News 13:00

BULLETIN 8 July 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# A cold front is set to hit most parts of Gauteng
# Minister Ramokgopa says load-reduction is a municipal problem, not an Eskom issue
# And, rugby: France suspends fullback Jaminet for his racist comments

# The South African Weather Service says a cold front will hit parts of Gauteng this week, bringing with it low temperatures and rain. This follows after a series of cold fronts hit other parts of the country at the weekend. Johannesburg Emergency Services spokesperson, Robert Mulaudzi, says they are on standby to help residents, especially in informal settlements, as they are the most vulnerable to the harsh weather:

# Minister of Electricity and Energy, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, says load-reduction has become a major issue in parts of South Africa despite over 100 days without load-shedding. He clarified that load-reduction is a municipal issue, not Eskom’s, blaming municipalities’ underinvestment, poor planning, and inadequate maintenance of energy infrastructure for the outages. Ramokgopa emphasises municipalities’ responsibility to ensure consistent power supply:

# The EFF in Gauteng says it is ready to effectively represent the residents in the opposition benches of the provincial legislature. Premier Panyaza Lesufi finally appointed his cabinet last week. It is dominated by the ANC, which will be in charge of seven crucial portfolios, while the IFP, Patriotic Alliance and RISE Mzansi were each allocated one. The EFF’s provincial chairperson, Nkululeko Dunga, says the political parties in the provincial government hold only 33 seats, which is far from an outright majority:

# Rugby: French fullback Melvyn Jaminet has been suspended after he posted a video on social media with a racist comment. The 25-year-old came off the bench in France’s first Test win over Argentina in Mendoza on Saturday. The French Rugby Federation has condemned the comments as unacceptable and contrary to the fundamental values of the sport. Jaminet has issued an apology, saying he understands that his comments have hurt and offended many people, adding that racism in any form is unacceptable.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-19-cents and the euro at 19-rand-72-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-32-cents and Bitcoin trades at 57-thousand-721-dollars-9-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-372-dollars-83-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 85-dollars-72-cents a barrel.

# And, the amount of cryptocurrency stolen in hacks globally more than doubled in the first six months of 2024. Blockchain researchers TRM Labs report that hackers had stolen over 25-billion-rand by June, driven by large attacks and rising crypto prices. The median theft size increased 1.5 times from 2023. TRM Labs’ Ari Redbord noted the increased motivation for cybercriminals due to higher crypto values.

Stay tuned for more news………….