News 16:00

BULLETIN 11 September 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# ActionSA threatens legal action if the BELA Bill is signed into law
# The US and UK’s top diplomats are in Ukraine to discuss the use of long-range missiles
# And, rugby: Griquas players join the Stormers for pre-season preparations

# ActionSA has threatened legal action if president Cyril Ramaphosa signs the Basic Education Laws Amendment Bill into law on Friday. The party criticises the bill for its centralisation of power, restrictions on home-schooling, and unclear funding for mandatory Grade R. They call for a thorough review before the bill is enacted. ActionSA’s Samkelo Mgobozi argues the bill undermines school governing bodies and infringes on educational rights:  

# RISE Mzansi has urged Health minister Aaron Motsoaledi to ensure Batho Pele principles are upheld in public healthcare, following poor patient service at Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg. Spokesperson Gugu Ndima says the party has emphasised the need for immediate action beyond National Health Insurance. She says the party demands competent administration and improved facilities, to address South Africa’s under-resourced healthcare system:

# The Municipal Demarcation Board is conducting nationwide consultations on the ward delimitation process ahead of the 2026 local elections. These consultations aim to educate stakeholders, including traditional leaders and municipal officials, on how wards are delimited and the criteria used, such as ensuring balanced voter numbers per ward. The board’s chairperson, Thabo Manyoni, says public consultations will also be held next year to gather community input on draft ward boundaries before finalising them.

# US and British top diplomats began a visit to Ukraine, where they will discuss further easing rules on firing Western weapons into Russia, whose alleged acquisition of Iranian missiles has raised new fears. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken took the train from Poland to Kyiv with British Foreign secretary David Lammy, whose two-month-old Labour government has vowed to keep up Britain’s role as a key defender of Ukraine. The visit comes as president Volodymyr Zelensky ramps up his requests to the West to provide weapons with more firepower and fewer restrictions.

# Rugby: A group of Griquas players will join the Stormers for their pre-season preparations as part of the development agreement between the two teams. The agreement enables players to move easily between the two squads to their mutual benefit via a loan structure. Fullback Connor Mahoney, lock Dylan Sjoblom and prop Leon Lyons have all joined the Stormers squad already as preparations for the upcoming campaign step up, with wing Dylan Maart, loose forward Marco de Witt and prop Cebo Dlamini set to join them at a later stage.

# And, the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-87-cents and the euro at 19-rand-75-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-40-cents and Bitcoin trades at 56-thousand-827-dollars-77-cent. Gold sells at two-thousand-517-dollars-40-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 70-dollars-59-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….