News 18:00

BULLETIN 12 September 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The crypto company at the centre of the Bouwer van Niekerk murder is provisionally liquidated
# New evidence emerges in the SAFA fraud case against Danny Jordaan and his co-accused
# And roadrunning: Eighteen-thousand athletes are expected at the weekend’s annual Gun Run in Cape Town

# Cryptocurrency company, NTC Global, at the centre of the murder of insolvency attorney Bouwer van Niekerk, has been provisionally liquidated. According to News24, the firm had collected 484-million-rand in investments, with 262-million-rand still owed to creditors. Investigations suggest NTC operated as a Ponzi scheme, and business rescue efforts failed. Van Niekerk was shot at his law offices in Saxonwold, Johannesburg, last week, and no arrests have yet been made. The High Court in Pretoria has set 6 November for the final liquidation hearing.

Staying with the courts: New evidence has emerged in the 1.1-million-rand fraud case against the SA soccer association’s president, Danny Jordaan, chief financial official Gronie Hluyo, and businessman Trevor Neethling. The Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Gauteng heard the state obtained 64 gigabytes of material to process before proceedings can continue. Prosecutor Moagi Malebati says the defence submitted selective emails, prompting a subpoena to service provider Afrihost. The matter has been postponed to 21 November. The accused remain out on 20-thousand-rand bail each.

# President Cyril Ramaphosa will meet ANC leaders to address local government failures. Speaking ahead of a North West provincial government visit, he highlighted municipalities struggling to deliver services, citing Ditsobotla is under administration for the ninth time. Ramaphosa stressed the need to repair and reposition local government. He confirmed ongoing discussions led by Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs minister Velenkosini Hlabisa on reform through a white paper and engagement with key stakeholders:

Meanwhile, AfriForum says privatising municipal debt collection is essential to safeguard water security and service delivery. According to AfriForum’s Lambert de Klerk, municipal debt to water boards exceeds 25.1-billion-rand nationally. De Klerk warns continued poor financial management could trigger nationwide water outages within three months. He calls for private initiatives to enforce payments and urges water boards to curb wasteful spending threatening communities’ rights to water:

# Roadrunning: The 31st Gun Run takes place in Cape Town this weekend, with over 18-thousand athletes expected. Tomorrow features the 17-kilometre trail run from Oranjezicht and shorter races from Green Point, while Sunday’s 21.1-kilometre half-marathon winds through Green Point, Sea Point, Camps Bay and Clifton. Road closures will affect key areas between 5am and 11am. The city urges motorists to plan ahead and wishes runners a safe, successful race.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-35-cents and the euro at 20-rand-34-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-54-cents and Bitcoin trades at 115-thousand-181-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-653-dollars-45-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 67-dollars-32-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….