News 13:00

BULLETIN 14 March 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The IRR calls on government to clarify the cost to jobs and investments imposed by BEE barriers
# AfriForum challenges police’s English Only order in the Northern Cape
# And cricket: Harry Brook is banned from the IPL for two years after pulling out again

# The Institute of Race Relations says it has long warned of the catastrophic impact of race-based policies and their inherently exclusionary and anti-growth effects. On Tuesday, JP Morgan downgraded South African equities, citing the anti-growth effects of policies like black economic empowerment. The IRR’s Makone Maja says they have asked key members of the cabinet to urgently clarify the cost to jobs and investment imposed by BEE barriers to economic growth:

# Former minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula is under fire for unlawfully granting permanent residence to Atul Gupta’s nephew, Varun Gupta and his wife, Vega, in 2008. The Department of Home Affairs claims Mapisa-Nqakula personally facilitated the application, which lacked legal grounds. News24 reports that the department is now seeking to reverse the decision in court, arguing that it violated the Immigration Act. Additionally, it has raised concerns about missing immigration files and potential fraudulent activities surrounding the Gupta’s permanent residency and subsequent naturalisation.

# The KwaZulu-Natal Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs has initiated comprehensive mop-up operations following yesterday’s severe weather conditions. The torrential rainfall resulted in the death of a woman whose vehicle was swept off a bridge in Pinetown. The department’s spokesperson, Senzelwe Mzila, says search and rescue teams successfully recovered both the vehicle and the woman’s body in the early hours of this morning:

# AfriForum has filed a complaint with the Pan South African Language Board over a police directive in the Northern Cape requiring statements and communication to be in English only. AfriForum’s Alana Bailey says this violates language rights. Bailey warns the policy could distort legal statements and deny fair investigations. She advocates for multilingual services or professional translators in police operations:

# Cricket: English batter Harry Brook has been banned from the Indian Premier League for the next two seasons after he again pulled out of the lucrative T20 competition. The 26-year-old missed last year’s edition for Delhi Capitals because of the death of his grandmother, and informed the team earlier this month he needs time to recharge after the busiest period in his career to date. The IPL says the ban is part of a policy informed to each player before they register for the annual auction.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-23-cents and the euro at 19-rand-78-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-56-cents and Bitcoin trades at 82-thousand-754-dollars. Gold sells at two-thousand-995-dollars-85-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 70-dollars-20-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….