News 16:00

BULLETIN 6 December 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The SACP slams the last-minute handling of Janusz Waluś’s deportation plan
# The DA says dysfunctionality in the Justice Department drives the prison overcrowding crisis
# And rugby: A private equity proposal is turned down by SARU members

# The SACP has expressed anger over the last-minute handling of Janusz Waluś’ deportation to Poland. Waluś, who assassinated SACP leader Chris Hani in 1993, was granted parole in 2022, with his parole period set to end at midnight. The SACP criticised the government’s late notification to the Hani family and called for an inquest into Hani’s assassination. The party and the Hani family insist the full truth must be revealed, as justice remains unfinished. They vowed to continue seeking justice for Hani’s legacy.

# The DA says it is deeply alarmed by the inefficiencies within the Department of Justice, as evidenced by the shockingly low court hours and the staggering backlog of criminal cases. The DA’s Jahno Engelbrecht says these failures are directly responsible for the severe overcrowding crisis in prisons faced by the Department of Correctional Services, which now threatens the stability of South Africa’s correctional system:

# The City of Cape Town says it will have complete business plans in place by mid-2025, to take over the management of passenger rail services in the metro. This follows the council’s adoption of a comprehensive rail feasibility study, which proposes three potential ownership models for Cape Town’s passenger rail service. Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says taking charge of Metrorail is important for lower-income households, who would save around 932-million-rand a year if trains were working as they should:

# African Bank has agreed to purchase Eskom’s 5.7-billion-rand staff home loan book, with the deal expected to conclude by May 2025, pending approvals. Eskom says despite providing employee home loans for decades, the sale aims to help the utility reduce its debt. African Bank CEO Kennedy Bungane says the acquisition is a chance to expand its secured home loan offerings. Bungane highlights plans for a staff ownership scheme and increased BEE involvement, signaling a broader transformation in African Bank’s shareholder structure.

# Rugby: Members of the South African Rugby Union rejected a proposal to accept a private equity investment in the sport’s commercial rights. The proposal failed to reach the needed 75-percent majority after being opposed by seven of the 13 member unions. The preferred bidder, the Ackerley Sports Group, now has until the end of the month to make a revised offer. SARU president Mark Alexander says the union’s goal remains to secure a sustainable and prosperous future for the sport on both the national and international stages.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-3-cents and the euro at 19-rand-9-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-4-cents and Bitcoin trades at 98-thousand-358-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-640-dollars-60-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 71-dollars-28-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….