News 07:00

BULLETIN 9 September 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Open Secrets not satisfied with Justice minister’s explanation on VBS allegations
# Mashatile says the ANC has not discussed the Tshwane mayorship
# And, Parliament pays tribute to renowned poet James Matthews

# Non-profit organisation Open Secrets says Justice minister Thembi Simelane’s explanation to Parliament on the VBS allegations was unsatisfactory. She told the Justice committee that she had not received any improper benefits as mayor of Polokwane. This is despite admitting to accepting a 575-thousand-600-rand loan from VBS Bank to open a coffee shop in Sandton. Open Secrets’ Michael Marchant says assuming the minister has not provided president Cyril Ramaphosa with any other information, he is in a strong position to ask the minister to step aside pending a full investigation.

# Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen has committed to ensuring that the working conditions of animal health practitioners are improved in the country. South Africa currently has four-thousand registered veterinarians, far below the international benchmark which is between 200 and 400 veterinarians per million people. Steenhuisen says the challenges veterinarians face include insufficient resources and medicines, inadequate remuneration, and mounting mental health concerns:

# ANC deputy president Paul Mashatile says the national leadership has not discussed the issue of Tshwane and its mayorship. This comes as the party in the metro has submitted yet another motion of no confidence in DA mayor Cilliers Brink, saying he cannot provide the leadership and political guidance needed. Mashatile, who engaged ANC structures in Gauteng yesterday, said what is needed are stable municipalities that are functioning properly:

# The Venezuelan government says opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González has left the country, seeking asylum in Spain. González has been in hiding, and a warrant issued for his arrest after the opposition disputed July’s presidential election result. The government-controlled National Electoral Council declared Nicolás Maduro the winner. Venezuela’s vice-president Delcy Rodríguez said on social media that after voluntarily seeking refuge at the Spanish embassy in Caracas some days ago, Gonzalez asked the Spanish government for political asylum. She added that Caracas had agreed to his safe passage and that he had left.

# Motorsport: Six-time MotoGP world champion Marc Márquez made it back-to-back wins with victory at the San Marino Grand Prix in Italy after he won in Spain last weekend. Light rain early in the race made for tricky conditions, which the Gresini Ducati rider took advantage of. Francesco Bagnaia finished second, Enea Bastianini third, while South Africa’s Brad Binder was fourth. Márquez, who has reduced Jorge Martín’s championship lead to just seven, says he took more risks in the rain:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-82-cents and the euro at 19-rand-76-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-42-cents and Bitcoin trades at 54-thousand-906-dollars-55-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-497-dollars-90-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 71-dollars-94-cents a barrel.

# Finally, Parliament’s presiding officers have paid tribute to renowned writer and poet, James Matthews, saying he was a powerful voice in the fight against apartheid. He passed away in Cape Town at the age of 95. Matthews published his first poetry anthology in 1972, later banned by the apartheid regime. National Assembly, Thoko Didiza, and National Council of Provinces chairperson, Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane, says Matthews’ dedication to the struggle for freedom cannot be overstated. South Africa owes him a profound debt of gratitude.

Stay tuned for more news………….