News 12:00

BULLETIN 2 December 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa responds to Donald Trump’s threat to BRICS countries
# An education expert calls for broader BELA Act discussions
# And motorsport: Lewis Hamilton vows to give his best shot in his final race for Mercedes

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa will facilitate diplomatic talks with US president-elect Donald Trump, rather than engage in social media clashes over bilateral matters. This comes after Trump threatened to impose 100-percent tariffs on BRICS countries if they were to create a rival currency to the US dollar. Ramaphosa says the G20 presidency will see South Africa work closely with the US.

# Education expert Mary Metcalfe urges the government to hold broader conversations on the BELA Act. This follows backlash from pro-BELA groups rejecting the agreement between Solidarity and Basic Education minister Siviwe Gwarube on Sections 4 and 5 of the act. Metcalfe emphasises the need for inclusive discussions to ensure the act benefits all stakeholders and promotes equitable solutions:

Meanwhile, the South African Democratic Teachers Union’s general secretary, Mugwena Maluleke, has announced plans for a protest to demand the implementation of the sections. Maluleke condemned opposition to these sections, describing it as a fight against transformation. Maluleke claims the agreement promotes racism and tribalism. He calls for social cohesion:

# The City of Cape Town says it will continue operations to ensure that spaza shops comply with laws that aim to protect the health and safety of the public. Last week, the metro registered over one-thousand spaza shops. President Ramaphosa called for spaza shops to be registered with a deadline to be reached by December 13, following the deaths of over 20 children due to contaminated food. Mayoral committee member for Community Services and Health, Patricia van der Ross, says just over two-thousand spaza shops still need to be registered.

# Motorsport: Seven-time Formula One world champion, Lewis Hamilton, says the disappointing form on which he is ending his Mercedes career does not define their 12-year journey. The British driver incurred two penalties on his way to finishing 12th in the Qatar Grand Prix. He will drive his final race for the Silver Arrows at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix this weekend, as he is set to join Ferrari next season. Hamilton says he will give it his best shot in the final race:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-12-cents and the euro at 19-rand-5-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-99-cents and Bitcoin trades at 95-thousand-991-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-630-dollars-71-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-30-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….