News 17:00

BULLETIN 12 February 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The MK Party slams president Cyril Ramaphosa’s SONA as a failed state of nothingness
# SCOPA wants clear and consistent rules for the handling of company misconduct
# And tennis: A huge backlash over the new format of the US Open’s mixed doubles

# The MK Party has criticised president Cyril Ramaphosa’s state of the nation address, calling it full of hollow rhetoric and recycled promises. The party argues the speech lacked accountability and offered no concrete plans for the future. During round two of the SONA debate, MK’s Nhlamulo Ndhlela condemned government’s weak response to crime and gender-based violence, and rejected plans for land reform and the  National Health Insurance:

# Parliament’s standing committee on Public Accounts is urging clear, consistent rules for handling companies involved in misconduct. Chairperson Songezo Zibi notes that different actions are taken in such cases, including blacklisting. The committee was deliberating on Eskom’s financial statements for the 2023/’24 period. In the case of Eskom, he says they are unclear on what actions to take, but SCOPA is prepared to discuss the power utility’s finances:

# South Africa’s manufacturing production fell by 1.2-percent in December last year compared to the previous year. The biggest contributors to this decline were the motor vehicles and basic iron and steel sectors. However, the food and beverages division saw a positive increase of 5.8-percent. Statistics South Africa’s Nicolai Claassen says overall, manufacturing production fell by 0.4-percent last year compared to 2023.

# City Power in Johannesburg’s Security Risk Management team arrested six contractor employees at the Observatory substation for possession of stolen copper cables. The arrests followed a site inspection after last week’s tunnel fire, uncovering workers cutting and hiding close to 130-kilograms of cables, including over eleven-kilograms found under a bus. City Power’s spokesperson, Isaac Mangena, says the utility vows to combat cable theft and vandalism.

# Tennis: Defending champions Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori joined scores of other players who have criticised the drastic change in the format for the mixed doubles at the US Open. The organisers announced it would now take place over two days in the week before the main draw, only four games would be played in a set, and the next point after deuce would win the game. The Italians describe the decision as a profound injustice that disrespects an entire category of players.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-45-cents and the euro at 19-rand-12-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-95-cents and Bitcoin trades at 96-thousand-237-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-877-dollars-96-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 76-dollars-9-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….