News 07:00

BULLETIN 21 May 7 am/pm

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa and the president of the European Council discuss regional and global issues
# The Judicial Service Commission will today interview Mandisa Maya to become the country’s first woman chief justice
# And it is Child Protection Week highlighting adoption and foster care options

# President Cyril Ramaphosa and European Council president Charles Michel had a bilateral telephone conversation, where they discussed regional and global issues. South Africa has a strong strategic partnership with the European Union. Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, says the two reaffirmed the importance of South African and European engagement to address challenges to global peace and security, as well as reaffirmed the importance of respect for international law:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa’s farm in Limpopo, Phala Phala, is reportedly processing the refund of about eight-million-rand for Sudanese businessman Hazim Mustafa, who paid the money in a buffalo transaction in 2019. This was the dollar notes allegedly stolen from where it was hidden in a sofa. It was later said the buffaloes had undesirable breeding traits, while the Revenue Service couldn’t find any record of Mustafa declaring the cash when entering the country. Ramaphosa denied yesterday the scandal led to him seriously considering resigning.

# The Judicial Service Commission is set to interview Deputy Chief Justice Mandisa Maya today for the position of South Africa’s next Chief Justice. This comes as Justice Raymond Zondo prepares to retire in the coming months; his 12-year non-renewable term as a Constitutional Court justice will conclude in August. She is the sole candidate to be interviewed to possibly take over from Zondo on the first of September. If Maya is appointed, she will become the first woman to hold the position.

# RISE Mzansi in Gauteng says it should not be celebrated that premier Panyaza Lesufi and MEC of Social Development, Mbali Hlophe, now want to award non-profit organisations with contracts, after months of uncertainty. Lesufi recently met with organisations and promised to reverse the 223-million-rand budget cuts and speed up funding payments. RISE Mzansi’s provincial convenor, Tebogo Moalusi, says this is not the first time Lesufi has made promises to NPOs:

# Athletics: South African middle-distance runner Prudence Sekgodiso says she wants to reach the final of the 800 metres at the Olympic Games in Paris. She admits she stunned herself when she won the item at the Diamond League meetingon Sunday in Marrakech, Morocco, in the fastest time in the world this year. The 22-year-old says she didn’t expect to run so fast, bettering her personal best time by 39 seconds to one-minute-57.26 seconds. This was the first Diamond League victory of Sekgodiso’s career.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-20-cents and the euro at 19-rand-76-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-13-cents and Bitcoin trades at 70-thousand-967-dollars-40-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-417-dollars-63-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 83-dollars-31-cents a barrel.

# And to conclude: The Department of Social Development has urged South Africans to consider adoption and foster care as viable options when unable to care for their children. This stance comes as the department launched Child Protection Week. These measures ensure children remain within family environments. The department says adoption protects vulnerable children from institutionalisation. The department says the South African Constitution mandates government provision of alternative care. The campaign aims to raise awareness and recruit prospective adoptive parents, emphasising the need for increased understanding of adoption services.

Stay tuned for more news………….