News 16:00

BULLETIN 2 March 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# IPID declassifies the Phala Phala farm theft report with restricted access
# Paul O’Sullivan will return to Parliament’s ad hoc committee on Thursday
# And cricket: Alyssa Healey retires from ODIs with 158 in the final match against India

# The Independent Police Investigative Directorate has declassified its report into the theft on president Cyril Ramaphosa’s farm in Limpopo, Phala Phala. The investigation was launched in 2022 and examined police conduct linked to the February 2020 theft. Acting Police minister Firoz Cachalia has emphasised the report will not be available publicly. He says access will only be granted through legal channels under the Promotion of Access to Information Act, with sensitive information censored.

# The evidence leader of Parliament’s ad hoc committee probing alleged political interference in the justice system, Norman Arendse, has confirmed forensic investigator Paul O’Sullivan will return on Thursday to conclude his testimony. This follows after parliamentary legal advisor Telana Halley-Starkey found O’Sullivan committed a statutory offence by walking out last week. Arendse welcomed the advice to invoke the committee’s summons powers and pursue legal remedies:

# Agricultural organisation, TLU SA, has welcomed the arrival of the latest consignment of foot-and-mouth disease vaccines. The first major consignment of one million doses, sourced from Argentina, arrived in South Africa on the 21st of February. A further 1.5 million doses from a Turkey-based manufacturer, Dollvet, arrived yesterday. TLU SA’s Bennie van Zyl says there should be a strategic plan for the national roll-out of the vaccines:

# Union federation Saftu says without real-time production monitoring and technological enforcement, the illicit market will continue to expand, undermining both revenue collection and legitimate industry. Recent research indicates that approximately 75-percent of cigarettes sold in South Africa are illicit. In the alcohol sector, illicit trade accounts for approximately 18-percent of total consumption by volume. Saftu’s Asive Dyani says the scale of illicit trade in South Africa has reached catastrophic levels:

# Cricket: Australian women’s captain, Alyssa Healey, says scoring 158 runs in her last one-day match was a special way to end her career. The 35-year-old will retire from all formats after the one-off Test against India, starting in Perth on Friday. Australia clinched the ODI series 3-0 with a 185-run victory in the final match in Hobart. Healey’s 158 came from just 98 balls, while Beth Mooney contributed an unbeaten 106. Australia ended on a mammoth 409 for seven and then dismissed India for 224.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-11-cents and the euro at 18-rand-88-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-60-cents and Bitcoin trades at 66-thousand-138-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-390-dollars-70-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 78-dollars-78-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….