News 13:00

BULLETIN 10 September 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Alexforbes processes 400-million-rand in the first week of the two-pot retirement system
# Cosatu and Samwu want the Constitutional Court to rule on the Municipal Systems Amendment Act
# And, tennis: Sinner says new champions are good for the game after the era of the Big Three

# South Africa’s largest retirement fund administrator, Alexforbes, has processed 400-million-rand in withdrawals during the first week of the two-pot retirement system. This allows individuals to access up to ten-percent of their retirement savings. The system has sparked overwhelming interest, with Alexforbes’ online platform receiving 560-thousand interactions. The company and others like Old Mutual and Sanlam urge South Africans to withdraw funds only for emergencies, stressing the importance of preserving retirement savings.

# Union federation Cosatu, along with its affiliate, municipal workers union Samwu, trust that the Constitutional Court will confirm the unconstitutionality of the Municipal Systems Amendment Act when it hears the case today. Cosatu’s spokesperson, Zanele Sabela, says in November last year, the Labour Court ruled in favour of Samwu when it found that prohibiting all municipal employees from holding office in political parties was unconstitutional. Sabela says government was ordered to pay the costs of the case:

# The European Union will make available two grants totalling 628-million-rand to promote the sustainable development of the green hydrogen value chains in South Africa. The grants are additional to the EU’s Just Energy Transition Partnership funding with the country. EU Energy Commissioner, Kadri Simson, says the funding shows the EU Global Gateway strategy in action, boosting smart, clean and secure connections in the energy and transport sections:

# Tennis: This year ushered in a new age for the sport as none of the Big Three won any of the four Grand Slam tournaments for the first time in 22 years. Since 2002, one of Rafael Nadal of Spain, Roger Federer of Switzerland and Novak Djokovic of Serbia won at least one of the titles every year. But young guns Jannik Sinner of Italy and Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz clinched two titles each this year. Sinner, who won the US Open, believes new champions are good for tennis.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-93-cents and the euro at 19-rand-79-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-45-cents and Bitcoin trades at 57-thousand-31-dollars-13-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-500-dollars-78-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 70-dollars-81-cents a barrel.

# And finally, Disney Africa and Sunshine Cinema are celebrating the 30th anniversary of The Lion King with solar-powered community screenings in isiZulu. This initiative will bring the iconic film to Cape Town and Durban, the Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga, and Gauteng. The programme aims to foster storytelling, inclusivity, and social change. This initiative also serves Disney’s purpose, as the company is warming up a South African audience ahead of the release of Mufasa: The Lion King, a prequel to the original, heading to cinemas on 20 December.

Stay tuned for more news………….