News 09:00

BULLETIN 8 December 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# SAFTU rejects government’s early retirement plan for public servants
# ActionSA welcomes a call for the preservation of spaza shops for South African citizens
# And cricket: The Proteas were on top at close on day three at St George’s Park

# SAFTU says it emphatically rejects the government’s plan to implement early retirement initiatives for public servants. Saftu’s spokesperson, Mogošadi Maserumule says this cost-cutting measure, aimed at reducing the public sector wage bill, threatens service delivery and jeopardises the livelihoods of thousands of working-class families. She says the National Treasury has allocated 11-billion-rand to fund the programme, targeting approximately 30-thousand employees for early retirement:

# ActionSA Gauteng has welcomed the call made by ANC Secretary-General, Fikile Mbalula for spaza shops and other small businesses to be preserved strictly for South African citizens and the mass deportation of foreigners who own spaza shops illegally. The party’s Funzi Ngobeni says this is a massive victory for local entrepreneurs as well as civic organisations with whom ActionSA had been advocating:

# The Commission for Gender Equality will on Tuesday address sexual harassment in higher education through a policy dialogue in Cape Town. The discussion focuses on implementing effective measures to prevent and manage incidents of harassment at universities. The commission spokesperson Javu Baloyi says the protection of students and staff is crucial, urging evidence-based policies and accountability to uphold human rights in educational institutions:

# At least five people died yesterday after an explosion in an apartment building in The Hague, the Netherlands. Authorities say the blast caused the three-story apartment building to partially collapse and set it on fire. Five different apartments were affected by the explosion. Police are appealing for witnesses who may have seen a car driving away from the scene at a very high speed shortly after the incident to come forward. It is not known how many people are still under the rubble, but the search has now turned into a recovery mission.

# And cricket: The Proteas reached the close of play on day three in a dominant position on 191 for three in their second innings, for an overall lead of 221 in the second Test against Sri Lanka at St George’s Park in Gqeberha. A maiden five-wicket haul from veteran Dane Paterson helped the hosts bowl out the visitors for 328, in response to the Proteas’ 358 all out in their first innings. Temba Bavuma and Tristan Stubbs will take the Proteas into an unassailable lead today on a partnership of 82.

Stay tuned for more news………….