News 13:00

BULLETIN 7 November 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Suspended Police minister Senzo Mchunu is yet to receive his Madlanga commission appearance date
# Nersa registers 181 new power facilities worth over 30-billion-rand
# And Standard Bank will expand its Home Affairs services to 20 more branches next year 

# Suspended Police minister Senzo Mchunu has not been informed of his appearance date before the Madlanga commission. His spokesperson, Sthembiso Mshengu, told Newzroom Afrika Mchunu, who previously testified before Parliament’s ad hoc committee, will continue preparing his testimony despite his devices being seized by the KwaZulu-Natal political killings task team at his Pretoria home last night. He says the seizure will impact Mchunu’s preparations for the commission hearing:

Meanwhile, former Public Enterprises minister Malusi Gigaba handed himself over to police in Pretoria in connection with the ongoing investigations into corruption at Transnet. Gigaba served as Public Enterprises minister between 2010 and 2014, a period during which the infamous Gupta family and their associates allegedly exerted significant influence over the awarding of major Transnet contracts, including a 54-billion-rand locomotive deal. Gigaba says he has full confidence in the courts for they are the forum where facts, not fiction, prevail. 

# Energy regulator Nersa has registered 181 new generation facilities between July and September. These facilities add over one-thousand megawatts of capacity and attract an estimated 31- billion-rand in investment. Solar power dominates the new projects, with Gauteng, the Western Cape, and Limpopo hosting the most facilities. Nersa’s Charles Hlebela says most capacity will feed into Eskom’s grid, while some connect to municipal networks:

# Tennis: Italian Lorenzo Musetti is still on course to book his place in the ATP Finals, starting in Turin in his home country on Sunday. He beat Frenchman Alexandre Muller in the quarterfinal of the Hellenic Championship in Athens, Greece, and will next meet American Sebastian Korda. Musetti needs to win the tournament to qualify for the Finals and prevent Canadian Felix Augur-Aliassime from booking the final spot. Top-seeded Novak Djokovic of Serbia and German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann face off in the other semifinal.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-33-cents and the euro at 22-rand. One British pound costs 22-rand-70-cents and Bitcoin trades at 100-thousand-880-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-and-5-dollars-62-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-6-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Standard Bank is set to expand its collaboration with the Department of Home Affairs, rolling out services to 20 additional branches early next year. The bank has completed procurement of the necessary infrastructure, with two pilot branches already in testing. Standard Bank’s Marius le Roux says the rollout aims to improve access, convenience, and inclusion, particularly in areas with limited access to the department’s offices:

Stay tuned for more news………….