News 12:00

BULLETIN 23 January 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Accountability Now’s director says voters have an opportunity to exact accountability 
# The vegetation fire between Da Gama and Ocean View is contained 
# And Tennis: Coco Gauff advances to her first Australian Open semifinal

# Accountability Now director, Paul Hoffman, says the upcoming elections are an opportunity to exact accountability from those who have governed, and a chance to replace those whose governance has proved disappointing. A total of 350 political parties have already registered for the elections. Hoffman says factors such as load-shedding, failing water infrastructure, poor health services, corruption, crime, a crippled criminal justice system and inferior education may inform how South Africans vote. He adds that everyone eligible to vote should do so out of informed self-interest, if for no other reason.

# Cape Town firefighters have managed to contain the vegetation fire between Da Gama and Ocean View. The fire started yesterday afternoon and was fanned by a strong south-easterly wind. Jermaine Carelse of the city’s Fire and Rescue Service says although resources have been scaled back at the site, they are on alert for any flare-ups:

# The Development Bank of Southern Africa is set to play a role in the public procurement of seven-thousand-615 megawatts of new electricity generation and storage capacity. To date, it has invested 12.4-billion-rand into various projects procured since the launch of South Africa’s first independent power producer auctions in 2011. The state-owned development financier says it will now seek to participate in the three bidding rounds launched last month for renewable energy, gas to power and battery storage.

# Tennis: American Coco Gauff is through to the semifinals of the Australian Open for the first time in her career. She battled passed Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk, 7-6, 6-7, 6-2, in three-hours-and-eight-minutes. This is the reigning US Open champion’s 12th straight major match win and she has not lost a match this year. Gauff says she left everything on the court today:

# Financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-11-cents and the euro at 20-rand-84-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-34-cents and Bitcoin trades at 39-thousand-612-dollars-77-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-and-29-dollars-79-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 80-dollars-25-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….