News 07:00

BULLETIN 25 September 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa calls for financing for sustainable development
# The Road Accident Fund has resumed the payment of claims
# And swimming: Chad le Clos is back from an injury to race in South Africa

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says while some nations can mobilise trillions to shield their citizens and economies from pandemics and other emergencies, others are left constrained by debt and denied fair access to global capital. He participated in the Biennial Summit for a Sustainable, Resilient and Inclusive Global Economy at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. Ramaphosa says that to close the Sustainable Development Goals financing gap, bold measures need to be undertaken:

# The Road Accident Fund board says it is taking definitive steps to restore faith in the claims process, while implementing a sustainable management system to prevent future backlogs. The board has prioritised settlements based on a meticulous review, facilitating the commencement of payments. RAF has started initiating payments for claims that have been pending for more than 180 days, with the total value of these claims exceeding 20-billion-rand. The board states that the plan is to make monthly payments of around four-billion-rand throughout the year.

# Higher Education and Training minister Buti Manamela has called for nominations of qualified individuals to fill vacancies on Community Education and Training College Councils. The move, published in the Government Gazette last week, aims to boost governance, accountability, and renewal in the sector. Manamela described CET colleges as a bridge of hope for out-of-school youth and adult learners. He stressed the need for councils that reflect community aspirations and drive local development.

# Gauteng Health Department has confirmed that Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital in Tshwane has introduced contingency measures after power outages affected the facility. The Department’s spokesperson Motalatale Modiba says backup systems and additional lamps are being used, while alternative cellphone numbers have been assigned for critical services. He confirmed that the outages were caused by theft and vandalism, with repairs expected to take several days:

# Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has warned that Russian president Vladimir Putin will keep driving the war in Kyiv even wider and deeper unless he is stopped. He addressed the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday. Zelensky appealed to world leaders to intervene to prevent Russia from leading the world through the most destructive arms race in human history, adding that the combination of drone technology and artificial intelligence would end in catastrophe:

# Swimming: Four-time Olympic medalist Chad le Clos is set to make his return to major competition at the South African National Short Course Championships in Pietermaritzburg, which begins today and continues until Sunday. The 33-year-old has been sidelined by a back injury. Le Clos will compete in the 50-metre backstroke, the 50 and 100-metre butterfly, and the 100-metre freestyle. Others competing in the championships include Chris Smith, Jessica Thompson, Lara van Niekerk, and Kris Mihaylov.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-31-cents and the euro at 20-rand-33-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-28-cents and Bitcoin trades at 112-thousand-785-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-738-dollars-92-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 68-dollars-23-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….