News 15:00

BULLETIN 3 February 3 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Commissioner Baloyi rejects a witness’s self-incrimination concerns
# Reservoir levels continue to decline in Tshwane
# And cricket: Bavuma believes De Kock holds the key to the Proteas’ success in the T20 World Cup

# The Madlanga commission’s commissioner, Sesi Baloyi, says there are no facts indicating that a witness will self-incriminate if his WhatsApp messages are revealed to the commission. The witness, represented by Hartley Ngoato, sought High Court relief to avoid appearing. Baloyi emphasised the Commission Act protects testimony from criminal use, except for perjury. She adds concerns about not knowing questions in advance do not justify refusing to testify, allowing the process to proceed:

# The City of Tshwane says the water supply network remains under severe strain as Rand Water supply pressures are still critically low. This follows a recent power failure at Rand Water’s Palmiet supply system. In an attempt to protect critical supplies, the metro diverted water from other reservoirs to stabilise some flow, but this proved ineffective. The metro’s spokesperson, Lindela Mashigo, says assessment of the system shows that things are deteriorating even further:

# The Mpumalanga Department of Health reports a surge in malaria, with over 300 confirmed cases last month, compared to just 69 in January last year. Communicable Diseases Director Mandla Zwane links the increase to recent floods, particularly affecting Ehlanzeni District and sub-districts Nkomazi, Mbombela, and Bushbuckridge. Spokesperson Dumisani Malamule says the department will launch an awareness campaign, urging residents to wear protective clothing and seek testing if symptoms like fever, headache, or vomiting appear.

# Western Cape government urges residents and stakeholders to protect the province’s wetlands as climate pressures intensify. Observing World Wetlands Day, Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC Anton Bredell says healthy wetlands are vital for water security, flood control, carbon storage, and biodiversity. He warns development, pollution, invasive species, and climate change continue to threaten these ecosystems:

# Cricket: With Quinton de Kock in top form, captain Temba Bavuma believes the opening batter will be key in the Proteas’ campaign at the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. Thirty-three-year-old De Kock, who will participate in the tournament for the sixth time, has shown renewed hunger for success after his career-best of 115 off 49 balls in the second T20 against the West Indies at Centurion last week. The Proteas play their first group match against Canada on Monday.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-2-cents and the euro at 18-rand-89-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-87-cents and Bitcoin trades at 77-thousand-995-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-901-dollars-28-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 66-dollars-12-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….