News 18:00

BULLETIN 12 March 6 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The NPA reaffirms the commitment to fight organised crime and corruption
# The City of Tshwane suspends officials over an alleged municipal refund fraud scheme
# And, FOSA welcomes the deployment of the SANDF to Riverlea and Eldorado Park to combat crime and illegal mining

# The National Director of Public Prosecutions Andy Mothibi says tackling organised crime and corruption remains a priority for the National Prosecuting Authority including intensified action against criminal syndicates. Briefing the media, Mothibi highlighted plans to strengthen cooperation with law enforcement partners and the public. He emphasised that organised crime and corruption is being tackled as the Madlanga Commission reveals crimes facilitated or enabled by state officials compromising investor confidence:

# The City of Tshwane has suspended several finance department officials linked to an alleged municipal refund fraud scheme. The suspensions follow an investigation that began in 2023 after suspicious transactions were detected in the city’s revenue management system. About 1.5-million-rand in suspected fraudulent transactions has been identified. The city’s Selby Bokaba says the matter is now before the Pretoria Specialised Commercial Crimes Court and the case has been postponed to 29 April:

# The Forum for South Africa has welcomed the deployment of members of the South African National Defence Force to areas affected by severe criminal activities in Johannesburg, particularly in the communities of Riverlea and Eldorado Park. FOSA leader, Tebogo Mashilompane says for far too long, communities in these areas have been terrorised by heavily armed criminal networks linked to illegal mining operations and gang-related violence. He added it should not be a temporary public relations excercise but be part of a borader sustainable solution to eradicate crime.

# The bodies of two Chinese backpackers who went missing in Queensland, Australia, have been recovered. The man and woman in their twenties were driving from Brisbane to the North Burnett region but failed to arrive. Police found their bodies in a vehicle submerged in floodwaters. There have been major flood warnings in place across Queensland and parts of the Northern Territory over the past several days, with hundreds of homes been flooded. Crocodiles have been spotted at some places, with residents warned to stay out of the water.

# Basketball: The Basketball Africa League returns for its sixth season from March 27, in Pretoria, running until May 31, with 12 teams competing across two conferences. Five teams, including South Africa’s Johannesburg Giants, will make their debut. It features the Kalahari and Sahara conferences, each with six teams, with the top four advancing to the playoffs. The Kalahari Conference will be hosted in Pretoria, the Sahara Conference in Rabat, Morocco and Playoffs and finals will take place in Kigali, Rwanda. A total of 42 games are scheduled. 

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-73-cents against the rand and the euro at 19-rand-29-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-37-cents and Bitcoin trades at 70-thousand-395-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-160-dollars-62-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 97-dollars-15-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….