News 14:00

BULLETIN 19 July 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# SARS condemns the attempted assassination of a Durban advocate who investigated irregularities
# Tshwane asks Treasury to have companies involved in the Rooiwal upgrade project blacklisted
# And, Olympics: The athletes’ village is described as a model of low-carbon construction

# SARS has condemned the attempted assassination of advocate Coreth Naudé in Durban. A bullet tore through her neck, and three more hit her shoulder and chest. Naudé survived emergency surgery and is in stable condition under heavy guard. According to News24, Naudé was looking into SARS’ attempts to secure a fleet of luxury vehicles owned by business mogul Shauwn Mkhize and her company, Royal AM Football, as well as the Shandi Trust. SARS is attempting to recover 37-million-rand in unpaid taxes. SARS says the attack aims to intimidate court officials

# The Citrus Growers’ Association has raised concerns about the severe impact on citrus production in the Western Cape due to recent flooding. This follows after all access roads to Citrusdal were washed out, isolating the town. Damages from the floods are estimated to surpass 430-million-rand. The association’s chairperson, Gerrit van der Merwe, highlights the need for swift and effective support from the provincial government. Emergency measures, including a private bridge, are in place, but road connectivity must be urgently restored to support the crucial citrus export season.

# The City of Tshwane says it remains resolute in imposing restrictions on Blackhead Consulting and its joint venture partners, CMS and NJR, from doing business with the public sector. In August 2022, the companies were kicked off the 291-million-rand upgrade project of the dysfunctional Rooiwal waste water treatment works. This was due to non-performance and alleged tender irregularities. The metro’s spokesperson, Selby Bokaba, says they asked National Treasury again to request the companies be blacklisted:

# Olympics: The athletes’ village in Paris which welcomed its first visitors yesterday, is described as a model of low-carbon construction. It also doesn’t need air conditioning, as the temperature inside will be at least six degrees lower than outside. The village will host about 14-thousand-500 people at its peak, which will include nine-thousand athletes participating in the Games from next week. After the Summer and Paralympic Games, the complex will be converted into homes, at least a third of them destined for public housing.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-35-cents and the euro at 19-rand-99-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-69-cents and Bitcoin trades at 64-thousand-44-dollars-47-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-412-dollars-68-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 84-dollars-88-cents a barrel.

# And finally: BetterBond CEO, Bradd Bendall, says South Africans will have to wait a little while longer for the new government’s economic growth efforts to be realised, and for the inflation rate to peak, before interest rates start to drop. Bendall says it’s been a tough year for homeowners with the prime lending rate holding steady at 15-year highs. He urges homeowners to maintain their bond repayments and to budget prudently:

Stay tuned for more news………….