News 17:00

BULLETIN 28 March 5 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Fikile Mbalula says the ‘Kill the Boer’ chant is no longer relevant
# The Automotive Business Council assesses the impact of US tariffs on South African exports
# And soccer: Real Madrid’s coach Carlo Ancelotti is to go on trial for tax dodging

# ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula says the chant “Kill the Boer, Kill the Farmer’, while not deemed illegal by the Constitutional Court, is no longer relevant to the party’s goals. He explained during an interview at the meeting of the party’s national executive committee meeting in Boksburg, Gauteng, that the chant, rooted in apartheid-era resistance, was part of the struggle but has no place in a democratic South Africa:

# The Automotive Business Council is evaluating the potential impact of a 25-percent tariff imposed on vehicles and vehicle parts imported into the US. South Africa benefits from duty-free access under the African Growth and Opportunity Act. The council is engaging with stakeholders to assess if these preferences are affected. The US was South Africa’s third-largest automotive export market in 2023, with a value of 28-billion-rand.

# The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse says irregular expenditure, poor management, and a lack of oversight have caused ongoing setbacks in the broadcasting digital migration project. In a report submitted to Parliament, the organisation calls for an urgent investigation into the project, which is behind schedule. OUTA’s Andrea van Heerden says effective consequence management is essential to ensure vulnerable households receive support and the digital migration is completed efficiently:

# A massive earthquake turned a major hospital in Myanmar’s capital into a mass casualty area, while at least three people were killed and dozens trapped in neighbouring Thailand when a skyscraper collapsed. The shallow 7.7-magnitude tremor hit northwest of the city of Sagaing, central Myanmar, and was followed minutes later by a 6.4-magnitude aftershock, toppling buildings, rupturing roads and collapsing the well-known Ava bridge. The devastation prompted a rare request for international aid from Myanmar’s isolated military junta.

# Soccer: Real Madrid’s legendary coach Carlo Ancelotti will go on trial next week for allegedly failing to declare income to Spain’s tax office. Prosecutors are seeking a jail term of four years and nine months for the 65-year-old Italian, accusing him of having cost Spain’s treasury more than 19.5-million-rand in undeclared earnings in 2014 and ’15. The trial will begin on Wednesday and is expected to last two days. Ancelotti, who as a coach has won a record five Champions League trophies, must be present for the hearings.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-14-cents and the euro at 19-rand-60-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-51-cents and Bitcoin trades at 85-thousand-457-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-and-73-dollars-46-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 73-dollars-2-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….