News 15:00

BULLETIN 7 November 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Confirmation Malusi Gigaba was not arrested after reporting to Pretoria police this morning  
# Foot-and-mouth disease is confirmed on a farm near Gouda in the Western Cape 
# And French authorities rule a man can keep 14-milllion-rand’s worth of gold discovered in his garden

# The Investigating Directorate Against Corruption has confirmed that former Public Enterprises minister Malusi Gigaba has not been arrested. He was summoned to a Pretoria police station this morning over alleged irregularities in Transnet’s procurement processes during his tenure from 2010 to 2014. While the exact charges remain unclear, Gigaba says he will cooperate fully and his conscience is clear. The directorate’s spokesperson, Henry Mamothame, says the investigations continue:

# The Public Servants Association say is concerned about the systemic and prolonged neglect of conditions of service, remuneration, and the institutional status of lower court presiding officials. Western Cape magistrates embarked on a protest last week, demanding recognition as part of a single judiciary, significant salary reforms, and better working conditions. PSA’s Claude Naiker says lower court officials preside over approximately 95-percent of South Africa’s judicial workload, and must therefore be protected:

# The Western Cape Department of Agriculture has confirmed a case of foot-and-mouth disease on a farm near Gouda. The affected property and two others in Velddrift and Bredasdorp have been placed under quarantine, while all farms within a ten-kilometre radius are under inspection. Veterinary teams are investigating a transport company linked to the outbreak. State veterinarian Lesley van Helden urged farmers not to move any cloven-hoofed animals until further notice:

# Golf: Rory McIlroy has revealed he received a personal apology from the CEO of the PGA of America, Derek Sprague, over the abuse European Ryder Cup players and their families endured in New York in September. The team, and in particular the Northern Irishman and his wife, Erica, were targeted by the partisan crowd across the three days. McIlroy says he got a lovely e-mail message from Sprague which he appreciates very much. American captain Keegan Bradley had earlier refused to condemn the home fans.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-34-cents and the euro at 20-rand-5-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-75-cents and Bitcoin trades at 100-thousand-138-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-996-dollars-96-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 63-dollars-70-cents a barrel.

#  And finally, a man who discovered around 14-million-rand’s worth of gold bars and coins while digging a swimming pool in his garden in France, have been told he can keep it. The unnamed man found the hoard at his home in a town outside Lyon in May, and reported it to the Regional Directorate of Cultural Affairs. A spokesperson for the local authority says officals at the directorate had just ruled he could keep it, as there was no sign it was archaeological treasure.

Stay tuned for more news………….