News 08:00

BULLETIN 12 February 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The IMF says debt and lagging policy reforms are holding South Africa back
# The Gauteng premier apologises to residents for the ongoing water crisis
# And, the Canadian police have identified the suspect in the Tumbler Ridge school shooting

# The International Monetary Fund has warned that risks to South Africa’s economic outlook are tilted to the downside, mainly stemming from global fragmentation, trade tensions, and domestic reform fatigue. It projects a 1.4-percent growth rate for the country in 2026 and about 1.8-percent over the medium term. In its latest report, the IMF expressed concern about public debt and lagging policy reforms. It has emphasised the need for well-coordinated policies and reforms to safeguard fiscal sustainability, secure low and stable inflation, ensure financial stability, and achieve higher and inclusive growth.

# Action Society says president Cyril Ramaphosa’s state of the nation address must focus on urgent policing and justice reforms. The organisation calls for measurable action to tackle violent crime, protect women and children, and restore public trust in the police. It urged the government to prioritise safety over politics in this election year. Action Society’s Juanita du Preez warns that without a safe and functioning criminal justice system, economic and social recovery plans will fail:

# Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi has apologised to communities and neighbouring provinces experiencing water outages. Technical failures at Rand Water infrastructure, including an explosion, power-related disruptions, and high consumption, have resulted in reduced supply in the province. An Intergovernmental Water War Room has been established to address the province’s deepening water supply problems. Lesufi says they will rectify this situation as speedily as possible:

# Canadian police have identified the suspect who carried out the deadly shooting at Tumbler Ridge Secondary School in British Columbia as 18-year-old female Jesse Van Rootselaar. A teacher and five students were killed in the attack on Tuesday, while 25 others were injured. Two others, the suspect’s mother and step-brother, were later found dead at the family home. Royal Canadian Mounted Police deputy commissioner, Dwayne McDonald, says Van Rootselaar’s body was found at the scene with a self-inflicted gunshot wound:

# Tennis: Twenty-four-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the Doha Open, which is scheduled to begin on Monday, due to fatigue. The 38-year-old, who won consecutive titles in Doha in 2016-2017, lost to world number one Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the Australian Open final last month. Alcaraz and Italian Jannik Sinner are the top two seeds at the hard-court ATP 500 event. Djokovic is next scheduled to compete at Indian Wells next month.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 15-rand-85-cents and the euro at 18-rand-83-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-62-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 67-thousand-309-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-59-dollars-58-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 69-dollars-24-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….