News 13:00

BULLETIN 16 October 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Busisiwe Mkhwebane leaves the EFF
# The Khampepe commission resumes its inquiry into the Usindiso fire
# And Rugby: The Welsh lock Dafydd Jenkins is to miss the November Tests due to an injury

# Former Public Protector, Busisiwe Mkhwebane, has bid farewell to the EFF. She announced her departure on X, thanking the party for their support during her struggles after her removal and investigations into the CR17 and Phala Phala scandals. In her letter, she stated that after careful consideration and discussions with her family, it was time to step away, rest, and focus on her loved ones. Mkhwebane joined the EFF a year ago after her impeachment for incompetence and subsequently became a Member of Parliament for the party. 

# The Khampepe Commission of Inquiry into the Usindiso building fire tragedy in Johannesburg resumes today. Established to investigate the deaths of 77 people in the August 2023 fire, the commission found in May that the City of Johannesburg and its entities were responsible. The inquiry highlighted that the building’s poor condition fueled the extensive fire and that proper processes were not followed to have the building properly converted to a residential building. The building is said to have been abandoned since 2019.

# Cosatu has welcomed the order by minister of Transport, Barbara Creecy, for an urgent safety inspection of all commercial fishing vessels operating in South African waters. The order comes after a vessel caught fire off Gansbaai in the Western Cape on Sunday morning. All the crew members were rescued unharmed. Cosatu’s Zanele Sabela says they are disappointed it took a vessel catching fire for the department to act, even though this has been a burning issue for years:

# The DA in Gauteng says patients and staff at Jubilee Hospital are enduring severe hardship as the facility faces a prolonged water outage. The toilets are not working, and several operations have been cancelled. Unions have been urging hospital management to install a borehole since 2016. The DA’s Jack Bloom says there have been inadequate contingency measures in place for over two weeks:

# Rugby: Welsh lock Dafydd Jenkins says he will miss their November Tests as he continues his recovery from knee and shoulder problems. The 21-year-old led his country during last year’s Six Nations before undergoing surgery on the issues before the start of this season. The Exeter forward is likely to return in December for the second-round Champions Cup game with holder Toulouse. Wales plays Fiji, Australia and South Africa next month as they eye a first Test win since October 2023.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-57-cents and the euro at 19-rand-15-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-87-cents and Bitcoin trades at 67-thousand-228-dollars-95-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-678-dollars-99-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 74-dollars-2-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….