News 13:00

BULLETIN 27 October 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Deputy-president Mashatile lauds Mdladlana for his contributions against apartheid and for advancing labour rights
# Minister Creecy is concerned about the high vehicle finance costs for taxi industry
# And, motorsport: Sainz takes pole for the Mexico City Grand Prix ahead of Verstappen

# Deputy president Paul Mashatile has praised former Labour minister Membathisi Mdladlana for his contributions to fighting apartheid and advancing labour rights. Mdladlana, South Africa’s longest-serving Labour Minister, worked under four presidents. Speaking at a special memorial service, Mashatile highlighted Mdladlana’s legacy of resilience, commitment to social justice and implementing key labour laws that protected workers’ rights and reduced industrial disputes:

# Transport minister Barbara Creecy has expressed concern over rising vehicle finance costs for the taxi sector. Speaking to the ANC NEC about the Taxi Recapitalisation Programme, she noted that the current scrapping allowance is insufficient, and unaffordable. Creecy says the programme’s model is now outdated. She aims to engage stakeholders and financiers to find sustainable solutions for the sector:

# The far-right-led Dutch government has announced a raft of tough new asylum measures, including the introduction of border checks and declaring parts of war-torn Syria as “safe areas”. Following days of intensive talks by a ruling four-party coalition, helmed by anti-immigration firebrand Geert Wilders’ far-right Freedom Party, Dutch prime minister Dick Schoof laid out the cabinet’s plans at a press conference. The hardened measures include border checks, similar to those in Germany, scrapping indefinite residency permits for refugees, and reducing the current five-year refugee permit to three years.

# Motorsport: Carlos Sainz seized pole position for tonight’s  Mexico City Grand Prix with a commanding performance for Ferrari in yesterday’s qualifying session, outpacing Red Bull’s defending champion Max Verstappen. The Spaniard, who leaves the team at the end of the season, clocked one minute and 15.946 seconds to beat series leader and three-time champion Verstappen, by 0.225 seconds. McLaren’s Lando Norris took third position ahead of Charles Leclerc in the second Ferrari, with George Russell of the Williams team fifth. Seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton is placed sixth.

# And finally: Today marks the 107th birthday of anti-apartheid revolutionary Oliver Tambo, who led the ANC from 1967 to 1991. Tambo was instrumental in keeping the ANC united during its 30-year exile under apartheid. Known for his selfless leadership, he sacrificed personal comforts and even offered to resign from the ANC amidst criticism. Tambo championed women’s rights and urged South Africans to make apartheid ungovernable. He passed away on April 24, 1993, from a heart attack, shortly after Chris Hani’s assassination.

Stay tuned for more news………….