News 06:00

BULLETIN 6 January 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Dawie Roodt expects a positive year for South Africa
# The Border Authority and Defence Force intensify their control at the Beitbridge border post
# And, Johannesburg implements emergency measures during Rand Water’s maintenance work

# Efficient Group chief economist, Dawie Roodt, says South Africa is poised for a positive year, both politically and economically. The local government elections will be held this year, while US tariffs will be a threat to the country’s economy. Roodt told Daily Investor that although South Africa’s current political transition phase presents opportunities, the possibility remains that it could also harm the country’s economic growth prospects. He also warned of a possible financial crisis this year, given what is happening in the world politically and the unsustainable financial markets.

# The Border Management Authority has stepped up border controls at the Beitbridge border post in Limpopo, using drones in collaboration with the South African National Defence Force. This has led to the interception of more than 100 undocumented migrants from Zimbabwe over the past week. Commissioner Michael Masiapato says two suspected smugglers have been arrested, while the 98 migrants were deported:

# Johannesburg mayor Dada Morero has confirmed that Rand Water’s 54-hour maintenance at the Eikenhof Pump Station starts from today until Thursday. The upgrades aim to improve long-term water supply reliability but will cause temporary disruptions in parts of the city, including Roodepoort and Soweto. Several reservoirs, including Roodepoort Deep, will be affected. Residents may experience low pressure or outages, with full system recovery expected up to seven days:

# United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres says he is deeply concerned that the rules of international law were not respected during the latest US military action in Venezuela. Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were captured during a military operation on Saturday. At an emergency session of the UN’s Security Council, Under-Secretary General Rosemary DiCarlo read out a statement on behalf of Guterres, stressing that international law provides the foundation for the maintenance of peace and security:

# Rugby: The beleaguered Bulls hope to get their season back on track in the next two Champions Cup matches. The Pretoria team is under huge pressure after six defeats in a row, including going down 13-8 to the Stormers in a United Rugby Championship encounter on Saturday.  Head coach Johan Ackermann says their defence was a lot better and they could take a lot of positives from that game. They play Bristol Bears at Loftus this coming weekend, and face Pau in France a week later.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-36-cents and the euro at 19-rand-17-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-14-cents and Bitcoin trades at 94-thousand-33-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-452-dollars-3-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 61-dollars-58-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….