News 14:00

BULLETIN 30 January 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Nersa approves a temporary ESKOM tariff relief for ferrochrome producers
# Minister Schreiber applauds the lawful festive travel surge that boosted tourism
# And tennis: Alcaraz battles past Zverev to reach the Australian Open final for the first time

# Energy regulator Nersa has approved Eskom’s request to extend temporary tariff relief to Samancor Chrome and the Glencore-Merafe Chrome Venture for 12-months. Power will be supplied at 87-cents-per-kilowatt-hour after both producers cited financial hardship under existing pricing agreements. Nersa says approval is conditional on a government funding mechanism to prevent costs being passed to ordinary customers. Eskom must also submit quarterly progress reports while pursuing a longer-term tariff solution.

# Home Affairs minister Leon Schreiber says the festive season saw a marked rise in lawful travel, with the Border Management Authority processing nearly 4.9-million travellers across 71-ports of entry. He says South Africa recorded a new tourism high of 10.48-million arrivals in 2025, with the BMA playing a key role. Schreiber adds upcoming digital reforms will further boost tourism, trade, and job creation:

# The City of Cape Town has allocated 114-million-rand in its adjustment budget for the N2 Edge safety project. This is to improve safety for commuters, pedestrians, and communities along a nine-kilometre stretch of the N2. Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says, besides safety barrier repairs and reinforcements along the N2, the project will bring various safety improvements for adjacent communities, including new pedestrian crossings and improved lighting and access control:

# Tennis: World number one Carlos Alcaraz says he never stopped believing in himself in a gruelling Australian Open semifinal against German Alexander Zverev. The Spaniard won the first two sets before cramps got the better of him, allowing third-seeded Zverev back and taking the encounter to five sets. Alcaraz eventually won after five and a half hours to reach the final for the first time. He now awaits the outcome of the other semifinal between defending champion Jannik Sinner of Italy and ten-time champion Novak Djokovic of Serbia.

# And financial news: Oil markets have continued to trade close to multi-month highs, driven largely by geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East. Brent crude oil traded at over 68-dollars per barrel this morning – rising 5.5-percent from a week ago. Commodity analysts say renewed tensions between the United States and Iran have increased concerns about possible supply disruptions, particularly involving Iranian exports and key shipping routes. Temporary outages in Kazakhstan, Russia and Venezuela have collectively reduced global supply in recent weeks, and extreme winter weather in the US has also constrained output.

The dollar currently trades at 15-rand-94-cents and the euro at 19-rand-1-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-91-cents and Bitcoin trades at 82-thousand-402-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-and-69-dollars-64-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 68-dollars-44-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….