News 16:00

BULLETIN 10 March 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# SCOPA vows to hold government accountable in budget spending
# Israel sends a delegation to Qatar for talks on extending the ceasefire with Hamas
# And rugby: The Irish are encouraged to shrug off Saturday’s disappointing loss to France

# The chairperson of Parliament’s standing committee on Public Accounts, Songezo Zibi, says they are ready to ensure government accountability in budget spending. Speaking ahead of the budget speech, Zibi highlighted concerns over rising debt, inefficient spending, and USAID funding cuts affecting critical programmes. He stresses that billions-of-rand are lost through water losses and overpriced government leases. Zibi calls for transparency and efficiency in public funds management:

# Home Affairs minister Leon Schreiber has urged the Electoral Commission to adapt its systems to align with the department’s digital transformation efforts. Speaking at the IEC’s conference on electronic voting technologies in Cape Town, Schreiber outlined plans to expand smart identity cards, introduce digital IDs by 2029, and modernise the national population register. He says digital systems should simplify voting, improve efficiency, and strengthen public trust in elections:

# Israel is sending a delegation to Qatar today for a fresh round of talks on extending a fragile ceasefire in Gaza, after cutting off the electricity supply to ramp up pressure on Hamas. The first phase of the deal expired at the beginning of the month, with no agreement on subsequent stages. There are still differences over how to proceed, with Hamas calling for immediate negotiations on the next phase, while Israel prefers an extension of phase one.

# Rugby: Ireland’s interim head coach, Simon Easterby, says they must shrug off Saturday’s disappointing Six Nations loss to France in Dublin. Ireland had a comfortable lead on top of the log before going down 42-27 to the French, while England beat Italy to also surpass the Irish. Ireland play Italy in the coming weekend’s final round and can still keep the pressure on France for the top spot. France needs at least a bonus point victory over Scotland to be crowned champions for the first time since 2022.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-25-cents and the euro at 19-rand-80-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-59-cents and Bitcoin trades at 83-thousand-319-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-903-dollars-88-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 70-dollars-52-cents a barrel.

# And finally: South African sculptor and painter James Delaney is encouraging the addition of more vibrant metal sculptures to make public parks more inviting. The 53-year-old has, over the past decade, designed more than 100 sculptures for The Wilds Park in Johannesburg, including a striking red steel kudu antelope, stencil owls, and a pink giraffe. He has also exhibited his work in London, Paris and New York. Delaney says public art reflects South Africa’s ongoing journey of reconciliation:

Stay tuned for more news………….