News 12:00

BULLETIN 25 October 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Seven people are killed in Bishop Lavis in Cape Town
# The JRA reports that 80-percent of Johannesburg’s bridges are at risk of collapse
# And rugby: The Bok number eight leads the Bulls against Benetton in Treviso

# Western Cape police says one person who was rushed to hospital has died due serious head injuries, following a mass shooting that left four men and two women killed in Bishop Lavis in Cape Town last night. Police spokesperson, Andrè Traut says at approximately 20 to 9 last night an armed suspect entered an informal dwelling in Kogelberg Street and fired several shots at the occupants:

# The Johannesburg Roads Agency has reported that 702 of the city’s 902 bridges are in poor condition. Eighty-percent is deemed at imminent risk of collapse due to delayed repairs as a result of budget constraints. Up to 240-million-rand is needed to rehabilitate 11 bridges, yet only 89.5-million-rand is allocated for bridge projects in the current financial year. Outa’s CEO, Wayne Duvenage, criticised the situation and attributed it to inadequate maintenance and poor leadership.

# The South African Poultry Association plans to apply for a zero-rating of value-added tax on certain chicken products next month. This move follows president Cyril Ramaphosa’s announcement to exempt more essential foods from VAT. The association aims to target low-income households by proposing to zero-rate items like fresh and frozen chicken offal and bone-in chicken, boosting consumption and improving food security. The association says while the tax cut could cost the state over four-billion-rand, increased local production may offset losses through other taxes.

# The DA in Gauteng says it cannot allow the Women’s Living Heritage Monument and Pretoria Great Synagogue, which hold significant heritage value, to remain unused and in disrepair. The DA’s Leanne de Jager says there are funds budgeted annually to ensure that all monuments are operational and beneficial to the people:

# Rugby: Springbok eighthman Elrigh Louw will captain the Bulls in tonight’s United Rugby Championship match against Benetton in Treviso on his return from concussion. Veteran Marcell Coetzee and rising star Reinhardt Ludwig will join Louw in the loose trio. Ludwig led the team last week when they lost to Scarlets after a red card to Bok hooker Johan Grobbelaar, which was changed to yellow after the match. Grobbelaar and Louw will leave for Europe with the Boks on Sunday before their Tests against Scotland, England and Wales.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-68-cents and the euro at 19-rand-14-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-94-cents and Bitcoin trades at 67-thousand-380-dollars-82-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-724-dollars-87-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 74-dollars-20-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….