News 13:00

BULLETIN 18 September 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Inflation dips below 4.5-percent
# President Cyril Ramaphosa pledges support for South Sudan’s transitional period extension
# And Rugby: Siya gets a taste of activities in coaches’ box

# Consumer inflation slowed for a third consecutive month, cooling to 4.4-percent in August from 4.6-percent in July. This is the lowest inflation rate since April 2021 when the rate was also 4.4-percent. This is below the Reserve Bank’s target of 4.5-percent and is comes on the eve of this month’s interest rate announcement tomorrow. Lower annual inflation were recorded for several product groups, most notably transport, housing, and restaurants and hotels. In contrast, inflation for food and non-alcoholic beverages, and alcoholic beverages and tobacco edged higher last month.

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has endorsed South Sudan’s decision to extend its transitional period by two years. This decisions stands to delay the national elections originally set for 22 December. The extension will allow for the full implementation of the 2018 Revitalised Agreement to the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan. According to presidential spokesperson Vincent Magwenya, Ramaphosa commended the consensus-based decision pledged South Africa’s continued support for South Sudan’s pursuit of peace and development:

# ActionSA has expressed disappointment after the Cape Town Magistrate’s Court set bail at 250-thousand-rand bail for former Cape Town mayoral committee member for Housing, Malusi Booi. ActionSA’s Julie Seton considers it too low for the charges of accepting bribes to secure tenders for an suspected extortion network. She argues bail should reflect the gravity of the accusations:

# The Tshwane University of Technology says there is a need to promote an understanding of disability issues and mobilise support for the dignity, rights and social well-being of persons with disabilities. According to a Statistics South Africa report released in November last year, the national disability prevalence rate in the country was 7.5-percent. TUT is hosting a series of Disability Awareness campaigns to raise awareness, debunk misconceptions, and highlight the experiences of students with disabilities.

# Rugby: Siya Kolisi will be in the coaches’ box when the Springboks take on Argentina in the Rugby Championship in Santiago on Saturday while he is nursing a facial injury. Salmaan Moerat will captain the team. Kolisi played the game in Cape Town with a broken nose after a collision with the All Blacks’ Sam Cane at Ellis Park, and has postponed an operation. Coach Rassie Erasmus says they want to expose Kolisi to what goes on in the box:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-56-cents and the euro at 19-rand-58-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-23-cents and Bitcoin trades at 59-thousand-977-dollars-51-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-568-dollars-45-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-54-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….