News 07:00

BULLETIN 9 April 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Mmusi Maimane says South Africa cannot afford mismanagement by the government of national unity
# Home Affairs dismissed six officials in a corruption crackdown
# And the South African Board for Sheriffs condemns attacks on sheriffs

# Build One South Africa leader, Mmusi Maimane, says the country does not have a tax problem, it has a governance problem. The ANC top brass wants a reset of the government of national unity and has tasked its negotiating team to begin talks with parties within the coalition government and outside within the next five days. Maimane says BOSA won’t allow struggling South Africans to pay the price for elite mismanagement by the government of national unity:

# The Home Affairs Department has dismissed six officials for fraud and corruption, bringing the total to 33 since July 2024. Six others received final written warnings, eight officials have been jailed, and 19 face prosecution. This follows the launch of the Border Management and Immigration Anti-Corruption Forum. Minister Leon Schreiber has vowed to root out corrupt official from the department.

# The South African Board for Sheriffs has called on the ministers of Justice and Constitutional Development and Police to investigate targeted attacks on sheriffs in the country. Mpumalanga sheriff of the court, Andrew Shabalala, was killed outside his office last week. In February, the acting sheriff in Giyani, Limpopo, Thapelo Mojapelo, was killed while on duty. The board says the escalation of this violence is unacceptable and cannot be allowed to continue unchecked. It adds that it will urgently consider measures to enhance the safety and security of sheriffs.

# The African Transformation Movement says the justice system is at risk of collapsing because witnesses are being killed. This follows the murder of a key witness at the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court in the Western Cape yesterday. ATM spokesperson Zama Ntshona says the killing is a chilling reminder of the systemic failures in the witness protection programme. Ntshona adds the state’s failure to protect witnesses is spreading fear and deterring others from speaking out:

# United Nations secretary-general, António Guterres, has rejected a new Israeli proposal to control aid deliveries in Gaza, saying as aid has dried up, the floodgates of horror have re-opened. No aid has been delivered to the Palestinian enclave of some 2.1-million people since March second. Israel has said it would not allow the entry of goods and supplies into Gaza until Hamas releases all remaining hostages. Guterres says Gaza is a killing field and civilians are in an endless death loop:

# Golf: Two-time champion Bernhard Langer expects an emotional farewell when he competes in the US Masters for the final time this weekend. The 67-year-old won the coveted Green Jacket in 1985 and again in 1993, and will compete in the famous tournament at Augusta in Georgia for the 41st time. He describes his two victories as the most important of his career, being his sole major titles. Langer says although this will be his final Masters, he still plans to play competitively for some time.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-68-cents and the euro at 21-rand-70-cents. One British pound costs 25-rand-27-cents and Bitcoin trades at 75-thousand-496-dollar-80-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-988-dollars-91-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 60-dollars-23-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….