News 10:00

BULLETIN 22 December 10 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Treasury says the shortlist for a new SARS commissioner is not yet finalised
# The MK Party calls for the removal of Gauteng Police Commissioner Tommy Mthombeni
# And lights up the international box office

# National Treasury says a shortlist of candidates to succeed South African Revenue Service commissioner Edward Kieswetter has not yet been submitted to Finance minister Enoch Godongwana. Kieswetter’s seven-year reign comes to an end in April next year. Treasury told News24 that the selection process for Kieswetter’s successor will include technical assessments to evaluate candidates’ relevant competencies, comprehensive personnel suitability checks and security vetting. It added that the interview process will not be conducted publicly.

# The GOOD Party has condemned the deadly Bekkersdal tavern shooting in Gauteng. Nine people were killed, and ten others were wounded when gunmen opened fire at the tavern in the impoverished township on Sunday. GOOD’s secretary-general, Brett Herron, says there is an absence of a coherent prevention strategy to curb the mass shootings in the country, and the unchecked flow of illegal firearms:

# The MK Party in Gauteng is calling for provincial Police Commissioner Tommy Mthombeni to be replaced over his failure to adequately address the mass shootings in the province. This follows the shooting at a tavern in Bekkersdal, West Rand, on Sunday, which claimed the lives of nine people. The MK Party’s spokesperson, Abel Tau, says this incident shows that Gautenga has a policing crisis that can no longer be left unchecked:

# Cricket: Australian spinner bowler Nathan Lyon’s participation in the last two Ashes Tests against England is in serious doubt. The 38-year-old injured his right hamstring on the final day of the third Test on Saturday, which the Australians won by 82 runs to go 3-0 up in the series. He left the Adelaide Oval on crutches. If Lyon does not recover in time for the Melbourne Test starting on Boxing Day, Todd Murphy, Corey Rocchiccioli, and Matthew Kuhnemann would be options to replace him.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-72-cents and the euro at 19-rand-59-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-40-cents and Bitcoin trades at 88-thousand-813-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-400-dollars-56-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 60-dollars-74-cents a barrel.

# And finally, Avatar: Fire and Ash, James Cameron’s third instalment in his groundbreaking Avatar series, topped the global box office over the weekend. The movie stars Zoe Saldaña, Sam Worthington and Sigourney Weaver. Angel Studios’ animated biblical musical David, a kid-friendly take on the story of David and Goliath, came in second, followed by Lionsgate’s psychological thriller The Housemaid. The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants and Disney’s Zootopia 2 rounded out the top five.

Stay tuned for more news………….