News 11:00

BULLETIN 2 August 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The ANC dismisses reports of intra-cabinet rivalries
# The Americans freed from Russian prisons are back on US soil
# And rugby: The assistant Bok coach says an extra few days in Australia will be invaluable

# The ANC has dismissed reports that it is being overshadowed by the DA in the government of national unity. On Wednesday, News24 published a report suggesting that some ANC ministers feared engaging with the media and that opposition ministers’ successes made them look incompetent. The ANC’s spokesperson, Zuko Godlimpi, says there are no intra-cabinet rivalries in the government of national unity:

# The EFF says the lack of adequate oversight over private banks and businesses in South Africa has allowed companies like Nedbank to operate with impunity. The Special Investigating Unit and Transnet are suing Nedbank over controversial interest rate swap transactions during the state-capture era. They believe the transactions resulted in the bank generating profits of over 2.7-billion-rand. The EFF says the lack of accountability underscores the systemic failures in the regulatory framework and the government’s inability to enforce justice against powerful private interests.

# Al Jama-ah condemns the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation and the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse for their campaign against Johannesburg mayor, Kabelo Gwamanda. The party accuses the groups of undermining Gwamanda’s achievements and misrepresenting the city’s progress. They criticise the foundation’s misleading claims about the city’s financial management and improvements. Party leader Ganief Hendricks argues that criticism over a new electricity surcharge is politically motivated:  

# Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US Marine Paul Whelan and journalist Alsu Kurmasheva are back on US soil after being part of a multi-national prisoner exchange between the US, Russia and four other countries. The three were welcomed at Joint Airbase Andrews in Maryland by US president Joe Biden and vice president Kamala Harris. Sixteen people were released from Russian custody, while eight Russian prisoners were released from the US, Germany, Norway, Slovenia and Poland. Harris says this was a huge diplomatic effort:

# Rugby: Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick says facing the Wallabies in Australia is always a big challenge, therefore having a few extra days to adapt to the conditions will be invaluable. The Boks, who arrived in Australia yesterday, will kick off this year’s Rugby Championship in Brisbane next week Saturday, before their second clash against the Wallabies in Perth on the 17th of this month. Stick says they have a good base to build from going into the Championship.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-25-cents and the euro at 19-rand-71-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-22-cents and Bitcoin trades at 64-thousand-313-dollars-5-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-463-dollars-44-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 80-dollars-10-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….