News 15:00

BULLETIN 6 October 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# John Steenhuisen unveils the DA’s vision to put people at the centre of governance in Nelson Mandela Bay
# Johannesburg’s credit rating outlook is revised from negative to stable
# And another French prime minister has resigned

# DA leader John Steenhuisen says the party’s vision for Nelson Mandela Bay in the Eastern Cape is to put people at the centre of governance through competent and caring leadership. He was speaking at the campaign rally of the party’s mayoral candidate in next year’s local government election, Retief Odendaal. Steenhuisen criticised the ANC-led coalition for failing to spend infrastructure funds and allowing corruption to rise. He says the DA will focus on basic services, clean governance and safety:

# The City of Johannesburg has welcomed the decision by Global Credit Rating Company Limited to revise its outlook from negative to stable. The city’s spokesperson, Nkosana Lekotjolo says in July 2023, the city’s outlook was downgraded to negative, following subdued income growth, rising expenditure, and relatively weak collection rates. He says the latest revision marks a significant turnaround, underscoring the positive impact of strong leadership, sound governance, prudent financial management, tighter internal controls, and effective contingency planning.

Moving abroad:

# FirstRand Namibia has advised customers that FNB ATMs are temporarily unable to accept the Bank of Namibia’s newly introduced banknotes. The bank says while the ATMs can still dispense cash, they require technological upgrades to process the new notes for deposits. FNB’s Kirsty Watermeyer encouraged customers to use in-branch services for deposits until the system updates are completed:

# French president Emmanuel Macron accepted prime minister Sebastien Lecornu’s resignation just hours after unveiling his cabinet, plunging the European nation further into political deadlock. Macron named the former Defence minister in the position last month. But the largely unchanged cabinet he unveiled yesterday sparked fierce criticism across the political spectrum. Lecornu had faced the daunting task of finding approval in a deeply divided parliament for an austerity budget for next year. His two immediate predecessors were ousted in a standoff over the spending plan.

# Golf: South Africa’s Richard Sterne says his performance in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews in Scotland feels like he has turned a major corner in his career. The 44-year-old finished joint third with England’s John Parry, with Robert MacIntyre becoming the first local player in 20 years to lift the trophy and Englishman Tyrrell Hatton second. Sterne says after overcoming a debilitating hip injury, this result is encouraging, but there is still more work to do:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-25-cents and the euro at 20-rand-13-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-16-cents and Bitcoin trades at 123-thousand-985-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-935-dollars-63-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 65-dollars-18-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….