News 13:00

BULLETIN 12 May 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Finance minister Enoch Godongwana warns the wealth tax could cost South Africa seven-billion-rand
# Three solutions are recommended to assist the shortage of staff in courts
# And cricket: Virat Kohli calls time on his 14-year Test career

# Finance minister Enoch Godongwana has cautioned against implementing a wealth tax, stating it could jeopardise seven-billion-rand in annual income tax from approximately two-thousand-850 high-net-worth individuals. These individuals, each possessing over 50-million-rand in assets, contribute significantly to the nation’s revenue. Godongwana emphasised that introducing such a tax might prompt these taxpayers to relocate, thereby eroding the tax base. He advocates for alternative measures to enhance revenue without risking capital flight.

# The Gauteng High Court’s deputy judge president, Roland Sutherland, has proposed three solutions to address the shortage of resources and staff in the courts. He stressed the need for additional judges to alleviate the strain on the judicial system, particularly in dispute resolution. Speaking at the Cliffe Dekker Hofmeyr and Ciarb Dispute Resolution Marketplace discussion, Sutherland highlighted the importance of expanding mediation and arbitration as alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to reduce court backlogs:

# Home Affairs minister Leon Schreiber has announced that for the first time in South African history, naturalised citizens and lawful permanent residents will be able to apply for smart card IDs, including through the eHomeAffairs platform, from today. Schreiber says this breakthrough for the digital transformation reforms directly delivers dignity to over 1.4-million people, including hundreds of thousands of South African citizens, who had their dignity infringed for years by being treated unequally:

# The City of Cape Town is heading to court to challenge a provisional heritage protection order granted to the iconic Athlone power station. The City argues the order hampers redevelopment plans aimed at transforming the site to support energy resilience and economic growth. Heritage Western Cape insists the site’s industrial and cultural significance warrants formal protection. The court’s decision could set a precedent for balancing heritage conservation with urban development.

# Cricket: Indian batting legend Virat Kohli has retired from Test cricket with immediate effect, bringing his 14-year career to an end. The 36-year-old retires having scored nine-thousand-230 runs from his 123 Tests, with 30 centuries and 31 half-centuries. Kohli says this longest format of the game has tested and shaped him, and taught him lessons he will carry for life. He adds he is walking away with a heart full of gratitude. Kohli’s retirement comes after Rohit Sharma also called time on his Test career last week.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-25-cents and the euro at 20-rand-32-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-8-cents and Bitcoin trades at 104-thousand-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-220-dollars-45-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 65-dollars-52-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….