News 06:00

BULLETIN 18 August 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The convention organising committee says the stage is set for meaningful national engagement
# The US says Putin has agreed to robust security guarantees for Ukraine
# And rugby: The Boland Kavaliers secure a bonus-point victory over the Bulls in the Currie Cup

# The convention organising committee says the first national convention of the national dialogue was citizen-led, iterative in nature, with robust engagement. Over one-thousand delegates from more than 200 organisations attended the two-day convention held on Friday and Saturday at the University of South Africa in Tshwane. Key themes for discussion included the economy, jobs, crime and corruption, education, health, and gender-based violence and femicide. The organising committee says there will be a six-to nine-month dialogue for national engagements, with a mandate to call for radical change.

# The DA says it will continue to demand accountability and support robust investigations following the resignation of the deputy director general for Real Estate Management Services in the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, Nyeleti Mthetwa. The DA’s Edwin Macrae Bath says this follows minister Dean Macpherson’s decision to launch a wide-ranging investigation into state leases and allegations of mismanagement, implicating the deputy director general. He says Mthetwa resigned ahead of a possible suspension:

# The EFF says the ANC government has failed to protect the people from poverty and unemployment, and it has failed to offer any hope of economic transformation. The party says the closure of tyre manufacturer Goodyear in Kariega, Eastern Cape, is not an isolated incident, but part of a broader collapse of what little industry remains in the country. The EFF says workers who have worked for Goodyear for years are struggling to secure the requisite retrenchment packages, being offered amounts as low as 50-thousand-rand after 20 years of service.

ActionSA in Johannesburg has expressed its deep concern over the appointment of councillor Loyiso Masuku as the new mayoral committee member for Finance in the city. ActionSA’s spokesperson, Zwelithini Mtshali, says during her tenure as mayco member for Group Corporate and Shared Services, the city incurred massive wasteful expenditure, amounting to 240-billion-rand in the 2023/2024 financial year. He says Masuku failed to take decisive action against officials implicated in financial mismanagement and fraud:

# US president Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, says Russian president Vladimir Putin agreed to allow America to provide Ukraine with robust security guarantees. This was part of a potential peace deal discussed during the meeting between Trump and Putin in Alaska on Friday. Both leaders stated that the meeting was productive; however, no deal was reached. Witkoff told CNN that Putin also agreed to legislative enshrinement by Russia to not go into any other territory, in Ukraine or elsewhere in Europe:

# Rugby: The Boland Kavaliers overturned a 12-7 half-time deficit to register a 28-20 bonus-point win in their Currie Cup clash over the Bulls in Wellington. The hosts outscored the visitors four tries to three, while six yellow cards were handed out over the game. This victory sees Boland solidify their spot in the top four of the competition and stay on course for a semifinal berth. Next, Boland will face Pumas, while the Bulls return to Loftus Versfeld for a clash with Griquas.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-56-cents and the euro at 20-rand-54-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-80-cents and Bitcoin trades at 117-thousand-605-dollar. Gold sells at three-thousand-326-dollars-20-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 65-dollars-61-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….