News 07:00

BULLETIN 6 May 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Meth says the lawsuit against the Employment Equity Amendment Act is a threat to progress
# Minister Ramokgopa says South Africa does not have a coal problem.
# And the White House says no final decisions have been made on the new film tariffs

# Employment and Labour minister Nomakhosazana Meth has criticised the DA’s legal challenge against amendments to the Employment Equity Act, calling it an attack on transformation. Meth accused the DA of trying to maintain apartheid-era inequalities and hindering progress made since 1994 to achieve workplace fairness. Ministry spokesperson Thobeka Magcai says the changes aim to ensure fair representation across all job levels, with flexible diversity targets, not rigid quotas:

Meanwhile, the National Employers’ Association of South Africa supports the DA’s court challenge. The Act empowers the Minister of Employment and Labour to set numerical targets for equitable representation of suitably qualified individuals from designated groups at all occupational levels. The DA is seeking to have the law declared unconstitutional. The association’s CEO, Gerhard Papenfus, told Newzroom Afrika that government should stay away from business:

# Electricity and Energy minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has challenged the perception that South Africa’s reliance on coal is incompatible with its climate commitments. While coal is responsible for generating over 80-percent of the country’s electricity, the government has committed to moving towards cleaner energy alternatives such as solar and wind energy. Ramokgopa says with the right technology, coal can continue to contribute to the country’s energy mix:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has signed a proclamation authorising the Special Investigating Unit to probe allegations of maladministration in the Mbombela Municipality in Mpumalanga. The investigation is in connection with seven tenders involving the affairs of the municipality. The SIU says the probe will examine whether the procurement and contracting were made in a manner that was not fair, competitive, and transparent. The investigation will also look at any irregular, unlawful, or improper conduct by officials or employees of the municipality, and its suppliers or service providers.

# The White House says no final decisions have been made on imposing new tariffs on films produced outside the US. President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he was directing his administration to immediately begin instituting a new 100-percent duty on foreign-made motion pictures. The White House says that although no final decisions on foreign film tariffs have been made, the administration is exploring all options to deliver on Trump’s directive to safeguard the country’s national and economic security.

# Tennis: Big rivals Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz could only meet in the final of the Italian Open, starting in the capital of Rome on Friday. Local player Sinner retained his world number one ranking on his return from a three-month ban on Sunday, while the Spaniard is seeded third behind German Alexander Zverev. But there is still uncertainty over Alcaraz’s fitness after his withdrawal from the Madrid Masters. Both received byes in the first round and will only be in action from the second round.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-29-cents and the euro at 20-rand-65-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-27-cents and Bitcoin trades at 94-thousand-426-dollar-30-cents. Gold sells at three-thousand-358-dollars-18-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 60-dollars-87-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….