News 18:00

BULLETIN 6 September 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# ActionSA questions the Justice minister’s responses on her links to VBS Mutual Bank
# Donald Trump proposes Elon Musk to lead his planned government efficiency commission
# And, tennis: Three unexpected mens semifinalists reached the US Open

# ActionSA has expressed dissatisfaction with Justice minister Thembi Simelane’s answers in today’s meeting of Parliament’s portfolio committee on Justice. ActionSA’s Athol Trollip says Simelane’s responses to the controversial loan, linked to the Polokwane Municipality and the collapsed VBS Bank, were inconsistent. He believes an independent investigation or court proceedings are needed to address the concerns:

# AfriForum urges decentralising policing powers to municipalities, citing a national shortage of eight-thousand-594 detectives. AfriForum’s Jacques Broodryk says this shortage impacts provinces like KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape, leaving communities vulnerable. He proposes local detective hiring, akin to Metro Police, as a solution to improve law enforcement effectiveness and address the growing crisis.

# Germany has expressed willingness to help fund South Africa’s 390-billion-rand grid revamp aimed at incorporating more solar and wind power. This support comes as part of the Just Energy Transition Partnership to accelerate South Africa’s shift from coal to renewable energy. Germany’s envoy, Rainer Baake, highlighted the need for grid investment and expressed readiness to provide more funding. The partnership has faced criticism for slow implementation, with concerns about South Africa meeting emissions targets by 2030.

# American Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has announced plans to create a government efficiency commission, led by South-African-born entrepreneur Elon Musk, if he wins the November election. Musk asked for no pay, no title and no recognition. Speaking at the New York Economic Club, Trump outlined his economic vision to reduce corporate taxes for domestic manufacturers and establish low tax zones:

# Tennis: Three unexpected semifinalists are in action at the US Open. There will be an American in the final in New York for the first time in 18-years, with 12th seeded Taylor Fritz taking on his 20th seeded compatriot, Frances Tiafoe. The 25th-seeded Briton Jack Draper also surprised by reaching the penultimate round. He comes up against the world number one, Jannik Sinner, who expects a tough match:

# And, the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-77-cents and the euro at 19-rand-71-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-41-cents and Bitcoin trades at 55-thousand-115-dollars-70-cent. Gold sells at two-thousand-506-dollars-66-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-88-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….