News 09:00

BULLETIN 27 August 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Salga warns against conflicting policies on energy transfer
# The DA is calling for urgent action on abandoned buildings
# And tennis: Novak Djokovic is off to a winning start at the US Open

# The South African Local Government Association local governments should be at the forefront of climate action, as they are the closest to the communities most affected by climate impacts. COP28, in Dubai last year, featured the first-ever Local Climate Action Summit, in recognition of the role local governments play in bridging the gap between national policies and on-the-ground implementation. Salga warns that a vicious cycle of contradictory policies that introduce new energy players will undermine municipalities’ ability to raise revenue and contribute to the just energy transition.

# Cosatu says it is horrified by reports of appalling scandals and malfeasance at the Construction Education and Training Authority. This comes as the state entity’s CEO, Malusi Shezi, is facing allegations of interference with procurement processes. Monitoring and evaluation manager, Luginsile Kuzana, is accused of tampering with the supply chain process to award a lucrative tender to a preferred bidder. Cosatu’s spokesperson, Zanele Sabela, says a four-million-rand planned field trip for board members was also halted:

# The DA in Gauteng is calling on the provincial Department of Human Settlements to urgently address the issue of abandoned and hijacked buildings in the Johannesburg CBD. On Sunday a fire broke out in an abandoned three-storey building in Jeppestown, claiming the lives of four people. In August last year, 76 people died fire at the Usindiso building in Marshalltown. The DA’s, Mervyn Cirota, says the continuous incidents of fires and unnecessary deaths due to the absence of an effective remedy are concerning:

# US Special counsel Jack Smith has asked the federal appeals court in Atlanta to reinstate former president Donald Trump’s criminal case over his retention of classified documents. Last month, a district judge dismissed the indictment against Trump, aide Walt Nauta, and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos de Oliveira, after finding that Smith’s appointment as special counsel violated the Constitution’s Appointments Clause. Prosecutors argue that judge Aileen Cannon erred in tossing the charges, as she misread at least four statutes that authorised Smith’s appointment.

# Tennis: Serbia’s Novak Djokovic got his US Open title defence off to a winning start, beating Moldovan Radu Albot, 6-2, 6-2 6-4. The four-time US Open champion is trying to become the first man to successfully defend the trophy since Roger Federer won it in five consecutive years from 2004 through 2008. There were also wins for Germany’s Alexander Zverev, American Taylor Fritz, and France’s Gael Monfils. Djokovic says at 37-year-old he is still feeling good on the court:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-71-cents and the euro at 19-rand-79-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-37-cents and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-and-7-dollars-28-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-507-dollars-11-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 81-dollars-22-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….