News 09:00

BULLETIN 4 August 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# COPE says there is a culture of unaccountability under Ramaphosa’s leadership
# Limpopo’s controversial pig murder case begins today
# And cycling: Pauline Ferrand-Prévot wins the women’s Tour de France

# The Congress of the People says the continued erosion of ethical governance under president Cyril Ramaphosa’s leadership is a betrayal of the democratic values South Africans fought to uphold. The party says deputy president Paul Mashatile’s failure to declare a diamond gift from a dubious businessman, coupled with Ramaphosa’s refusal to demand accountability, exemplifies a leadership void marked by impunity. COPE’s Teboho Loate says Ramaphosa’s silence and deflection foster a culture of unaccountability that undermines public trust:

# Parliament’s select committee on Public Infrastructure says the suspension of Independent Development Trust CEO, Tebogo Malaka, signals a serious and long-overdue commitment to consequence management within this entity. Her suspension follows the finalisation of a forensic investigation into the botched 836-million-rand oxygen plant project. Committee chairperson, Rikus Badenhorst, says they want a full review of internal controls and procurement systems at the IDT, to ensure such abuse of public funds can never happen again:

# The trial of Limpopo pig farmer Zachariah Olivier and his two co-accused farm employees, Rudolf De Wet and William Musora, will begin in the Polokwane High Court today. The trio is accused of shooting and killing Maria Makgato and Lucia Ndlovu, and feeding their bodies to pigs at a farm outside Polokwane. The decomposed remains of the two workers were found inside a pig enclosure in August last year. The three face charges of murder, possession of firearms and ammunition, as well as defeating the ends of justice.

# Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has appealed to the International Committee of the Red Cross to bring food and medical care to hostages held in Gaza. This comes after Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad released videos showing captives Rom Braslavski and Evyatar David in a visibly fragile state. Hamas says it is prepared to deal positively with any Red Cross request to deliver food and medicine to hostages, but only on the condition that humanitarian corridors are opened up in Gaza. Netanyahu has accused Hamas of not wanting a ceasefire deal.

# Cycling: Pauline Ferrand-Prévot made history by becoming the first French winner of the women’s Tour de France in 36-years. The 33-year-old, who won gold in mountain biking at the Paris Olympics last year, took the overall title by a three-minute-42-second margin over 2023 champion Dutch rider Demi Vollering. Defending champion Katarzyna Niewiadoma of Poland finished third overall. Ferrand-Prévot says winning the yellow jersey on her first attempt is special:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-3-cents and the euro at 20-rand-89-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-95-cents and Bitcoin trades at 114-thousand-548-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-360-dollars-66-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 69-dollars-20-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….