News 14:00

BULLETIN 9 April 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# COPE says the government of national unity is facing a legitimacy crisis
# The EFF demands an immediate explanation about the SANDF’s deployment to the #JusticeForCwecwe demonstrations
# And soccer: Referees will wear body cameras at the Club World Cup

# The Congress of the People warns the government of national unity, formed after the May 2024 elections, is facing a legitimacy crisis that threatens South Africa’s constitutional democracy. COPE’s Pakes Dikgetsi says the GNU, supported by a minority of voters amid widespread disengagement, is collapsing under the weight of power struggles between the ANC and the DA, a coalition more preoccupied with self-preservation than the will of the people:

# The EFF demands full transparency, accountability, and an immediate explanation about the deployment of the South African National Defence Force, alongside the police, to #JusticeForCwecwe demonstrations in Matatiele in the Eastern Cape. The party says this act of state-sponsored intimidation is a declaration of war against the young and voiceless by a government that sends soldiers to crush the cries of children. The EFF says president Cyril Ramaphosa has not directly addressed the rape of the young girl despite it becoming a national issue.

# The DA has welcomed the confirmation from Communications and Digital Technologies minister, Solly Malatsi, that the disappearance of the Afrikaans news bulletin on SABC2 this past weekend was due to an unfortunate scheduling error. The DA’s Willie Aucamp says they will continue to monitor the return of the Afrikaans news bulletin over the weekend to ensure that such errors do not occur again in future:

# Minister in the Presidency for Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Maropene Ramokgopa, has highlighted the importance of African unity and collaboration amidst global challenges. She made this statement while hosting Liberia’s minister of State without portfolio in the Presidency, Mamaka Bility, in Pretoria. Ramokgopa says they discussed shared interests in advancing development and solidarity across the continent:

# Soccer: Referees at this year’s Club World Cup will be equipped with body cameras and instructed to implement new rules to cut down on time-wasting by goalkeepers. The use of the cameras will be on a trial basis after they were approved last month. Chairperson of the FIFA referees committee, Pierluigi Collina, says they think it will offer viewers a new experience from an angle of vision which was never offered before. The visuals will also be used for coaching purposes.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-70-cents and the euro at 21-rand-74-cents. One British pound costs 25-rand-26-cents and Bitcoin trades at 77-thousand-296-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-and-39-dollars-28-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 59-dollars-69-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….