News 16:00

BULLETIN 7 November 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Free State Education MEC calls for a national disaster declaration over food poisoning incidents
# An economist sees Trump’s victory influencing debate on BRICS and global currency trends
# And rugby: Jean Kleyn will join the Boks as Ruan Nortjé returns home due to an injury

# Free State Education MEC Mamiki Maboya has urged the government to declare food poisoning incidents a national disaster. This follows reports of over 40 learners in the province taken to hospital yesterday after consuming contaminated snacks. Maboya confirmed to Newzroom Afrika that the Free State Health Department is investigating the incident in Welkom. She also emphasised the need for a tougher approach to combat food poisoning cases:

# AgriSA opposes Eskom’s proposed tariff hikes, warning that the increases pose serious risks to food security and agricultural sustainability. The organisation argues higher electricity costs will significantly raise operating expenses for farmers, who rely on energy for essential tasks like irrigation, processing, and storage. AgriSA’s Kulani Siweya cautions that if the National Energy Regulator of South Africa approves these tariff hikes, the costs will ripple through the food supply chain, leading to potential price hikes and reduced profitability.  

# Political parties have expressed concerns over the bailout of state-owned enterprises. During a debate in Parliament, SOE’s were described as financial sinkholes that take money needed for education, health, police, and other services, away from citizens. Parties such as the the DA, the FF Plus and the IFP agreed that too many of them are inefficient, and operating at a loss. The EFF’s Virgill Gericke says these entities are not properly managed:

# Stellenbosch Business School economist André Roux believes US president-elect Donald Trump’s victory will likely reignite global discussions on the role of the United States dollar and the rise of the BRICS bloc. Roux predicts Trump will push to strengthen the US dollar’s dominance as the world’s key currency, a stance that may drive BRICS nations to further explore alternatives: 

# Rugby: World Cup-winning lock Jean Kleyn will join the Springboks in Edinburgh as a replacement for Ruan Nortjé, who suffered a leg injury at training yesterday. Thirty-one-year-old Kleyn, who earned his seventh Test cap for the Boks in the World Cup final against New Zealand in France last year, returns to the national team for the first time this season. Nortjé made a huge impact for the Boks who won the Rugby Championship this year. Coach Rassie Erasmus will name his matchday team to face Scotland tomorrow.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-41-cents and the euro at 18-rand-75-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-52-cents and Bitcoin trades at 74-thousand-728-dollars-50-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-665-dollars-91-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 74-dollars-34-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….