News 07:00

BULLETIN 16 September 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa warns against factionalism and poor leadership in municipalities
# The acting Police minister says the probe into the alleged assassination attempt on Paul Mashatile has been finalised
# And, the FBI director says DNA evidence links the arrested suspect to the killing of Charlie Kirk

# ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa has given councillors firm marching orders ahead of the local government elections next year. Addressing more than four-thousand councillors at the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg, in Gauteng yesterday, Ramaphosa urged leaders to prioritise ethics, skills, and service to the people over factional interests. He warned that poor leadership and internal divisions have eroded public trust and undermined service delivery in municipalities:

# Deputy Finance minister David Masondo says any decision on the future of South Africa’s inflation targeting approach should not be taken lightly. The South African Reserve Bank is pushing for a new inflation target, claiming that the current range makes the country uncompetitive and causes price pressure on citizens. The country’s inflation rate has been subdued over the last year, sitting around three-percent since October 2024.  Masondo says low and stable inflation supports competitiveness, boosts demand, reduces borrowing costs, and strengthens employment creation.

# Acting Police minister Firoz Cachalia says the investigation into the alleged assassination attempt on deputy president Paul Mashatile has been completed. The probe was conducted by the police’s Crime Intelligence division and the State Security Agency. Mashatile’s car was shot at several times while he was being driven from an ANC national executive committee meeting in Johannesburg on March 30th. Responding to a parliamentary question from the EFF, Cachalia says any progress will be reported, subject to the classification of the findings of the investigation.

# Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero says the current water challenges gripping the metro are being dealt with speed. This comes amid erratic water supply across many parts of the metro, with the latest leading to a four-day protest in the Westbury area. The mayor visited the Alexandra Reservoir yesterday, one of the hardest-hit facilities, where he admitted that burst pipes and illegal connections continued to drain the system. Morero says reservoir levels need to be kept at 50-percent to enable a stable supply:

# FBI director Kash Patel says DNA evidence found by investigators positively links the man accused of killing right-wing political activist Charlie Kirk. Twenty-two-year-old Tyler Robinson was arrested for allegedly shooting dead Kirk, an ally of president Donald Trump, at an event at Utah Valley University last Wednesday. Patel told Fox News that the rifle used to kill Kirk is currently being processed at the federal Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives laboratories in Maryland:

# Golf: Norwegian star Viktor Hovland is set to tee it up in South Africa for the first time when he makes his Nedbank Golf Challenge debut in honour of Gary Player at the Gary Player Country Club from 4 to 7 December. Hovland will make his third consecutive Ryder Cup appearance at Bethpage Black next week, as Team Europe looks to defend the trophy they won two years ago. The world number 11 was the first player from Norway to win on both the DP World Tour and the PGA Tour.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-36-cents and the euro at 20-rand-42-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-61-cents and Bitcoin trades at 115-thousand-431-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-681-dollars-12-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 67-dollars-36-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….