News 15:00

BULLETIN 5 March 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The newly-appointed ANC task team in KwaZulu-Natal pledges to reclaim the party’s influence
# COPE says South Africa’s moral voice is diminishing fast
# And golf: Mayor Dada Morero is full of praise for the Joburg Open’s sponsors

# The newly-appointed ANC provincial task team in KwaZulu-Natal has vowed to strengthen the party and restore its influence in the province. Speaking at their first media briefing, the team reaffirmed their commitment to the principles of the Freedom Charter, stating that the people shall govern. The team’s coordinator, Mike Mabuyakhulu, says they will work to reconnect with members and the broader community to reclaim the ANC as a strategic centre of power:

# Rise Mzansi says Basic Education minister, Siviwe Gwarube, has agreed that gambling advertising must be kept out of schools. This follows concerns about the growing gambling crisis in South Africa, with sponsors taking advantage of funding gaps in poor communities by placing gambling logos on school desks. The party supports Gwarube’s commitment to introduce a policy on corporate sponsorships in schools. Rise Mzansi’s Makashule Gana says citizens spent over one-trillion-rand on gambling last year.

# COPE says South Africa’s moral voice is fast diminishing both domestically and internationally. The party says American president Donald Trump is a wannabe dictator issuing threats against South Africa. COPE’s Pake Dikgetsi says characters like tech billionaire Elon Musk and political commentator Tucker Carlson can spread damaging lies about the country without any objections from the pro South Africa lobby in the USA:

Meanwhile, China set an ambitious annual growth target of around five-percent, vowing to make domestic demand its main economic driver as an escalating trade war with the United States hit exports. Beijing also announced a rare hike in fiscal funding, allowing its budget deficit to reach four-percent this year as it battles stuttering employment for young people, stubbornly low consumer demand and a persistent property sector debt crisis. Some 12-million new jobs will be created under the plans as Beijing pushes for two-percent inflation this year.

# Golf: Johannesburg mayor, Dada Morero, has praised Joburg Open sponsors for enhancing the metro’s global reputation. The Open, which gets underway tomorrow, will bring the curtain down on the second chapter of the European Tour’s season. Over 100 players will participate, led by last week’s South African Open champion, Dylan Naidoo. Morero says since 2007, the tournament has grown from strength to strength:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-40-cents and the euro at 19-rand-66-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-61-cents and Bitcoin trades at 89-thousand-885-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-914-dollars-43-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 69-dollars-93-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….