News 18:00

BULLETIN 25 July 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# COSATU welcomes Zizi Kodwa’s resignation from Parliament
# The EFF accuses the City of Tshwane of racial bias in managerial appointments
# And, motorsport: Ocon joins the American F1-team Haas

# COSATU has welcomed corruption-accused former Sport minister Zizi Kodwa’s decision to resign as a Member of Parliament. The union federation previously criticised the ANC for deploying Kodwa, saying this conflicts with the party’s step-aside resolution. Spokesperson Zanele Sabela says Kodwa’s resignation sends a strong message on accountability. She calls on other parties to follow suit and hold their representatives accountable:

# The EFF accuses the City of Tshwane of planning to remove 37 black senior managers, with four already suspended. The party claims six white appointees from the Freedom Front Plus and DA have been placed in the metro police’s towing section. Mayor Cilliers Brink is criticised for allegedly favouring his business associates in tenders. During a council meeting, the EFF’s Obakeng Ramabodu said the DA-coalition is replacing black workers with Afrikaners, labelling the actions as racist: 

More municipal news is that the City of Johannesburg has secured a 2.5-billion-rand loan from the French Development Agency. The loan was blocked by the EFF earlier this month after mayoral committee member for Finance, Dada Morero, didn’t provide key details on what it was for, and the conditions. It was now approved with support from the EFF, the ANC and several other parties, including the DA which was previously concerned about the financial implications. It is part of the 2023/’24 budget to support capital expenditure, and will be repaid over 15-years.  

# The American Democratic Party’s preparations for the November elections has gone in overdrive following president Joe Biden’s withdrawal and endorsement of his deputy, Kamala Harris. The party’s rules committee agreed on a plan to formally nominate Harris as its presidential candidate by next week already, instead of waiting for the national convention starting on 19 August. The idea is also for her to pick her running mate by the seventh. According to the latest surveys there is very little to choose between Harris and Republican nominee Donald Trump.

# Motorsport: French driver Esteban Ocon has signed a multi-year deal to drive for Haas. The American Formula One team announced this ahead of the Belgian Grand Prix. The 27-year-old makes the move from Alpine as a replacement for Kevin Magnussen, whose departure was confirmed earlier this month. Ocon, who has raced in 146 Grands Prix, will join his fourth F1 team. He claimed both his and Alpine’s sole win so far at the rain-hit Hungarian Grand Prix in 2021.

# And, the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-41-cents and the euro at 19-rand-96-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-69-cents and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-602-dollars-89-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-358-dollars-77-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 80-dollars-76-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….