News 13:00

BULLETIN 27 November 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Electricity minister confirms 1.7-million South Africans missed the prepaid meter upgrade deadline
# 1.6-billion-rand was spent on the implementation of the two-pot pension system
# And cricket: The ICC is to meet this week on the Champions Trophy after India refused to play in Pakistan

# Electricity and Energy minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has revealed that 1.7-million prepaid customers failed to upgrade their meters by Sunday’s deadline. He told Parliament’s portfolio comittee on Electricity and Energy this risks Eskom losing two-billion-rand in revenue monthly. Ramokgopa stresses the upgrades aim to curb electricity theft, and warns against bypassing legal systems. He says efforts are underway to bring affected customers back on board:

# The Financial Sector Conduct Authority revealed to Parliament’s Finance Committee that 1.6-billion-rand was spent to implement the two-pot pension system. The committee heard that costs covered system changes, staff training, public education, and hiring additional personnel. Deputy commissioner Astrid Ludin emphasised these expenses were essential to ensure smooth execution of the system allowing partial pension withdrawals:

# The Human Rights NGO #Africa4Palestine says it strongly condemns the ongoing defamation, and unfounded malicious allegations against Gift of the Givers’ founder, Imtiaz Sooliman. A Jewish human rights lawyer has alleged in an open letter that Gift of the Givers donates money to groups blacklisted as terrorist organisations by the US government. Sooliman has denied the allegations. #Africa4Palestine says the accusations are just a smear campaign to discredit Sooliman for his global humanitarian work and support for Palestinian rights.

# UK retail giant Frasers Group has announced its acquisition of Holdsport, owner of Sportsmans and Outdoor Warehouse, pending regulatory approvals. The deal enhances Frasers’ global footprint and includes Holdsport’s 88 stores across South Africa and Namibia. CEO Michael Murray highlighted plans to combine Holdsport’s local expertise with Frasers’ scale. This follows Frasers’ recent expansion into Europe and North Africa, reinforcing its strategy to meet growing demand for high-quality sporting goods globally.

# Cricket: The International Cricket Council will meet this week to determine the destiny of next year’s Champions Trophy after India refused to play in host nation Pakistan. Earlier this month, the ICC informed the Pakistan Cricket Board that India would not tour Pakistan for the eight-team tournament, leaving the fate of the event hanging in the balance. The Pakistan Cricket Board has already rejected proposals that would allow India to play in a neutral country, insisting the full tournament must be staged on their turf.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-11-cents and the euro at 19-rand-4-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-80-cents and Bitcoin trades at 93-thousand-193-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-649-dollars-55-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-29-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….