News 07:00

BULLETIN 19 November 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa says the situation in Stilfontein is precarious and could potentially turn volatile
# Eskom is urging prepaid customers to update their meters before the deadline
# And rugby: Wallabies coach is not thinking about beating all four British teams for now

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for the stand-off at Stilfontein in North West to be resolved peacefully and safely. More than one-thousand illegal miners have resurfaced from an abandoned mineshaft in recent weeks, with hundreds still underground. In his weekly newsletter, Ramaphosa says the hazardous nature of illicit and unregulated mining poses a considerable risk in terms of the presence of explosives, the inhalation of toxic fumes, and the possible collapse of unstable mine shafts. He says the situation is precarious, uncertain, and potentially volatile.

# Eskom has reiterated its call for prepaid electricity customers to update their meters by Sunday to avoid an unexpected loss of electricity. After the Sunday deadline, all meters will no longer accept electricity tokens unless they are updated to Key Revision Number 2. Eskom’s spokesperson, Daphne Mokwena, says customers who don’t update their meters will need a replacement that could cost up to 12-thousand-rand:

# A recent report by OfferZen states that South Africa faces a critical loss of tech talent as global demand for developers increases. Co-founder of Tregter, Ferdinand Steenkamp says with 64-percent of developers ready to quit jobs lacking flexibility, businesses must adopt data-driven strategies to stay competitive. Steenkamp highlights the need for retention through innovation and better policies. He calls for urgent action to safeguard talent and embrace digital transformation.

# Plans are underway to expand the port of Mossel Bay in the Western Cape to accommodate larger cruise ships of up to 300 metres. The current setup requires vessels to anchor offshore, limiting tourist access during rough weather. A key stakeholder meeting this week is set to finalise long-term development strategies for the port. Minister of Transport, Barbara Creecy says the upgrades are part of broader efforts to revitalise the port:

# The European Union has announced fresh sanctions for Iran over its continued support for Russia’s war in Ukraine. The sanctions are against vessels and ports for transporting Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicles, missiles, and related technologies and components. Restrictive measures have also been imposed against one individual and four entities following Iran’s missile and drone transfers to Russia. The US has imposed more than 600 sanctions on Iranian-related entities since president Joe Biden took office three years ago.

# Rugby: Australian coach Joe Schmidt says they won’t get carried away with their second win on the trot on their European tour. Australia hammered Wales 52-20 on Sunday after beating England the previous weekend and faces Scotland and Ireland next. Schmidt says emulating the 1984 Wallabies with victories over all four British teams is too far away to contemplate. He expects a tough battle against Scotland, who he met regularly when coaching Ireland, and says he hasn’t even started thinking about the Ireland game.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-94-cents and the euro at 19-rand. One British pound costs 22-rand-73-cents and Bitcoin trades at 90-thousand-758-dollar-40-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-615-dollars-74-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 73-dollars-35-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….