News 11:00

BULLETIN 9 December 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa says this year has been marked by both triumphs and struggles
# Thabo Mbeki says renewal is critical for the ANC’s survival
# And UN chief António Guterres calls for an orderly political transition in Syria after al-Assad’s departure

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says this year has been marked by both triumphs and struggles, from the successful general election to the tragedy of the death of children from food poisoning. In his weekly newsletter, he says progress has been made in creating conditions for the economy to grow and to create jobs, and ending load-shedding. However, Ramaphosa says poor governance, crime, and access to clean water are some challenges that still need to be addressed. He adds that on many fronts, this year has been better than the last.

# Former president Thabo Mbeki says the renewal process within the ANC is critical for its survival. He addressed the ANC’s Dullah Omar region in the Western Cape during a discussion over challenges facing the ANC and the National Democratic Revolution. Mbeki says the party must do serious introspection on whether it still commands enough capacity to lead the country:

# ActionSA in Gauteng has expressed concern at the continued findings of unauthorised, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditures occurring in most departments and entities in the province. Thirteen reports have been tabled to the standing committee on Public Accounts, and all but two received unqualified audit opinions with material findings. ActionSA’s John Moodey says there is a serious lack of consequence management:

# United Nations secretary-general, António Guterres, says the end of president Bashar al-Assad’s dictatorial regime, means the people of Syria can seize a historic opportunity to build a stable and peaceful future. Rebel forces yesterday declared that the government had fallen after they took the capital of Damascus. Al-Assad and his family have fled to Russia. Guterres says it is imperative to ensure that any political transition is inclusive and comprehensive and that it meets the legitimate aspirations of the people of Syria.

# Golf: World number one Scottie Scheffler capped off a brilliant season by successfully defending his Hero World Challenge title in the Bahamas. The American finished six shots clear of South Korea’s Tom Kim with his compatriot Justin Thomas in third. This is Scheffler’s record-equalling ninth title of the year, which includes the Masters and Olympic gold. He says it has been a pretty surreal year:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-99-cents and the euro at 18-rand-98-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-91-cents and Bitcoin trades at 99-thousand-230-dollars-96-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-642-dollars-8-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 71-dollars-49-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….