News 09:00

BULLETIN 23 September 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Government commends the emergency services teams
# There is an ongoing probe into irregular appointments and salary increases in Mangaung
# And a manhunt is launched following a mass shooting in Alabama

# Government has commended emergency services teams in responding to situations due to the inclement weather conditions in parts of the country. Two people died in KwaZulu-Natal after being stranded in snow on the N3 highway, while parts of Gauteng, Eastern Cape, Mpumalanga and the Free State were also affected by snow. Government’s acting spokesperson, Nomonde Mnukwa, says although the roads are cleared, motorists are urged to drive cautiously as some roads remain slippery:

# The DA says persistent failures have eroded public trust in the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure and severely compromised service delivery. This follows the Auditor General’s report on the department and its entities for the 2022/2023 financial year. The report found irregular expenditure skyrocketed from 98-million-rand in 2020/2021 to 521-million-rand in 2022/2023, financial losses totalling 746-million-rand, and 107 delayed infrastructure projects. The DA says it will be writing to Parliament, requesting that the department produce a detailed audit action plan and a turnaround strategy.

# The Public Protector’s Office says investigations into the alleged unlawful and irregular appointments of some staff and managers at the Mangaung Municipality are ongoing. In a space of six months since, the appointments of the Mangaung Metro Head of Departments, their salaries including the one of city manager Sello More were reportedly increased exorbitantly. Most of the HOD’s appointments, including More, took place late last year. The municipality has disputed all allegations, saying all processes were followed accordingly.

# Birmingham police together with the FBI have launched a manhunt for suspects who shot and killed four people and injured 18 in Alabama. According to officials, multiple people drove up to the Five Points South area, got out of their vehicles, and began shooting, before driving away. Police believe the shooters were carrying out a hit on one person and the other victims were caught in the crossfire. Birmingham mayor Randall Woodfin says gun violence is at an epidemic level in the city:

# Tennis: Team Europe overturned an eight-four deficit against Team World in Berlin to secure their first Laver Cup title since 2021. The comeback was led by Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud, who triumphed in the final day’s opening doubles match. Daniil Medvedev lost his singles match against Ben Shelton, while Alexander Zverev beat Frances Tiafoe. Alcaraz defeated Taylor Fritz, 6-2, 7-5, to lead Team Europe to a 13-11 victory. Alcaraz says he is happy they won:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-38-cents and the euro at 19-rand-41-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-16-cents and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-854-dollars-47-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-629-dollars-66-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 75-dollars-6-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….