News 12:00

BULLETIN 25 March 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Government is urged to repeal the race laws or reinstate apartheid’s Population Registration Act
# The DA wants a probe into airport and air traffic navigation issues
# And rugby: The Bulls are dealt another injury blow as Willie le Roux undergoes surgery

# The Institute of Race Relations urges Parliament to either adopt the No More Race Laws Bill or re-enact the apartheid-era Population Registration Act. They have begun lobbying members of Parliament to pass the bill and launched a public petition in support. The institute’s Hermann Pretorius argues that despite the repeal of the act in 1991, race-based laws persist, creating legal uncertainty and discrimination. He says Parliament must decide if it wants to allow racial classification or commit to equality.

# The DA says the growing incidents of air traffic navigation system issues, air traffic controller capacity issues, and dilapidation at airports demand proper investigatory oversight and accountability. Transport minister Barbara Creecy is in possession of a report by a panel of experts into the failures of the Air Traffic Navigation Services company. The DA’s Chris Hunsinger says they found gaps in safety practices and reliability issues in surveillance:

# The City of Cape Town’s Public Emergency Communication Centre recorded 57 motor vehicle and pedestrian accidents in 48 hours compared to 41 the previous weekend. A total of 322 arrests were made in the past week. Mayoral committee member for Safety and Security, JP Smith, says on Sunday, a taxi driver caused a collision involving four other motor vehicles at Jakes Gerwel Drive and Viking Way, leaving nine people injured:

# Rugby: Springbok fullback Willie le Roux has undergone surgery on his shoulder and is expected to be out of action for a month. This is a major blow for Bulls coach Jake White, who already has concerns about the availability of forwards Cameron Hanekom and Johan Grobbelaar, for their United Rugby Championship clash against Zebre in Pretoria on Saturday. Grobbelaar is nursing a shoulder injury while Hanekom suffered a knock in the victory against Leinster. The Bulls are currently third on the URC log.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-26-cents and the euro at 19-rand-69-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-58-cents and Bitcoin trades at 86-thousand-581-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-and-15-dollars-43-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-67-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Iconic South African singer, Yvonne Chaka Chaka, collaborated with Shoprite Sixty60 to deliver essential food items to elderly residents in Soweto. This was to commemorate her 60th birthday. The bags, packed with essential food items, were a heartfelt gift for elderly residents who have been an integral part of Soweto’s history. Chaka Chaka told Newzroom Afrika the celebrations will continue with a concert featuring special guests on the sixth of April:

Stay tuned for more news………….