News 15:00

BULLETIN 24 February 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa calls for continued collaboration between traditional leaders and the mining industry
# BOSA considers legal action over the 180-billion-rand lottery super tender
# And rugby: Bok prop Trevor Nyakane could miss the rest of the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged traditional leaders to strengthen their engagement with the mining industry to ensure that rural communities benefit from natural resources. Speaking at the opening of the National House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders, he acknowledged concerns about inadequate mining benefits. Ramaphosa encouraged ongoing dialogue with the Mineral Resources ministry to create more opportunities for communities: 

# BOSA says it is exploring legal action following Trade, Industry and Competition minister, Parks Tau’s announcement to extend the current national lottery licence for another year. BOSA’s spokesperson, Roger Solomons says the extension, which involves the single largest tender in South Africa valued at nearly 200-billion-rand over five years, raises serious concerns about legality, transparency, and fair competition. He says they are currently seeking legal counsel on whether the extension is in fact lawful:

# Postbank has seen a 20-percent decline in social grant beneficiaries over 10 months, dropping to 2.97 million in January. Meanwhile, banks like Capitec, Grindrod, and Standard Bank have gained recipients. Postbank is struggling to issue 100-thousand new black Sassa cards daily by the 20 March deadline. News24 reports that TymeBank suggested Sassa provide ID lists to banks to streamline payments. Delays have caused long queues and concerns, with calls to ensure recipients receive their grants without disruption.

# Singapore’s biggest bank says it expects to cut four-thousand roles over the next three years as artificial intelligence takes on more work currently done by humans. A DBS Bank spokesperson told BBC the reduction in workforce will come from natural attrition as temporary and contract roles come to an end. Permanent staff are not expected to be affected by the cuts. The governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, told the BBC last year while there are risks with AI, there is great potential with it.

# Rugby: Springbok prop Trevor Nyakane could miss the rest of the season after rupturing his Achilles tendon while playing for the Sharks. He twisted his ankle during the United Rugby Championship match against the Bulls the previous weekend, and underwent an operation. The 35-year-old shared a post on social media, saying his doctors were very satisfied after the procedure. He says he just has to stay positive during his journey to recovery. Nyakane says he still hopes to keep on playing for another three years.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-39-cents and the euro at 19-rand-26-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-22-cents and Bitcoin trades at 87-thousand-883-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-938-dollars-81-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 74-dollars-17-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….