News 13:00

BULLETIN 8 August 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA demands an urgent probe into the missing 813-million-rand meant for SANDF soldiers in the DRC
# The Activists and Citizens Forum calls on the Hawks to arrest the suspended IDT CEO and spokesperson
# And tennis: Novak Djokovic confirms his participation in the US Open

# The DA calls for an urgent investigation into the missing 813-million-rand meant for the South African National Defence Force soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The DA’s Nicholas Gotsell says Parliament’s joint standing committee on Defence’s chairperson, Malusi Gigaba, has backtracked on his commitment to seek answers from Defence and Military Veterans minister, Angie Motshekga, and is now blocking the committee from meeting:

# The Activists and Citizens Forum is calling on the Hawks to arrest the suspended Independent Development Trust CEO, Tebogo Malaka, and spokesperson Phasha Makgolane. Daily Maverick published footage showing the two offering investigative journalist Pieter-Louis Myburgh 60-thousand-rand in cash to shut down a probe into corruption. Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure Dean Macpherson has laid criminal charges against Malaka and Makgolane. The forum’s spokesperson, Dennis Bloem, says there is solid evidence to justify their immediate arrest:

# AfriForum says 46-percent of South Africa’s drinking water is unsafe for human consumption and most sewage treatment plants are on the verge of collapse. The organisation has launched its annual blue and green drop project to test municipal drinking and wastewater in nearly 160 towns. The first samples were taken at Hammanskraal police station and Rooiwal treatment plant in Gauteng. AfriForum’s Marais de Vaal warns that unsafe water and sewage raise the risk of cholera:

# The draft Children’s Amendment Bill has been approved for public comment. The bill seeks to strengthen the Children’s Act of 2005 by addressing gaps in childcare and protection services. It focuses on improving prevention, early intervention, statutory care, reintegration, and aftercare systems. It also aims to reinforce measures to protect children from violence, mistreatment, abuse, neglect, and exploitation across all service levels.

# Tennis: World number six, Novak Djokovic of Serbia, confirmed his participation in the US Open, starting in New York on the 24th, after withdrawing from both the Canadian and Cincinnati Open. Last year, Djokovic played two events after the US Open, the Shanghai Masters and the Six Kings Slam in Saudi Arabia. He could well play in Shanghai again this year, although there are several signs pointing towards the 38-year-old skipping the event. On the tournament’s website, Djokovic isn’t listed among their seven players to watch.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-73-cents and the euro at 20-rand-63-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-83-cents and Bitcoin trades at 116-thousand-559-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-399-dollars-91-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 66-dollars-34-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….