News 13:00

BULLETIN 13 February 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Hlabisa confirms municipalities retain authority despite the water crisis committee
# The GOOD Party says green shoots in the economy are not changing the lives of struggling citizens
# And cricket: Zimbabwe stuns the mighty Australia in the T20 World Cup

# Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs minister Velenkosini Hlabisa says municipalities won’t lose their authority on water matters despite the establishment of a national water crisis committee chaired by president Cyril Ramaphosa. Hlabisa described the water situation as a national crisis requiring urgent intervention. He says the committee will support struggling metros with skills and resources, while 55-billion-rand has been allocated for infrastructure, maintenance and emergency response efforts:

Meanwhile, the GOOD Party says the green shoots in the economy are confirmation the government of national unity is making progress. Ramaphosa highlighted the growth of the economy in his state of the nationa address, especially the effort to stabilise the national debt. GOOD’s secretary-general, Brett Herron, says these green shoots, however, have not changed the lives of those stuck in unemployment, living with severe hunger, and unhoused:

# National Director of Public Prosecutions, Andy Mothibi, has condemned the actions of an MK Party member, who allegedly threatened a senior official of the Asset Forfeiture Unit outside the NPA’s building in Pretoria. In a video on social media, the man uttered threats designed to intimidate the official. NPA spokesperson Bulelwa Makeke says the threats are linked to two preservation orders of 4.1-million-rand related to the Growsave stokvel:

Moving abroad:

# The Bangladesh Nationalist Party has secured victory in the parliamentary elections, the country’s first election since the 2024 Gen Z-driven uprising that toppled long‑time premier Sheikh Hasina. The party, led by Tarique Rahman, won a two-thirds majority. The vote was a two-way contest between the BNP and an 11-party alliance led by the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami, which has alleged irregularities in vote counting. Rahman, who returned to Bangladesh in December after 17 years of exile in London, is now poised to become prime minister.

# Cricket: Unsung Zimbabwe stunned the mighty Australia by beating them by 23 runs in their T20 World Cup group match in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The African team posted a defendable 169 for two, spearheaded by Brian Bennett’s undefeated 64. Australia’s first wicket fell with just 13 on the board, and another three batters departed by the time they reached 29. Glenn Maxwell and Matt Renshaw fought back with a 77-run fifth-wicket partnership, but Australia was bowled out for 146 after Blessing Muzarabani took four wickets.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-1-cent and the euro at 18-rand-99-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-81-cents and Bitcoin trades at 66-thousand-715-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-976-dollars-13-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 67-dollars-17-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….