News 18:00

BULLETIN 20 March 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Reserve Bank keeps the repo rate unchanged at 7.5-percent
# The minister of Transport reports a decline in road accidents early this year
# And cricket: The Proteas’ next local Test is only in October next year

# The Reserve Bank’s monetary policy committee has decided to keep the repo rate unchanged at 7.5-percent, maintaining the prime lending rate at eleven-percent. Governor Lesetja Kganyago told the media the decision was due to economic uncertainty and inflation risks. He says while inflation remains within the target range, global and local challenges continue to pose risks to stability:

# Transport minister Barbara Creecy reported a drop in road accidents this year, with a ten-percent decline in January and 25-percent in February compared to last year. There were over three-thousand drunk driving arrests, 12-thousand illegal vehicles impounded, and 21-thousand-282 speeding fines, with the highest pedestrian fatalities recorded in Gauteng, the Western Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal. At the launch of the Easter Road Safety campaign, Creecy said driver and pedestrian behaviour is responsible for 87-percent of road accidents and fatalities.

Meanwhile, the Western Cape government is urging motorists to remain mindful of their speed, drive responsibly, and make safety a priority, heading into the long weekend. From 10 to 16 March, law enforcement officials issued 200 speeding fines across the province, with the highest recorded speed reaching 160 kilometres per hour in a 120 zone. Mobility MEC, Isaac Sileku, says speeding not only increases the likelihood of incidents but also reduces reaction time, making it more difficult to avoid hazards:

# The Bloemfontein Regional Court has given a farm attacker a heavy sentence. Thabang Jantjies overpowered, tied up, and assaulted the woman on her farm in Verkeerdevlei before fleeing with her valuables. The National Prosecuting Authority’s Free State spokesperson, Mojalefa Senokoatsane, confirmed that Jantjies was arrested in Marquard 11 days later. He says he had previous convictions and parole violations:

# Cricket South Africa announced the Proteas will play no Tests in the country over the festive season. They have a heavy white-ball schedule with the SA20 set to be the major attraction at the end of the year. The fourth season has been brought forward and will start on 26 December. The Proteas play a five-match T20 series against the West Indies from 27 January, before the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. Their next scheduled home Test is only in October next year against Australia.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-19-cents and the euro at 19-rand-71-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-58-cents and Bitcoin trades at 86-thousand-144-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-and-32-dollars-17-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 71-dollars-3-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….