News 12:00

BULLETIN 30 October 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA demands an audit of Sandton Drive’s renaming process over fraud allegations
# COPE calls for electoral reforms which will reduce party dominance
# And netball: The Proteas coach is excited about the Test series against Malawi

# The DA in Johannesburg is calling for an immediate halt to the renaming process of Sandton Drive in honour of Palestinian militant Leila Khaled, citing potential large-scale fraud. The DA’s constituency head in Sandton, Leah Potgieter, urges an independent audit of public submissions, questioning the legitimacy of 100-thousand submissions presented by former mayor Kabelo Gwamanda. She claims that critical voices were excluded from consultations:

# COPE is calling for electoral reforms that reduce party dominance, foster true democracy, and enable a government to be more responsive to voters’ needs. The party has submitted its proposals to the electoral reform consultation panel. The panel is mandated to independently investigate, consult, and make recommendations in respect of potential reforms of the electoral system. COPE’s Pakes Dikgetsi says they support the future implementation of electronic voting:

# The man found guilty of killing a teenager from Klawer in the Western Cape in 2022 will be sentenced on Monday. The arguments in mitigation and aggravation of Daniel Smit’s sentence were finalised in the High Court sitting in nearby Vredendal yesterday. The 58-year-old earlier pleaded guilty to murdering 13-year-old Jerobejin van Wyk. His lawyers asked for a 30-year sentence while the state insisted on a life sentence. Smit offered Jerobejin’s family the bakkie with which he knocked the child down before killing him, as compensation.

# Botswana is holding its national elections today, where the ruling Botswana Democratic Party aims to extend its 58-year reign. President Mokgweetsi Masisi is seeking a second and final term. Challenging Masisi are Duma Boko of the main opposition Umbrella for Democratic Change, Dumelang Saleshando of the Botswana Congress Party, and Mephato Reatile from the Botswana Patriotic Front. According to the country’s Independent Electoral Commission, just over a million people have registered to vote.

# Netball: New Proteas head coach Jenny van Dyk says she is relishing the prospect of finally getting her tenure underway. Led by captain Khanyisa Chawane, South Africa is set to take on Malawi in a three-match series in Johannesburg from tomorrow until Sunday. The Proteas are currently ranked fifth in the world and Malawi is seventh. Van Dyk says the series is very important for them:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-57-cents and the euro at 19-rand-4-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-87-cents and Bitcoin trades at 72-thousand-452-dollars-36-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-782-dollars-41-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 71-dollars-75-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….