News 13:00

BULLETIN 25 September 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# South Africa’s economic outlook is promising since the formation of the government of national unity
# Motorsport: The exodus of senior management staff at Red Bull continues
# And Caledon now has the world’s longest zipline

# The economic outlook for South Africa appears promising following the establishment of the government of national unity over 100 days ago. Investors remain optimistic about the political stability in the country despite some long-standing infrastructure and policy challenges. Business Unity South Africa’s CEO, Khulekani Mathe, told the SABC if the coalition government can maintain this stability, it may allow for deeper reforms:

# Agriculture minister John Steenhuisen has begun dismissal proceedings against his controversial chief of staff, Roman Cabanac, referring the matter to the department’s human resources. This comes after Cabanac refused to step down after the minister asked him to do so two weeks ago. Steenhuisen’s spokesperson, Charity McCord, says the minister is following labour law processes. Steenhuisen’s appointment of the controversial podcaster in August sparked criticism, due to his past provocative social media posts.

# A report by Parliament’s portfolio committee on Correctional Services found that the Goodwood Correctional Facility in Cape Town lacks a perimeter fence, leading to contraband smuggling. The report also highlights the facility as a high-security risk due to gang activity with high-profile inmates and gang leaders housed there. The committee urges collaboration with authorities to install fencing and block cellphone networks to curb contraband entry and enhance security.

# Motorsport: Red Bull’s head of race strategy, Will Courtenay, will leave the Formula One team to join McLaren as sporting director. His decision follows the exits of chief technical official Adrian Newey and sporting director Jonathan Wheatley over the past five months. Courtenay has been with Red Bull for 20 years. McLaren’s team principal, Andrea Stella, says he will be a great addition to the strong leadership team, as they strive to continue challenging for wins and championships.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-18-cents and the euro at 19-rand-21-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-99-cents and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-815-dollars-86-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-654-dollars-13-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 75-dollars-10-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Caledon in the Overberg region of the Western Cape is now the home of the world’s longest zipline. At 3.2-kilometres, SA Forest Adventures’ K3 zipline is just under 400-metres longer than the previous record-holder, Jais Flight in Ras al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates. Tourism MEC Ivan Meyer says this new zipline will boost the local economy through tourism:

Stay tuned for more news………….