News 13:00

BULLETIN 23 January 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Public Works Department plans to heighten security measures to protect government property
# Experts warn Cape Town is at risk of LA-like wildfires
# And SA Rugby announces a new sponsorship deal with Coca-Cola

# The Department of Public Works and Infrastructure has expressed concern at the continued destruction of infrastructure, ranging from stealing of aluminium and cables, to destroying traffic lights, railway lines and pylons. Last night, security personnel stationed at Public Works House in the Pretoria CBD foiled efforts by a group of criminals who descended on the government property, ripping off aluminium and other steel infrastructure including furniture. The department’s spokesperson, Lennox Mabaso, says two people were shot and injured:

# Everest Wealth CEO, Thys van Zyl, says US president Donald Trump’s second term should push South Africa to reassess its foreign policy and focus on economic growth. America is South Africa’s second-largest trading partner after China. Van Zyl says although South Africa will still enjoy the benefits of the African Growth and Opportunity Act in 2025, this does not mean that it will be extended again. He adds that the country must balance its foreign policy while also seeking opportunities to strengthen trade ties with the US:

# Experts warn the deadly wildfires in Los Angeles could occur in Cape Town, as it has a similar climate, mountainous topography and vegetation to the American city. The metro’s Fire and Rescue Service says there were more than seven-thousand fires in the 2023/’24 financial year. Elsewhere in the Western Cape, the 2017 Knysna fires resulted in eight deaths, two of them firefighters, and the loss of one-thousand-444 homes. Cape Peninsula Fire Protection Association chairperson, Philip Prins, told Moneyweb there is a need for firebreak maintenance and alien clearing in the metro.

Meanwhile, more than 30-thousand people have been ordered to leave their homes north of Los Angeles after a new wildfire broke out in California. Another 25-thousand people are in zones facing evacuation warnings. The latest blaze, dubbed the Hughes Fire, started near Lake Castaic, around 60 kilometres from the Eaton and Palisades wildfires that devastated parts of L-A earlier this month. The American state’s Department of Forestry and Fire Protection says the fire is currently at 14-percent containment.

# Rugby: SA Rugby has signed a four-year deal with one of the world’s biggest brands, Coca-Cola. As part of the new sponsorship deal, Coca-Cola branding will feature on all the Springbok teams’ playing shorts, kicking off tomorrow when the Blitzboks take the field at the world sevens tournament in Perth, Australia. Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, told the SABC this partnership provides a much-needed financial boost for SA Rugby:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-56-cents and the euro at 19-rand-30-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-83-cents and Bitcoin trades at 102-thousand-289-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-751-dollars-92-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 78-dollars-41-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….