News 09:00
BULLETIN 4 March 9 am
Good morning. I am……..
In this bulletin:
# The Defence Force condemns videos portraying it as disorganised and ill-disciplined
# The Public Service Association calls for more funds for the Police, SANDF, and Health
# And rugby: The Shimlas, Eagles, Maties, and Ikeys record wins in the 3rd round of the Varsity Cup
# The South African National Defence Force says it has noted the series of viral videos circulating on various platforms showing misleading content about the force. The videos portray the SANDF as disorganised and ill-disciplined. The SANDF’s, Prince Tshabalala, says the propaganda videos are further meant to demoralise the country’s dedicated military professionals:
# The Public Servants Association is urging government to prioritise national security by increasing budget allocations for the South African National Defence Force, Police, Health, and other essential departments. This comes after SANDF Lieutenant-General, Peter Ntshavheni Maphaha, recently highlighted the vulnerabilities created by inadequate border protection, leaving South Africans exposed to security threats. PSA’s, Claude Naiker, says that without urgent intervention, the country’s ability to protect its borders and citizens will remain severely compromised:
# The DA in the Eastern Cape says it has handed over a dossier of reports to the Special Investigating Unit. The reports highlight alleged financial mismanagement, contract interference, and corruption within the provincial Department of Human Settlements and local municipalities. The DA’s, Chantel King, says the reports focus on the failure to pay more than 25-million-rand in certified claims in Matatiele and O.R. Tambo, forcing RDP housing projects to a standstill:
# President Cyril Ramaphosa is set to meet his Mozambican counterpart, Daniel Chapo, at his official residence in Cape Town today. Chapo, who won the election with 65-percent of the votes, was sworn in last month, extending the 49-year rule of the Frelimo party. The presidency says president Chapo’s visit aims to strengthen political cooperation at the bilateral, regional, continental, and global levels. Mozambique is one of the top five countries to which South Africa exports.
# Rugby: Defending champions University of the Free State-Shimlas made it back-to-back wins following a hard-fought 49-45 victory over the University of Johannesburg in the third round of the Varsity Cup. University of Witwatersrand remains winless this season after suffering a narrow 39-34 defeat to North West University-Eagles. University Stellenbosch-Maties thrashed Central University of Technology 54-nil, while the University of Pretoria-Tuks suffered their first defeat of the season with a 36-29 loss to the University of Cape Town-Ikeys.
# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-63-cents and the euro at 19-rand-52-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-64-cents and Bitcoin trades at 83-thousand-860-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-888-dollars-62-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 71-dollars-4-cents a barrel.
Stay tuned for more news………….