News 13:00

BULLETIN 4 December 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The EFF says president Cyril Ramaphosa’s latest cabinet reshuffle is pointless
# The South African Airways’ pilots will go on strike tomorrow
# And tennis: Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz are the first to confirm their participation in next year’s Laver Cup

# The EFF says president Cyril Ramaphosa’s cabinet reshuffle is yet another pointless exercise that will do nothing to address the suffering of citizens. The president has moved embattled Justice minister Thembi Simelane to the Department of Human Settlements. The move, which sees her swapping roles with Mmamoloko Kubayi, comes on the back of mounting allegations over a VBS Bank loan she received. The EFF says the appointment of individuals with dark clouds hanging over them is a clear indication that this reshuffle is not about service delivery or good governance.

ActionSA has meanwhile welcomed Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka’s investigation into the complaint it filed in August against Simelane. ActionSA’s Matthew George says the party asked president Cyril Ramaphosa 100 days ago for action to safeguard the integrity of South Africa’s justice system:

# The South African Federation of Trade Unions says the country’s economy will not change its fortunes until the neoliberal macroeconomic policies pursued by the ANC-led government are changed. This comes after the country’s quarterly gross domestic product suffered a reversal of the gains made in the second quarter of the year, slipping by 0.3-percent in the third quarter. Saftu’s spokesperson, Mogoshadi Maserumule, says agriculture recorded its second consecutive decline, falling by 28.8-percent:

# The South African Airways Pilots Association has announced it will embark on a strike tomorrow, ahead of the December holiday rush. This follows stalled salary negotiations, with pilots demanding a 15.7-percent increase, reduced from an initial 30-percent. The airline has offered 8.46-percent. SAA interim CEO John Lamola says the airline is not in a financially robust position to meet the pilots’ demands. He has assured passengers they are implementing contingency plans to minimise disruptions during the peak travel season.

# Tennis: Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz and American Taylor Fritz are the first players to confirm their participation in next year’s Laver Cup. They faced off in this year’s deciding singles match, when Alcaraz clinched the encounter for Team Europe. Fritz, playing for Team World, hopes to turn the tables when the men’s team competition is being held in San Francisco in the US next year. Andre Agassi then takes over from John McEnroe as World’s team captain, while Yannick Noah will succeed Björn Borg as Europe’s captain.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-15-cents and the euro at 19-rand-4-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-95-cents and Bitcoin trades at 96-thousand-949-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-641-dollars-53-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 73-dollars-66-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….