News 08:00

BULLETIN 28 January 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# South Africa’s tariff regulator is considering doubling the import tariffs on passenger vehicles
# BOSA demands the appointment of a permanent Police minister
# And, Donald Trump says the operations in Minnesota will de-escalate a little bit

# Trade, Industry and Competition deputy minister, Zuko Godlimpi, says South Africa will not be hostile to countries like China and India by introducing import tariffs, but would instead encourage them to have local production facilities. This as the International Trade Administration Commission of South Africa is considering imposing 50-percent import tariffs on passenger vehicles and 30-percent on vehicle components. In 2024, vehicle imports from China made up 22-percent of all vehicle imports to the country, with 53-percent coming from India. Godlimpi says government is committed to protecting the manufacturing sector.

# Build One South Africa has urged president Cyril Ramaphosa to appoint a permanent police minister to bring stability and accountability to the leadership of the South African Police Service. Visiting Nyanga and Delft police stations in Cape Town yesterday, party leader Mmusi Maimane highlighted that both stations ranked among the top five with the highest number of murders last year. He called for increased funding, decentralised policing, and specialist units to tackle serious crime and build safer communities:

# The remains of Ekurhuleni mayoral committee member of Roads and Transport, Andile Mngwevu, and three others have been found in Mozambique. He was one of five occupants of a vehicle caught in severe floodwaters in the Chokwé area earlier this month. One of the passengers was rescued. Mozambique authorities and a dedicated South African rescue team have been part of an extensive search and rescue operation since the middle of this month. The ANC in Ekurhuleni has expressed sadness at the passing of Mngwevu.

# US president Donald Trump says he plans to de-escalate the situation in Minnesota. This follows the killing of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Minneapolis this month, which led to widespread protests. In an interview on Fox News, Trump asserted that Pretti shouldn’t have been carrying a gun, even though there is no Minnesota or federal law barring participation in peaceful protest while carrying a concealed weapon:

# Cricket: South Africa clinched an emphatic nine-wicket victory against the West Indies at Boland Park in Paarl, to take a 1-0 lead in their three-match T20 series. George Linde claimed three wickets, while Corbin Bosch and Keshav Maharaj took two each as the Proteas restricted the visitors to 173 for seven in their allotted 20 overs. In reply, captain Aiden Markram scored an unbeaten 86 off 47 balls to lead South Africa to victory with 13 balls to spare. The second T20 will be played in Centurion tomorrow.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 15-rand-88-cents and the euro at 19-rand-6-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-93-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 89-thousand-102-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-243-dollars-68-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 66-dollars-76-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….