News 16:00

BULLETIN 21 October 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA says it is vindicated as the Gauteng Health Department head fails a lifestyle audit
# US vice president Vance arrives in Israel for talks on the fragile Gaza ceasefire deal
# And soccer: Stellenbosch FC has to play in Cape Town while the Danie Craven Stadium is being upgraded

# The DA says it is vindicated after Gauteng Health Department head Lesiba Malotana was assessed as high risk in a lifestyle audit by the Special Investigating Unit. MEC Faith Mazibuko revealed the findings in the legislature today. The DA’s Jack Bloom criticised premier Panyaza Lesufi for appointing Malotana last year despite alleged involvement in ten-million-rand bribes. He demands transparency on Malotana’s wealth, who is now on precautionary suspension:

# Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Dion George, says climate finance remains central to meaningful action. Least-developed countries are among those most exposed to intensifying climate risks, despite contributing the least to climate change. George says developing-economy nations require scaled-up, predictable, and accessible funding for mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage. He adds that climate finance to support developing economies should not create new debt burdens:

# US vice president JD Vance is in Israel to shore up a fragile Gaza ceasefire deal, after president Donald Trump warned Hamas it would be wiped out if it breached the truce. Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and son-in-law Jared Kushner are already in Tel Aviv where they met hostages released by Hamas after two years of captivity in Gaza. Vance is to meet Witkoff, Kushner and US military experts monitoring the truce. According to media reports he will meet Israeli leaders, including prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, tomorrow.

# Soccer: The closing of the University of Stellenbosch’s Danie Craven Stadium has left Stellenbosch FC without a home ground for the rest of the year. The stadium was closed for upgrades. The club says it is owned and managed by Maties and the decision falls out of its control, but it is looking forward to returning to the iconic venue next year. The situation means Stellenbosch will have to play its matches in Cape Town. The club hopes to build its own stadium in future.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-34-cents and the euro at 20-rand-14-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-20-cents and Bitcoin trades at 109-thousand-420-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-223-dollars-10-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 61-dollars-28-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The Institute of Race Relations says South Africa’s economic and moral crisis is laid bare by two alarming figures. These are non-financial companies are holding a record 1.8-trillion-rand in cash, while 21-percent of children in the country under five are stunted due to malnutrition. The IRR’s John Endres says where investment flows, the economy grows; where employment rises, malnutrition falls. He adds that growth is the only sustainable feeding scheme:

Stay tuned for more news………….