News 16:00

BULLETIN 20 March 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Reserve Bank keeps the repo rate unchanged
# The Presidency dismisses allegations of nuclear cooperation with Iran
# And rugby: Siya Kolisi captains the Sharks against Zebre and Makazole Mapimpi is back

# The Reserve Bank’s monetary police committee decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 7.5-percent. This follows  follows three consecutive 25 basis point cuts in the rate since September. More in our next bulletin.

# The Presidency has denied claims that South Africa is engaged in nuclear cooperation with Iran, calling the allegations baseless. It reaffirmed that the country abandoned its nuclear weapons programme before 1994, with the process verified by the United Nations. Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya insists South Africa has no secret nuclear agreements. He urged those making accusations to provide evidence and cautioned the media against spreading unverified claims:

Magwenya has also confirmed government is engaging with the City of Johannesburg over the proposed renaming of Sandton Drive to Palestinian politician Leila Khaled, due to diplomatic sensitivities. This comes as the US has expressed concerns about the name change. Briefing the media, Magwenya said the process must follow legal procedures and public consultations while managing international relations carefully:

# The KwaZulu-Natal High Court in Durban has postponed the case against former president Jacob Zuma’s daughter to 14 August for a pre-trial hearing. Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla is accused of inciting violence during the July 2021 unrest.  She faces charges of incitement to commit terrorism and public violence linked to the unrest triggered by the arrest of her father. National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Mthunzi Mhaga says the trial is set to begin in November:

# The Rwandan-backed M23 armed group has taken control of the key mining hub of Walikale in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The seizure of the town of around 60-thousand people marks the farthest west the group has advanced into the DRC’s interior since it emerged in 2012. Earlier this month mining group Alphamin evacuated its employees and halted operations at its Bisie mine for the tin ore cassiterite, the world’s third largest, in the Walikale District of North Kivu Province. The region is also home to several gold mines.

# Rugby: Siya Kolisi will lead the Sharks in their United Rugby Championship clash with Zebre Parma in Durban on Saturday. Vincent Tshituka returns from injury as he replaces Lappies Labuschagne, while brothers Jaden and Jordan Hendrikse are the halfback partnership. There is a welcome return for Springbok Makazole Mapimpi on the wing, which means Ethan Hooker and Jurenzo Julius once again partner up in the midfield. André Esterhuizen is back from injury, and he gets his first run off the bench this week.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-19-cents and the euro at 19-rand-74-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-60-cents and Bitcoin trades at 85-thousand-496-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-and-37-dollars-37-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 70-dollars-62-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….