News 08:00

BULLETIN 15 October 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Public Service Commission is concerned with the non-payment of invoices by national departments
# Minister Chikunga calls for a gun-free society and an end to gender-based violence
# And Netanyahu denies claims that Israel is deliberately attacking UN peacekeepers

# The Public Service Commission is calling on the National Treasury to urgently consider overhauling systems and policies for financial management within departments. It has revealed that the number of invoices national departments failed to pay within 30 days reached 30-thousand-571, valued at 1.7-billion-rand, in the first quarter of 2024/2025. PSC Commissioner, Anele Gxoyiya, says the most common reasons provided by departments for the late or non-payment of invoices vary from misfiled, misplaced, or unrecorded invoices to inadequate internal control deficiencies.

# Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth, and Persons with Disabilities, Sindisiwe Chikunga, is calling for the reconstruction and strengthening of the family structure to end gender-based violence and femicide. On Sunday, five family members, including two young children, lost their lives in Bergville, KwaZulu-Natal. Subsequently, another mass shooting took place in Orange Farm, Gauteng, where seven people were shot dead. The department’s spokesperson, Cassius Selala, says South Africa needs to be a gun-free country:

# The Judicial Service Commission has resolved to recommend Supreme Court of Appeal Judge, Nolwazi Mabindla-Boqwana, for the position of Judge President of the Western Cape Division of the High Court. She has a distinguished legal career spanning over two decades and has been a vocal advocate for transformation within the judiciary. Judge President, Patricia Goliath, has been acting in the position for nearly two years, a role previously held by John Hlophe, who was impeached.

# Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dismissed claims his military is deliberately attacking United Nations peacekeepers in southern Lebanon. Over the past week, the United Nations has said the Israeli military has fired on its peacekeepers, forcibly entered a base, stopped a critical logistical movement, and injured more than a dozen of its staff in southern Lebanon. Netanyahu says Hezbollah is operating in areas near UN Interim Forces in Lebanon:

# Tennis: Americans Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Italian Jasmine Paolini, and Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan have qualified for the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The quartet joins Poland’s Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus, leaving only two qualifying spots open. This is Gauff’s third straight WTA Finals qualification, with her best result coming last year when she reached the semifinals. Two spots also remain in the doubles following the qualification of Americans Caroline Dolehide and Desirae Krawczyk.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-57-cents and the euro at 19-rand-56-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-96-cents and Bitcoin trades at 65-thousand-603-dollars-83-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-646-dollars-72-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 75-dollars-15-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….