News 16:00

BULLETIN 25 February 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa commits to tackling rural poverty, climate change and infrastructure challenges
# The Poultry Master Plan exceeds investment targets and boosts jobs
# And golf: The City of Johannesburg is ready to host elite players from across the globe

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has committed to addressing rural poverty, climate change, and infrastructure challenges. In his address to the National House of Traditional and Khoi-San Leaders, he highlighted the impact of recent floods in KwaZulu-Natal and urged traditional leaders to support disaster management efforts. Ramaphosa also committed to improving rural infrastructure and ensuring communities benefit from economic development projects:

# Phase one of the government’s Poultry Master Plan has helped retain 52-thousand-930 jobs, with investments exceeding targets. The objectives of the plan include stimulating investment, job creation, exports, and the establishment of black contract growers. The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition’s Ncumisa Mcata-Mhlauli says the first phase of the plan has helped to garner over two-billion-rand of investment by major companies in the poultry sector since its inception in 2019. Phase two will see 635-million-rand invested, prioritising black-owned enterprises and boosting local production.

# Justice and Constitutional Development minister, Mmamoloko Kubayi, has rejected misleading claims alleging excessive spending on her travel expenses during her tenure as Human Settlements minister. Kubayi clarified that the reported 400-thousand-rand cost for her trips to Beijing and San Francisco were exaggerated. Her actual accommodation costs were much lower than reported. Ministry spokesperson Terrence Manase says the minister has formally corrected the figures in Parliament: 

# The head of the US Department of Government Efficiency, Elon Musk, says federal workers had another chance to justify their work or lose their jobs, as the original deadline passed with staff at multiple federal agencies told to disregard his request. Musk had originally given employees until the end of yesterday to explain their work achievements in an email. The demand represents the latest challenge against government workers as his department works toward cutting federal staffing and spending. Musk wrote on X that failure to respond a second time will result in termination.

# Golf: The City of Johannesburg says it is ready to host elite players from across the globe, as the 17th edition of the Joburg Open returns to the Houghton Golf Club next week. The course has a proud history as a championship facility, having hosted no fewer than eight SA Open events. The metro’s spokesperson, Virgil James, says behind-the-scenes preparations are underway, and marketing efforts have been intensified to attract more spectators to this year’s edition of the tournament:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-36-cents and the euro at 19-rand-27-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-23-cents and Bitcoin trades at 89-thousand-29-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-940-dollars-90-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 74-dollars a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….