News 08:00

BULLETIN 26 July 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Judges Matter says Mandisa Maya’s appointment as Chief Justice is significant
# Sakeliga believes the Public Procurement Act is unconstitutional
# And, Kamala Harris says she won’t be silent on the suffering in Gaza

# Judges Matter says the appointment of Mandisa Maya as the next Chief Justice is a significant moment for South Africa and the judiciary. The Deputy Chief Justice will succeed Raymond Zondo, who is set to retire at the end of next month after heading the judiciary since 2022. Maya is the first woman to take up the position of Chief Justice in the country’s history. Judges Matter’s, Mbekezeli Benjamin, told the SABC that he is confident in Maya’s leadership:

# Business organisation Sakeliga says the Public Procurement Act is harmful, unconstitutional, and a recipe for accelerated state failure. The Act aims to create a single framework that regulates public procurement, by all organs of state, with the necessary efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and integrity. Sakeliga says the Act will severely restrict state entities’ procurement choices, and increase expenses, whilst potentially facilitating corruption on an unprecedented scale.

# The EFF in Gauteng has condemned the persistent racism at Pretoria High School For Girls. Twelve pupils at the school were suspended in connection with allegations that they were sharing racial microaggressions on a whites-only WhatsApp group. More claims have surfaced that white learners are receiving preferential treatment, and the rules are being applied selectively to their benefit. The EFF’s, Dumisani Baleni, says it is evident that racism continues to permeate the culture of the school unabated:

# US vice president Kamala Harris has vowed not to be silent about the suffering in Gaza amid the Israel-Hamas war. She met with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House yesterday and expressed her concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Earlier president Joe Biden met with the prime minister. Harris urged Netanyahu to lock down the ceasefire deal that is currently on the table:

# Olympic Games: World number one Iga Swiatek of Poland will begin her Paris campaign with a first-round clash against Romania’s Irina-Camelia Begu tomorrow. Second seed Coco Gauff, who is the USA’s female flagbearer for the opening ceremony, takes on Australia’s Ajla Tomljanovic. Former world number one Germany’s Angelique Kerber and Naomi Osaka of Japan will face each other in the first round. Kerber, the 2016 Rio de Janeiro silver medalist, is set to retire after the Olympics. The tennis event in Paris will be held at Roland Garros.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-31-cents and the euro at 19-rand-89-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-56-cents and Bitcoin trades at 67-thousand-89-dollars-66-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-376-dollars-59-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 82-dollars-57-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….