News 08:00

BULLETIN 2 Amy 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Ramaphosa defends the Employment Equity Amendment Act
# EFF Gauteng plans to march to the white-Afrikaner only settlement of Kleinfontein
# And the SANDF begins a phased withdrawal of soldiers from the DRC

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has defended the Employment Equity Amendment Act, saying the legislation seeks to correct what apartheid did to the country. The DA is challenging the employment equity quotas in the Act in court, which it says are merely racial exclusion under a new name. The Act sets hiring quotas for 18 economic sectors to increase employment opportunities for designated groups. Ramaphosa says the Act is informed by the precepts of the Constitution:

# The SACP says its decision to contest the 2026 local government elections is not for narrow party-political reasons, but a direct response to the crisis of working-class representation. The SACP will be contesting the elections for the first time outside of its alliance with the ANC. It says that for years, decisions about the economy and society have been taken without consultation with the working class. The SACP says it is seeking to advance a programme of democratic power rooted in the interests of workers and the poor.

# The EFF in Gauteng says it has resolved to embark on a march to the white-Afrikaner only settlement of Kleinfontein near Pretoria today. Last year, the Gauteng High Court declared Kleinfontein to be an illegal settlement that was not compliant with the Tshwane Municipality’s land use regulations. The EFF’s, Dumisani Baleni, says this march is an act of revolutionary defiance against the persistence of racial segregation and economic exclusion displayed in Kleinfontein in a democratic era:

# The South African National Defence Force says it has started the phased withdrawal of its personnel and equipment from the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. This follows a directive issued by the Southern African Development Community. Last month, SADC decided to end its deployment in the DRC after 17 soldiers died in the conflict launched by the Rwandan-backed M23 armed group. SANDF’s spokesperson, Prince Tshabalala, says the withdrawal will take place in phases:

# Tennis: World number one Aryna Sabalenka will face Coco Gauff in the Madrid Open final on Saturday. Belarusian Sabalenka beat Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina, 6-3, 7-5 in the semifinal, while Gauff dispatched reigning champion Iga Swiatek of Poland, 6-1, 6-1. In the men’s draw, Norwegian Casper Ruud defeated Russia’s Daniil Medvedev, 6-3, 7-5, to reach the semifinals, where he will face Argentina’s Francisco Cerundolo today. British number one Jack Draper beat Italy’s Matteo Arnaldi, 6-0, 6-4, to set up a semifinal clash against another Italian, Lorenzo Musetti.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-49-cents and the euro at 20-rand-90-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-59-cents and Bitcoin trades at 97-thousand-106-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-249-dollars-41-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 62-dollars-50-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….