News 11:00

BULLETIN 17 October 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The deputy Finance minister says high debt levels remain an obstacle to economic growth
# The controversial North West businessman, Brown Mogotsi, says he fears for his life
# And, MI-5 warns Britain is facing rising threats from terrorism

# Deputy Finance minister David Masondo says given the challenges of high public debt and fiscal pressures, it is important to pursue growth-oriented macro-economic policies to enhance long-term growth potential. G20 Finance ministers and central bank governors have reaffirmed their commitment to stabilising global growth, tackling debt vulnerabilities, and enhancing Africa’s voice in global financial governance. They met in Washington this week. Masondo says implementing structural reforms remains vital to achieving strong economic growth and generating more and better jobs:

# Mineral and Petroleum Resources minister, Gwede Mantashe, says the trade tariffs imposed by the US will not affect South Africa’s fuel security. US president Donald Trump imposed a 30-percent tariff hike on South African exports to America, which took effect in August. Mantashe says since the country does not export any fuel to the US, there has been no impact on the local fuel price. He adds the country’s diversified sourcing of fuel from various international suppliers provides sufficient resilience against potential disruption.

# Controversial North West businessman, Brown Mogotsi, says he fears for his life, after police raided his business premises in Mahikeng yesterday. Police say the raid was part of an ongoing investigation that had already been discussed before the Madlanga commission and the Parliamentary ad hoc committee. Mogotsi is accused of being part of the push to disband the KwaZulu-Natal political task team, and has been linked to criminal kingpin Vusimuzi ‘CAT’ Matlala. Mogotsi told eNCA he does not trust the police:

# The UK’s domestic security service, MI-5, is warning that Britain faces an escalating threat from hostile countries including Iran, Russia and China, while the terrorism risk remains huge. The UK has seen a 35-percent rise in the number of suspects investigated for possibly working for a hostile foreign government last year. MI-5 head Ken McCallum says what is concerning is that one in five of the 232 terrorism arrests last year involved minors under 17:

# Soccer: Sport, Arts and Culture minister Gayton McKenzie has pledged five-million-rand in bonuses for Bafana Bafana players and staff after they qualified for the World Cup for the first time in 16 years. McKenzie made the announcement in the dressing room following their 3-0 victory over Rwanda, praising their resilience. He also commended coach Hugo Broos for transforming the team, saying the squad has made the nation proud.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-41-cents and the euro at 20-rand-38-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-42-cents and Bitcoin trades at 106-thousand-378-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-355-dollars-90-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 60-dollars-33-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….