News 16:00

BULLETIN 10 December 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA condemns the Labour Department for reviving the apartheid-era race classification
# Rugby: The All Blacks will play France in their first match at their new stadium in Christchurch
# And South Africa marks 29 years since the adoption of its Constitution

# The DA has vowed to take legal action after the Department of Employment and Labour instructed employers to use the long-repealed Population Registration Act from 1950 to classify staff by race. The party calls the move unlawful and an attempt to force businesses to enforce government quotas. The DA’s Michael Bagraim warns the return to apartheid logic threatens jobs and investment:

# Cabinet has welcomed South Africa’s third-quarter gross domestic product growth of 0.5-percent – the fourth consecutive quarter of expansion. Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni says employment rose by 248-thousand, unemployment fell by 360-thousand, and the Youth Employment Service reached 200-thousand placements. She welcomed the International Monetary Fund upgrading the growth forecast to 1.3-percent for this and 1.4-percent for 2026:

# The FF Plus warns South African livestock farmers face severe financial losses this festive season due to foot-and-mouth disease. Spokesperson Wynand Boshoff criticises the Department of Agriculture for slow law enforcement, delayed test results, and insufficient vaccination management. He calls for the urgent implementation of existing regulations, including rapid testing, vaccination access, traceability of cattle, and enforcement at provincial borders:

# Rugby: The All Blacks will inaugurate their new permanent stadium in Christchurch with a Test against France in July next year. The Te Kaha Stadium replaces Lancaster Park, which had to be demolished following a deadly earthquake in 2011. New Zealand could only play five Tests in the city since, on a temporary field not fit for bigger games. All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson says the match against France at the start of the new Nations Championship will be a historic occasion for Christchurch.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-99-cents and the euro at 19-rand-77-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-61-cents and Bitcoin trades at 92-thousand-57-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-197-dollars-71-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 62-dollars-4-cents a barrel.

# And finally: South Africa is marking the 29th anniversary of the adoption and signing milestones of its Constitution, a cornerstone of the country’s democracy. The Constitution was adopted by the Constitutional Assembly on 8 May 1996 and certified by the Constitutional Court in October that same year. Former president Nelson Mandela signed it into law on 10 December 1996 during a ceremony in Sharpeville, honouring victims of apartheid brutality. It officially came into effect on 4 February 1997, establishing rights-based governance for all South Africans.

Stay tuned for more news………….