News 09:00

BULLETIN 14 October 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA demands clarity on the ANC’s strategic alliances funding
# President Ramaphosa expands the National Lotteries probe
# And the UDM says transport infrastructure and enforcement must be strengthened

# The DA is demanding full transparency from the ANC over its R190-million contract with Ezulweni Investments for election materials allegedly shared with strategic partners. The DA’s Willie Aucamp says the arrangement may benefit proxy parties and breach political funding laws. He confirmed that the party will file a Promotion of Access to Information Act request to protect public trust:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has expanded the Special Investigating Unit’s probe into the National Lotteries Commission. The scope of the original proclamation has been extended to include fraud and corruption involving procurement by the commission. The amended proclamation also adds 21 new categories of procurement and contracting to the investigation. The SIU’s initial investigation was divided into three phases, valued at approximately two-billion-rand. It says it is concluding the third phase and will proceed with civil litigation.

# UDM says South Africa’s transport infrastructure and enforcement mechanisms must be strengthened as a matter of urgency. This follows Sunday’s bus accident, which claimed the lives of 42 people, including seven children, in Limpopo. Meanwhile, a taxi accident left 18 children injured on the N3 highway near the Mariannhill Toll Plaza in KwaZulu-Natal yesterday morning. UDM’s Zandile Phiri says regular vehicle inspections and strict adherence to roadworthiness standards are critical in preventing such tragedies:

# French President Emmanuel Macron rejected calls to resign and blasted his opponents on Monday.  His latest government is threatened by two no-confidence motions that could bring it down by the end of the week. Macron has burned through five prime ministers in less than two years. Many of his rivals have said Macron’s only way out of the crisis is to call fresh elections or resign, both of which he has refused to do. On his arrival in Egypt for a meeting on Gaza, Macron blamed his rivals for destabilising France.

# Tennis: Five men among the world’s top ten are competing in a lucrative exhibition event in Saudi Arabia from tomorrow – the so-called Six Kings Slam. Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, Italian Jannik Sinner, German Alexander Zverev, Novak Djokovic of Serbia, and American Taylor Fritz, as well as world number-25, Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, are competing for prize money of a whopping 78-million-rand. According to reports, some of the players will also receive massive sums to appear. Sinner beat Alcaraz in last year’s final.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-32-cents and the euro at 20-rand-7-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-13-cents and Bitcoin trades at 113-thousand-379-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-163-dollars-83-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 63-dollars-8-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….