News 07:00

BULLETIN 17 January 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Dumisani Khumalo says Senzo Mchunu overreached by disbanding the police task team
# Human Settlements deploys Emergency Housing Teams to flood-stricken provinces
# And rugby: A huge battle is expected for the SA Rugby Player of the Year

# Human Settlements minister Thembi Simelane has deployed the department’s Emergency Housing Unit to flood-affected areas in Limpopo and Mpumalanga. Teams are verifying damage to more than one-thousand-500 affected households following recent heavy rains, which will guide emergency housing interventions in Limpopo. In Mpumalanga, some families may be relocated or provided with temporary units. Minister Simelane’s spokesperson, Tsekiso Machike, says they have increased capacity to fast-track assessments and assistance: 

# SAPS Crime Intelligence head Dumisani Khumalo says Police minister Senzo Mchunu overreached by disbanding the political killings task team without following due process. Addressing Parliament’s ad hoc committee probing corruption and political interference in the justice system, Khumalo says the minister’s 31 December 2024 letter bypassed National Police commissioner Fannie Masemola, who holds operational authority. Khumalo insists only the commissioner can establish or dissolve such task teams:

# The rand is on a weekly winning run not seen in more than two decades. The current gains are driven by elevated precious-metal prices and an improving economic backdrop. The currency is on track for its eighth straight weekly advance against the dollar, which, according to Bloomberg, would be the longest streak since December 2002. Over this period, it has strengthened by 6.1-percent. While record gold and silver prices have supported the rand’s performance, economic reforms and a cautious central bank have also helped. On Friday afternoon, the rand was trading at 16-rand-39-cents against the dollar.

# Water supply in Knysna in the Western Cape has dropped to critical levels, with around ten days of water left. Speaking to eNCA, Mayor Thando Matika said the Akkerkloof dam is at 15-percent capacity, and officials are working to prevent a full shortage. Matika attributes the shortage to high seasonal demand and panic buying. He added that there are other water sources in the area, urging residents to save water:

#  Israel is grappling with a dramatic increase in post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide among its soldiers after its two-year assault on Gaza, precipitated by the Hamas attacks of 7 October 2023. The Defence Ministry says there is an almost 40-percent increase in PTSD cases, which could dramatically increase in the future. Clinical psychologists say soldiers are grappling with two types of trauma – the first related to fear and being afraid to die, and the second from the damage done to a person’s conscience or moral compass from something they did.

# And rugby: A huge battle is expected for the coveted title of South Africa’s player of the year. The men’s nominees are Springboks Pieter-Steph du Toit, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, world player of the year Malcolm Marx, Ox Nché, and Jasper Wiese. The women nominated are Byrhandré Dolf, Aseza Hele, Libbie Janse van Rensburg, Babalwa Latsha, and Nadine Roos. Feinberg-Mngomezulu was also nominated as young player of the year, while Sevens player of the year will be decided between Selvyn Davids, Shilton van Wyk, and Impi Visser.

Stay tuned for more news………….