News 07:00

BULLETIN 27 February 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa appoints a panel to investigate the Will for Peace naval exercise
# The ANC’s Loyiso Masuku is elected as the first deputy mayor of the City of Joburg
# And, Hillary Clinton says she has no information on Jeffrey Epstein

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has instituted an investigation related to the multinational naval exercise Will for Peace, and has appointed a panel led by Justice Bernard Ngoepe. The South African National Defence Force allegedly defied orders from the president to withdraw three Iranian warships from the naval exercise held in False Bay in January. Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, says the panel will investigate and make recommendations on the circumstances surrounding the exercise, the factors that contributed to the failure to observe the president’s order:

# Former acting National Police Commissioner, Khomotso Phahlane, has approached the Constitutional Court in an effort to overturn his 2020 dismissal and be reinstated. This comes after the Labour Appeal Court, earlier this month, dismissed his bid to get his job back. Phahlane was fired from the South African Police Service in 2020 following a three-year suspension linked to allegations of corruption and misconduct. He was found guilty of dishonest conduct and bringing the SAPS into disrepute. Phahlane has maintained that his dismissal was unfair.

# Cabinet has approved the hosting of the first national transport conference to address challenges in the transport sector. The conference, to be held at the Gallagher Estate in Gauteng, from 16 to 18 March, will bring together government, industry stakeholders, and international partners to develop solutions that improve mobility, infrastructure performance, and service delivery. Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni says the conference will help strengthen the transport sector and improve services:

# ANC Johannesburg leader, Loyiso Masuku, has been elected unopposed as the city’s first-ever deputy mayor. She previously served as the mayoral committee member for Finance, a portfolio that has now been incorporated into the office of the deputy mayor. Masuku was supported by the ANC and its coalition partners, with the DA staying away from this election. The City of Johannesburg says Masuku will support mayor Dada Morero in coordinating key programmes, reinforcing oversight across departments and entities, and accelerating improved service delivery throughout the metro.

# Former US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, says she has no information on the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’s crimes, and does not recall ever meeting or speaking to him. She testified to the House Oversight Committee behind closed doors on Thursday. In her opening statement, Clinton says Epstein was a heinous individual but is far from alone, calling the crimes he committed a global scourge with an unimaginable human toll. Committee chairperson James Comer has argued that the investigation is bipartisan:

# Cricket:  Former Proteas star Imran Tahir will return to the Durban-based Dolphins on Friday when they begin their CSA One Day Cup title defence against the Warriors in Gqeberha. The 46-year-old Tahir last represented the Dolphins in 2020 and will add important experience to the team, which will be losing seven players to the Proteas squad for their tour of New Zealand. Dolphins coach Quinton Friend says with a 50-over World Cup coming to South Africa in 2027, he believes the relevance of the domestic 50-over competition could not be higher.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 15-rand-93-cents and the euro at 18-rand-80-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-49-cents and Bitcoin trades at 66-thousand-978-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-174-dollars-44-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 70-dollars-47-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….