News 15:00

BULLETIN 1 October 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA reveals a Public Protector report blames correctional services for Thabo Bester’s escape
# The Labour Department commits to upholding compliance and ethical employment practices
# And soccer: Frenkie de Jong is back in action for Barcelona in the Champions League

# The DA is calling for reforms to improve public safety and uphold the justice system. This follows a report from the Public Protector that criticised the Department of Correctional Services for its handling of convicted rapist and murderer Thabo Bester’s escape from the Mangaung Correctional Centre in the Free State. The DA’s Janho Engelbrecht says the report reveals the department improperly passed responsibility to private contractor G4S without conducting a thorough internal investigation: 

# Employment and Labour minister Nomakhosazana Meth has outlined her department’s commitment to upholding compliance and ethical employment practices. Briefing the media, she expressed satisfaction with results of the nationwide blitz inspections which began last month. The initiative targeted eateries to ensure they comply with labour laws, such as the minimum wage and occupational safety. Meth urged full cooperation and greater collaboration from all employers to tackle persisting challenges:

# The Department of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment has registered 217 fire protection associations in a bid to proactively manage uncontrolled fires. Some areas in the country are rated as extremely high-risk areas because more than 90-percent is covered with woodlands. Deputy minister Bernice Swarts says one of the biggest threats to natural vegetation, property and valuable life is uncontrolled veld and forest fires. She adds the department is aligning the associations to municipal boundaries for better resource management.

# Soccer: Barcelona coach Hansi Flick is delighted to have midfielder Frenkie de Jong back and available after injury ahead of the Champions League match against Young Boys today. The Dutch international will be named in the squad to face the Swiss champions and Flick says he is ready for a brief cameo, having not played since April. De Jong has been out since then with an ankle injury and missed the European Championship this summer as a result.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-28-cents and the euro at 19-rand-17-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-4-cents and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-874-dollars-98-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-651-dollars-27-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 71-dollars-26-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Coldplay fans eagerly awaiting the return of the band to India were shocked to find tickets sold out within minutes, but then resold online for as much as 190-thousand-rand. The World Bank says India’s current gross domestic product per capita is just over 43-thousand-rand a year. The British rock band is playing three shows in Mumbai in January, its first concerts there since 2016. The company selling the tickets is now questioned by police.  Last month, a reunion tour by British rock band Oasis also sparked severe criticism over so-called dynamic pricing.

Stay tuned for more news………….