News 07:00

BULLETIN 20 December 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Electricity minister says Eskom is on a path of recovery
# The Treasury is committed to combat money-laundering and terrorism financing
# And motorsport: The ANC Youth League supports Kyalami’s F1 ambitions

# Electricity and Energy minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says Eskom has upped its performance, resulting in more than 260 days of no load-shedding, improved plant performance, and billions of Rands in diesel cost savings. The power utility has recorded a net loss before tax of some 25.5-billion-rand, an improvement from the previous financial year’s 34.6-billion-rand. Ramokgopa says Eskom is now less reliant on diesel but the debt municipalities owe it has risen to 74-billion-rand:

# National Treasury says South Africa is committed to strengthening its anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism system. It is proposing a raft of amendments to laws with a view to the country ending its greylisting imposed in February 2023 by the Financial Action Task Force. Treasury says it is addressing the remaining deficiencies identified by the Financial Action Task Force to exit the greylist and to better prepare South Africa for the next mutual evaluation to be conducted in 2026/2027.

# Gauteng Finance MEC Lebogang Maile has revealed that only 23 spaza shops in Ekurhuleni have completed registration, while thousands remain unprocessed. This comes as Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs minister Velenkosini Hlabisa extended the registration deadline to the end of February. Maile emphasised the importance of compliance for successful applications, stressing health and safety regulations to prevent food-borne illnesses:

# The United Nations says a ceasefire in Gaza is long overdue with over 45-thousand Palestinians reportedly killed. This comes as Egypt hosts the leaders of eight Muslim-majority countries. UN assistant secretary-general Mohamed Khaled Khiari condemned the bombardment by Israeli forces. He said that the mediation efforts by the US, Qatar, and Egypt show promise, however, fighting continues, claiming innocent lives:

# The ANC Youth League National Executive Committee says it fully supports the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit in Johannesburg’s bid for Formula One certification. The committee believes the necessary upgrades for International Automobile Federation grade one accreditation will create jobs, develop youth skills, and stimulate the economy through tourism and local businesses. The league’s spokesperson, Zama Khanyase, says hosting the F1 would inspire youth involvement in motorsport and elevate South Africa’s global sporting profile:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-43-cents and the euro at 19-rand-10-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-2-cents and Bitcoin trades at 97-thousand-154-dollar-90-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-593-dollars-63-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-54-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….