News 13:00

BULLETIN 15 January 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Festive season road fatalities rise in four provinces
# Toyota SA recalls Hino 700 Series trucks over a fuel leak risk
# And Olympics: The cheapest tickets for LA 2028 sell for 460-rand

# Transport minister Barbara Creecy has revealed that five provinces recorded reductions in festive season road fatalities, with the Eastern Cape showing the biggest decline, followed by the Free State. Gauteng, the Western Cape, Mpumalanga and the Northern Cape saw increases. Creecy notes more than 40-percent of crashes occurred between 15 and 28 December. She confirmed pedestrian fatalities were highest in Cape Town, eThekwini, Nkangala and Tshwane:

# Toyota South Africa has recalled certain Hino 700 Series trucks sold between 4 February and 9 November last year. The National Consumer Commission says the recall affects 58 vehicles nationwide. The recall follows a defect in the fuel pump housing, where an incorrect surface treatment may cause cracks under high load, leading to fuel leaks. Owners are urged to book inspections at authorised dealerships. All repairs related to the recall will be carried out free of charge.

# Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka has launched an investigation into allegations of bribery and abuse of power at the Public Investment Corporation. This follows a whistleblower complaint and media reports implicating the chairperson, deputy Finance minister David Masondo, and legal head Lindiwe Masina-Dlamini. Allegations include misuse of public funds, irregular legal actions, and bribery linked to investments. MDN News alleges Masina-Dlamini had been engaging in unnecessary legal proceedings against black-owned businesses and received bribes from law firms involved in these cases.

# The Department of Social Development has expressed concern at videos and graphics circulating on social media platforms, falsely claiming the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress grant is about to stop. The grant was introduced to provide relief to the poor during the pandemic, but its fate beyond March next year remains unclear. The department’s Sandy Godlwana says there is no such decision, announcement or directive from the National Treasury regarding the termination of the grant:

# Olympics: Ticket prizes for the Games in Los Angeles in the US in 2028 starts at 28-dollar, or 460-rand. The registration process for tickets opened yesterday for would-be spectators to enter a random draw for all events. This window will remain open until the middle of March. Successful bidders will be informed via email and given a time slot to purchase tickets the next month. A million of the cheapest tickets will be available, while about one-third of all tickets will sell for less than one-thousand-600-rand.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-39-cents and the euro at 19-rand-7-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-3-cents and Bitcoin trades at 96-thousand-568-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-602-dollars-78-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-5-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….