News 09:00

BULLETIN 3 December 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa says the country has made progress with the rights of persons with disabilities
# Gauteng’s municipalities collectively reject Eskom’s proposed tariff increase
# And the World Food Programme is scaling up its operations in Haiti

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says with today being International Day of Persons with Disabilities, it is an opportunity to reflect on the progress made in advancing the rights of persons with disabilities. Approximately 3.3 million people in South Africa live with some form of physical or intellectual impairment. In his weekly newsletter, the president says although progress concerning legislative and policy frameworks has been made, realising the rights of the disabled is a society-wide effort. Ramaphosa adds that persons with disabilities must enjoy equal rights.

# The DA has urged Electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa to prioritise private sector-driven energy generation over the 90-billion-rand extension of coal plants. DA spokesperson, Kevin Mileham, highlighted renewable energy initiatives and battery storage as affordable alternatives to stabilise the grid. Mileham warned against the financial and environmental toll of extending coal plant operations. He has called for sustainable energy solutions to secure South Africa’s energy future:

# Gauteng municipalities have combined to reject Eskom’s proposed tariff increase for the 2025/2026 financial year, saying it is excessive and unjustifiably high. For the period spanning April 2025 to March 2028, the power utility has applied for a tariff hike of 36-percent in the first year, and a further 11.8-percent and 9.1-percent in the following two years, respectively. City Power’s spokesperson, Isaac Mangena, says residents cannot be expected to pay for these exorbitant increases:

# The United Nations World Food Programme is scaling up its operations in Haiti to meet escalating food needs. More than 50-thousand Haitians have been displaced in the past two weeks alone due to insecurity related to armed groups. Across the country, 5.4-million people are facing acute hunger. The number of internally displaced people in Haiti has now risen to well over 700-thousand. WFP says so far this year, it has assisted 1.7-million people across Haiti through emergency assistance, school meals, and social protection.

# Rugby: Former Wallabies player Jordan Petaia will pursue a career in the National Football League or NFL, after being accepted into the International Player Pathway programme. The programme gives athletes from other sports the chance to be signed by one of 32 NFL teams. Starting in January, the 24-year-old will spend ten weeks at a training camp in Florida, before getting the chance to impress scouts at a pro day in March. Petaia says it feels like the right time to pursue this dream:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-17-cents and the euro at 19-rand-5-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-97-cents and Bitcoin trades at 96-thousand-193-dollars-75-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-640-dollars-73-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 71-dollars-98-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….