News 18:00

BULLETIN 14 November 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# An EMPD spokesperson was told to back off in CAT VIP blue lights probe
# The Auditor-General issues the first-ever certificate of debt, forcing a municipal manager to repay R4.6-million
# And, road closures remain in place as the Cape Winelands fire services continue to battle a fire in Montagu

# Ekurhuleni Metro Police spokesperson Kelebogile Thepa says she was instructed to back off after urging the City Manager’s office to issue a joint response to media inquiries about the CAT VIP bluelights saga. Testifying at the Madlanga Commission, Thepa said her proposal aimed to avoid conflicting statements and ensure technical accuracy. She added that the City Manager, Imogen Mashazi’s intervention did very little to calm the storm, noting public confusion over claims about EMPD vehicle ownership:

# The municipal manager of Ngaka Modiri Molema District in North West, Allan Losaba, has become the first South African public official held personally liable for financial losses identified by the Auditor-General. He has been issued a certificate of debt for over 4.6-million rand following mismanagement of a water tanker tender, which led to inflated claims and irregular spending. Auditor-General Tsakane Maluleke says Losaba repeatedly ignored remedial instructions issued since 2019:

# The Cape Winelands District Municipality is still fighting several fires, including a major line above the Guano Caves outside Montagu. The municipal spokesperson Jo Anne Otto says strong winds pushed the fire across the R62, threatening structures. Crews from Cape Winelands, Langeberg Municipality, CapeNature, and other partners are actively protecting properties, with helicopters deployed. Heavy smoke affects the area, and the R62 remains closed:

# Russia launched a massive drone and missile attack on Kyiv this morning, killing four people and wounding dozens in energy facilities, apartment buildings and infrastructure. President Volodymyr Zelensky says Russian forces used 430 drones and 18 missiles, making this one of the biggest attacks on the capital so far. The Air Force says most of the drones and missiles were shot down, but falling debris and fires damaged high-rise apartments, a school, a medical facility and administrative buildings across nine districts in the city of about three-million.

# Rugby: England’s captain, Maro Itoje, believes they can beat the All Blacks at Twickenham tomorrow for the first time since the semifinal of 2019’s World Cup in Japan. England is on a nine-match winning streak, but lost their four previous Tests against New Zealand. History is also against the hosts, who could only win eight of the 46 Tests against the Kiwis since 1905. Itoje, who was part of the winning team six years ago, says England believes in what they do and how they do it.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-17-cents and the euro at 19-rand-97-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-61-cents and Bitcoin trades at 95-thousand-593-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-44-dollars-31-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 63-dollars-72-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….