News 16:00

BULLETIN 30 October 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The High Court overrules that Chief Albert Luthuli’s 1967 death was caused by a train accident
# Witness C links Matlala to the ‘Big Five’ cartel controlling government tenders
# And cricket: Australia makes another net loss despite the home Test series against powerhouse India

# The High Court in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal, has overturned the 1967 inquest’s finding that former ANC president Albert Luthuli’s death was caused by a train accident. Judge Nompumelelo Hadebe found new evidence inconsistent with the original conclusion, noting signs of assault before his body was placed on the tracks. Forensic experts testified that Luthuli’s injuries showed defensive wounds and not train impact. While the court did not name assailants, the ruling exposed major flaws and possible apartheid-era cover-ups in the initial investigation.

# Witness C told the Madlanga commission that businessman Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala met suspended deputy national police commissioner for Crime Detection, Shadrack Sibiya, through the late Pretoria taxi boss Jothan “Mswazi” Msibi. Msibi was part of an alleged criminal network known as the ‘Big Five’ cartel. According to the witness, Matlala reportedly said the group influenced government departments and the South African Police Service:

# The Institute of Race Relations has launched the Value for Money Bill, a new, groundbreaking legislative proposal to overhaul the way government spends public money. The bill replaces the complex points-based preference system with a single, transparent standard. IRR’s Hermann Pretorius says the bill retains limited and transparent tie-break preferences, such as proven delivery, employment intensity, financial soundness, and a short transitional race-based tie-break, for cases where bids are equal on value:

# The Department of Water and Sanitation says the Vaal Dam has reached full capacity again, recording a level of 100.88-percent on Tuesday. During the same period last year, the dam stood at just 34.77-percent. The department says consistent rainfall across Gauteng and parts of the Free State has allowed the Vaal Dam to maintain steady levels. It adds that although the levels are healthy, authorities will continue to monitor the system closely to maintain balance across the catchment area.

# Cricket: India’s visit for a series of five Tests didn’t lessen Cricket Australia’s financial woes, with the governing body announcing a net loss of over 124-million-rand for the previous financial year. This is still much less than the previous year. The chairperson of Cricket Victoria, Ross Hepburn, criticised the national body during today’s annual general meeting, saying the situation is prevailing since before the Covid-19 pandemic. Cricket Australia’s CEO, Todd Greenberg, is very optimistic about the current eight white-ball matches against India and the Ashes series against England.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-29-cents and the euro at 20-rand-4-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-77-cents and Bitcoin trades at 109-thousand-166-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-979-dollars-75-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 63-dollars-78-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….