrel.

#  And, finally: DebtBusters’ executive head, Benay Sager, says according to its Debt Index report for the first quarter of 2024 more consumers seek help to counter high inflation, interest rates, and stagnant income. Demand for debt counselling increased by 22-percent and subscriptions for online debt-management services went up by 30-percent. Sager says persistently high interest rates and inflation, especially food inflation, continue to erode consumers’ disposable income, while a lack of any meaningful economic growth is constraining salaries.

Stay tuned for more news………….