News 07:00

BULLETIN 11 March 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA says economic growth must translate into jobs and more opportunities
# Minister Hlabisa says municipalities must become stable drivers of economic growth and service delivery
# And, Pete Hegseth says the US will not relent in its war with Iran

# The DA has welcomed South Africa’s gross domestic product figures showing the fastest rate of growth in three years, but says there is room for improvement in the coming years. The country’s economy grew by 1.1-percent in 2025, with GDP expanding by 0.4-percent in the fourth quarter. Annual growth was primarily led by higher economic activity in finance, agriculture, and trade. The DA’s Wendy Alexander says they will continue to push for economic reforms to move faster:

# Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Velenkosini Hlabisa, has called for urgent and coordinated action to reform South Africa’s local government system. He participated in a White Paper on Local Government Executive Dialogue with business leaders in Gauteng on Tuesday. According to the latest consolidated municipal finance report by the Auditor-General, only 41 of the country’s 257 municipalities achieved clean audits in the 2023/2024 financial year. Hlabisa says municipalities must become stable, capable, and reliable drivers of economic growth and service delivery.

# The Madlanga Commission spokesperson, Jeremy Michaels, says the team is carefully planning the schedule for the coming months to meet its final deadline of 31 August. Michaels noted the commission is factoring in daily challenges, including legal arguments, witness availability, and unforeseen delays. He added that a more detailed update will be provided once the schedule has been fully mapped out over the next few days:

# The ANC National Executive Committee has confirmed that Jongizizwe Dlabathi will remain Ekurhuleni’s mayoral committee member for Finance. This is despite his initial move to resign from both his mayoral role and as the party’s regional secretary. In his resignation letter, Dlabathi cited principled reasons tied to internal party disputes and growing instability within the municipality for his decision. The region has been a hotspot for internal conflicts, including fallout from the EFF’s exit from coalitions.

# US Defence Secretary, Pete Hegseth, says the strikes in Iran will continue to amplify as they will not relent until the enemy is totally and decisively defeated. The US military has struck over five-thousand targets since the conflict began, while Iran has retaliated, striking Israel and US bases across the Middle East. Hegseth says Operation Epic Fury’s aims remain the same: destroy Iran’s missile stockpiles and navy and permanently deny Iran nuclear weapons:

# Road running: Kenyan marathon legend and world champion Eliud Kipchoge will begin a global seven-continent marathon tour at the Cape Town Marathon on May 24. The series of seven marathons across all seven continents aims to inspire healthier lifestyles and unite communities through running while raising funds for the Eliud Kipchoge Foundation. Organisers expect more than 27-thousand runners at the event, which is also bidding to become Africa’s first World Marathon Major.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-23-cents and the euro at 18-rand-87-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-82-cents and Bitcoin trades at 70-thousand-84-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-215-dollars-23-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 86-dollars-18-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….