News 06:00

BULLETIN 16 January 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Education minister hopes Ramaphosa will address budget challenges in SONA
# COPE urges the government to promote technical colleges
# And cricket: Anrich Nortjé is ruled out of the SA20 and Champions Trophy

# Basic Education minister Siviwe Gwarube is hopeful that president Cyril Ramaphosa will address the budget shortfall in the education sector in the State of the Nation Address. The minister warns of a looming crisis as provincial education budgets struggle to meet growing demands. Gwarube told eNCA that with stagnant funding, provinces face larger class sizes and fewer teaching posts. She stressed the need for quality education:

# The Congress of the People calls on the government to focus more on promoting technical and vocational education and training colleges. The party believes these institutions are crucial for addressing the skills gap and improving employment opportunities for young people. COPE’s Teboho Loate, says investing in these colleges will help equip young people with the skills needed to succeed in the job market and contribute to economic growth:

# Mining Affected Communities United in Action demands accountability from Mineral Resources minister Gwede Mantashe for the Stilfontein massacre. Executive Director Christopher Rutledge reports 154 rescued and 78 deceased from the mining shaft, with around 400 illegal miners still underground. Rutledge highlights dire conditions but lauds community volunteers for saving lives. He has called for a commission of inquiry into the matter:

# Parliament’s portfolio committee on Police says it is alarmed by reports that authorities were aware of increased tensions that led to the shooting at the Nyanga taxi rank in Cape Town on Tuesday. A leaked internal intelligence report from the City of Cape Town’s Safety and Security Information Management Services shows that officials knew to expect a deadly shooting at the taxi rank. One person died and seven were injured. The committee’s chairperson, Ian Cameron, says they will ensure that SAPS management is held accountable.

# There was bad news for interest rate cuts when US consumer inflation rose for a third month in December as energy prices increased. This adds pressure on the Federal Reserve to pause rate cuts. The consumer price index accelerated to 2.9-percent last month from a year ago, up from 2.7-percent in November. The US central bank has cut rates by a full percentage point since September. The recent uptick in inflation adds to expectations that it will remain on pause at its next rate decision later this month.

# Cricket: Proteas fast bowler, Anrich Nortjé, has been ruled out of the remainder of the SA20 tournament and the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy due to a back injury. The 31-year-old has not played any international cricket since the T20 World Cup in June last year. Nortjé’s likely replacement in the Proteas’ squad for the Champions Trophy is Gerald Coetzee, who has returned to action for the Joburg Super Kings after sustaining a groin injury in November last year.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-76-cents and the euro at 19-rand-30-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-98-cents and Bitcoin trades at 99-thousand-645-dollar-50-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-694-dollars-92-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 82-dollars-33-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….