News 08:00

BULLETIN 27 January 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# SA UN representative calls on M23 rebels to cease fighting in the DRC
# MK Party says government must withdraw SANDF soldiers from the DRC immediately
# And Parliament committee wants security at schools strengthened

# South Africa Permanent Representative at the United Nations ambassador, Mathu Joyini, has called for Rwanda’s M23 to immediately cease all hostile actions and withdraw from the Democratic Republic of Congo. This comes after 13 soldiers including nine South African National Defence Force members were killed in clashes with M23 rebels. Addressing the UN Security Council emergency meeting on Sunday, Joyini said it is crucial for the Rwanda Defence Forces to cease support to the M23:

Meanwhile the MK Party says the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo has deteriorated far beyond the initial peace mission for which the South African National Defence Force was deployed. The party says the government must withdraw the SANDF from the DRC immediately, advocate for a political solution through regional diplomacy, and pressure all warring parties to return to the negotiating table.

# ActionSA in Gauteng calls on the provincial Department of Education to prioritise school funding and ensure that educational activities are not disrupted. This comes as MEC Matome Chiloane stated last year that schools owed municipalities over 262-million-rand including 69-million-rand by non-Section 21 schools. ActionSA’s, Themba Mabunda, says Julius Sebolai Primary School in Bram Fischerville, a non-Section 21 school, is forced to spend eight-thousand-rand every two days to keep lights on:

# Parliament’s select committee on Education, Sciences and Creative Industries is calling for security to be strengthened at schools. This comes after 54-year-old Ekuthuleni Primary School principal, Jeffrey Sigudla, was shot dead outside school premises in Kraaifontein, Cape Town, last Thursday. Committee chairperson, Makhi Feni, says it is concerning that school principals are vulnerable to these kinds of hits and this is becoming normal. He says law enforcement should spare no effort in finding the culprits of this heinous act and the reasons they committed it. 

# Golf: South Africa’s Daniel van Tonder defeated compatriot Altin van der Merwe on the first playoff hole to claim the SDC Open title at the Zebula Golf Estate and Spa in Limpopo. Van Tonder started the day seven shots behind Van der Merwe but made a five-under-par round of 67 to take it to a playoff, which he won on the first extra hole. Ireland’s Liam Nolan finished in third place. Van Tonder says every win is special:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-50-cents and the euro at 19-rand-37-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-4-cents and Bitcoin trades at 101-thousand-621-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-761-dollars-53-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 77-dollars-8-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….