News 09:00

BULLETIN 16 September 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA urges the Judicial Service Commission to investigate an alleged bribe-taking judge
# The tariff changes could impact South Africa’s wholesale electricity market
# And the US military strikes another Venezuelan drug vessel

# The DA is urging the Judicial Service Commission to urgently attend to complaints of bribery against a Johannesburg High Court Judge. Heidelberg businessman and lawyer Bouwe Wiersma has filed a formal complaint with the JSC, claiming that a judge initially requested seven-thousand-rand to grant leave to appeal an eviction order. The amount was later reduced to five-thousand-rand, which Wiersma says he paid. The DA’s Glynnis Breytenbach says a mafia state is characterised by, among others, a captured judiciary:

# New research by Cresco highlights that changes to South Africa’s regulated electricity tariffs could undermine competition and investment ahead of the 2026 launch of the South African Wholesale Electricity Market. This includes the Megaflex bulk user tariff. With Eskom pushing for a higher fixed-cost ratio, analysts warn this could entrench its dominance, deter independent power producers, and burden smaller consumers. Cresco urges balanced reforms to ensure the wholesale electricity market drives investment, competition, and long-term energy security.

# ActionSA in Gauteng says it is concerned about the worsening water crisis affecting communities across Westbury, Westdene, Coronationville, and surrounding areas in Johannesburg. The Commando system, which supplies water to a large part of the metro, has been constrained due to higher demand, constrained supply and infrastructure limitations. This has left many communities without a stable water supply, which has led to protest action. ActionSA’s Zwelithini Mtshali says this is not just a service delivery failure, it is a human crisis:

# US president Donald Trump says the military carried out a strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug vessel travelling in international waters on the way to America. Three men were killed in the attack yesterday. The attack follows a similar strike that killed eleven people earlier this month. Trump says these extremely violent drug trafficking cartels pose a threat to US National Security, foreign policy, and vital American interests. He adds that they have evidence that the boats belonged to a narco-terrorist group:

# Cricket: Pakistan’s governing body asked for the removal of match referee Andy Pycroft after their Asia Cup match against India in Dubai. This follows after the Indian players refused to shake hands after winning by seven wickets. This was the first match between the arch-enemies since the four-day military conflict in May. The chairperson of the Pakistani Cricket Board, Mohsin Naqvi, called it a lack of sportsmanship and says they’ve lodged a complaint against Pycroft at the International Cricket Council for a violation of the code of conduct.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-34-cents and the euro at 20-rand-42-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-60-cents and Bitcoin trades at 115-thousand-314-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-681-dollars-9-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 67-dollars-31-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….