News 09:00

BULLETIN 2 December 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The National Treasury expects municipal expenditure to increase to more than 700-billion-rand
# TLU SA says farm murders must be declared a priority crime
# And rugby: Wales return to the drawing board after their humiliating defeat against the Springboks

# National Treasury says total municipal expenditure in 2025/2026 is estimated to be 698-billion-rand, increasing to 728.3-billion-rand in 2026/2027, and 764-billion in 2027/2028. Treasury has published the operating and capital budgets of municipalities as adopted by their respective councils. The main cost drivers are employee-related costs and bulk purchases, representing 27-percent and 35-percent of the operating expenditure, respectively. Treasury says the release of the budgets enables communities to hold their municipal councils to account.

# The agriculture organisation, TLU SA, has accused the government of lacking the political will to acknowledge and declare farm murders a priority crime. This follows the farm murder of At Mahne and the brutal attack on his wife, Pietro, in Baltimore, Limpopo, over the weekend. TLU SA, Bennie van Zyl, says the irony is that those who attack farmers are often the very people who depend on the farmers’ labour and produce. He adds that the government is unwilling to protect its citizens:

# ActionSA has welcomed the arrest of a Tembisa Hospital employee implicated in widespread corruption. A Special Investigating Unit probe found that Zacharia Tshisele received unlawful payments from service providers. He has repaid 13.5-million-rand, which is just a portion of the kickbacks he allegedly received from service providers. ActionSA’s Zwelithini Mtshali says the SIU’s investigation so far has linked 122-million-rand in corrupt payments to at least 15 current and former officials at the Gauteng Health Department and Tembisa Hospital:

# British prime minister Keir Starmer says the UK needs a policy towards China that recognises the national security threat it poses. Last month, an MI5 alert was issued about Chinese spies targeting members of parliament. The prime minister’s speech also comes amid growing speculation that his government will give the go-ahead for the controversial new Chinese super embassy in London, despite national security concerns. Starmer says China cannot be treated as an enemy as it is a defining force in technology and trade:

# Rugby: Wales is conducting a post-mortem after Saturday’s humiliating 73-0 loss to the Springboks in Cardiff. This was the team’s 11th home defeat in 12 games, with Wales losing 20 out of 22 matches since being eliminated by Argentina in the quarterfinals of 2023’s World Cup. It is said this could be attributed to the lack of a succession plan after several high-profile retirements. The union is reportedly contemplating cutting one of its four professional teams as part of its survival plan.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-9-cents and the euro at 19-rand-85-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-60-cents and Bitcoin trades at 87-thousand-73-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-216-dollars-76-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 63-dollars-10-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….