News 18:00

BULLETIN 24 February 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Mbuyiseli Madlanga questions Shadrack Sibiya on indirectly alerting Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala on contract cancellation
# GIWUSA rejects any attempt to implement fiscal austerity in the 2026 Budget
# And, the ANC rejects the continued selling of land and properties by the City of Cape Town

# Madlanga Commission chairperson Mbuyiseli Madlanga says suspended deputy National Police Commissioner Shadrack Sibiya may have indirectly alerted controversial businessman Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala about the possible cancellation of the Medicare24 contract in May 2025. Sibiya shared the audit report in March 2025, potentially signaling issues behind the scenes. Sibiya maintains he only shared the report with Sergeant Fannie Nkosi, denying that he directly informed Matlala of impending developments:

# As Finance minister Enoch Godongwana prepares to deliver the 2026 Budget Speech tomorrow, the General Industries Workers Union of South Africa rejects any attempt to implement fiscal austerity. GIWUSA president Mametlwe Sebei says successive governments have systematically starved the fiscus of revenue. Under apartheid, corporate tax stood at over 50-percent. He says  today, it has been slashed to 27-percent:

# The ANC in Cape Town has rejected the continued selling of land and properties by the metro. The metro plans to auction about 50 city-owned properties, including the Good Hope Centre, on Thursday. It says the sale will unlock economic, social and spatial value and benefit residents through reinvestment in service delivery. The ANC’s Akhona Jonginamba says the City of Cape Town must stop claiming it does not have available land to relocate communities in distress who are in dire need of land:

# Boxing: Floyd Mayweather will come out of retirement to face Manny Pacquiao in the first-ever professional boxing match at the Sphere in Las Vegas in September. The 48-year-old American was victorious when the pair fought in May 2015 in what was billed the ‘Fight of the Century’. Filipino Pacquiao retired from the sport to focus on his political career in 2021, but returned to the ring last July to fight WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios. Mayweather says he is confident he will beat Pacquiao again.

 # The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-2-cents and the euro at 18-rand-86-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-60-cents and Bitcoin trades at 62-thousand-871-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-125-dollars-8-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 71-dollars-33-cents a barrel.

# And finally, the US actor best known for roles in Revenge of the Nerds and Lizzie McGuire, Robert Carradine, has died at the age of 71. His family says he took his own life after living with bipolar disorder for nearly two decades. The family says they wanted to announce his cause of death to raise awareness of the stigma attached to mental illness. Carradine was best known for playing the head nerd in Revenge of the Nerds and the father of Lizzie McGuire in the noughties’ Disney Channel series.

Stay tuned for more news………….