News 14:00

BULLETIN 20 May 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Government says the private sector helping to fix the water crisis, is not privatisation
# ActionSA in Gauteng demands transparency and accountability for underspending
# And Tennis: The US Open’s venue is to undergo a massive renovation

# The Department of Water and Sanitation says the private sector can help fix South Africa’s municipal water crisis, but insists this is not water privatisation. Director-General Sean Phillips said private firms could assist with infrastructure, maintenance, and operations, but municipalities would remain in control. The National Water Resources Infrastructure Agency has been established to attract investment and improve service delivery. The move follows years of underinvestment, mismanagement, and water losses of up to 35-percent in some areas.

# ActionSA in Gauteng says the province’s inability to utilise allocated funds effectively has severe consequences for residents, particularly in critical sectors like healthcare, education and infrastructure development. The provincial government returned 1.8-billion-rand to National Treasury at the end of the 2024/2025 financial year, mainly from the departments of health and education. ActionSA’s Zwelithini Mtshali says underspending leads to reduced or non-delivery of services, affecting the quality of life for residents:

# France’s Justice minister has announced the country will build a new high-security prison in French Guiana to house drug traffickers and radical Islamists. Gérald Darmanin told a French newspaper the prison would target organised crime “at all levels” of the drug supply chain. It was announced after a series of violent incidents in recent months which saw prisons and staff targeted across France. According to AFP the facility for 500 people could open as early as 2028 and will be built in an isolated location deep in the Amazon jungle.

# Tennis: The United States Tennis Association says the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre, the venue for the US Open, will undergo a 14.47-billion-rand upgrade. This is the largest single investment in US Open history. The upgrades will include a reimagine and modernisation of Arthur Ashe Stadium, a new, state-of-the-art player performance centre, and two new dedicated luxury suite levels. The construction, which will be completed in 2027, will be done in three phases without interrupting the 2025 or 2026 editions of the US Open.

# Financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-4-cents and the euro at 20-rand-29-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-10-cents and Bitcoin trades at 105-thousand-300-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-233-dollars-22-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-86-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The Motor Industry Staff Association has donated 120-thousand-rand to the Prostate Cancer Foundation to boost awareness and early detection efforts. The union, representing over 71-thousand members, has expressed commitment to promoting regular cancer screenings. The association’s spokesperson, Sonja Carstens, says early detection is crucial, as most cases are diagnosed too late:

Stay tuned for more news………….