News 11:00

BULLETIN 3 October 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Hlabisa is calling for a local government reset to boost service delivery
# PSA is demanding action on the high vacancy rate at the Water and Sanitation Department
# And soccer, kick-off times for the 2026 World Cup could be moved because of the heat

# Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs minister Velenkosini Hlabisa says government wants to press a reset button on local government to improve service delivery and financial management. Speaking at the Local Government Indaba in Midrand, Gauteng, Hlabisa stressed tackling corruption, appointing qualified officials, and strengthening metros as key to restoring efficiency, attracting investment, and creating jobs. He emphasised that local government must fulfills its role to citizens:

# The Public Servants Association says it is deeply concerned that the Department of Water and Sanitation has the highest rate of vacancies in the public service. Government departments have nearly 100-thousand job vacancies, with the department having a 23.89-percent vacancy rate. This exceeds the Department of Public Service and Administration vacancy target of eight-percent. PSA’s Claude Naicker says, shockingly, the Water and Sanitation Department has spent 500-million-rand on consultants since the 2023/2024 financial year:

# The South African Communist Party has strongly condemned the recent actions of anti-immigrant vigilante groups, including Operation Dudula. These groups have targeted migrants and undocumented South Africans mainly in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, denying them access to essential public services and turning them away from government clinics and hospitals. The SACP’s Mbulelo Mandlana says populist vigilantism, reminiscent of apartheid-era practices such as public harassment and demands for identity documents, is not a solution, but only deepens division.

# British prime minister Keir Starmer says the country must defeat a rising wave of antisemitism. Two people were killed in a car and stabbing attack at the Heaton Park Synagogue in Manchester yesterday. Four people were wounded. The attacker, who has been named as 35-year-old Jihad Al-Shamie, was shot dead by police at the scene. Three people have been arrested on suspicion of the commission, preparation and instigation of acts of terrorism. Starmer described the attack as horrific:

# Soccer: Kick-off times could be moved later in next year’s World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico over heat concerns. This follows temperatures of between 30- and 40-degrees Celsius in this year’s Club World Cup in America, which lead to concerns for players’ health. The president of the governing body of the sport in North and Central America and the Caribbean, Victor Montagliani, promised the intense summer heat would be taken into consideration when scheduling games. The tournament starts on the 11th of June.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-27-cents and the euro at 20-rand-25-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-22-cents and Bitcoin trades at 119-thousand-954-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-860-dollars-8-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-61-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….