News 08:00
BULLETIN 17 March 8 am
Good morning. I am……..
In this bulletin:
# The EFF says the Auditor-General’s latest report exposes the collapse of municipal governance
# Panyaza Lesufi says the contractor to expand the Gautrain will be announced soon
# And, the UAE has temporarily closed its airspace amid threats of Iranian drones
# The EFF says it is concerned about the Auditor General’s damning report on the state of municipalities across the country. Since the 2020/2021 financial year, municipalities have accumulated over 137-billion-rand in unauthorised, irregular, fruitless, and wasteful expenditure. The report also reveals that 132 municipalities failed to comply with legislation requiring accounting officers to address unauthorised, irregular, fruitless, and wasteful expenditure, financial misconduct, and fraud. The EFF says the report shows that local government is collapsing under the weight of corruption, cadre deployment, and political protection of wrongdoing.
# ActionSA says it is pleased that the National Prosecuting Authority intends to reinstate corruption charges against former Sports, Arts and Culture minister Zizi Kodwa and his co-accused, former EOH executive Jehan Mackay. In November 2024, the state dropped charges against the former ANC spokesperson and Mackay, stemming from allegations of bribes and luxury benefits linked to a 2015 State Information Technology Agency tender. ActionSA’s Athol Trollip told Newzroom Afrika that Kodwa must be held accountable:
# Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi says by the end of this month, a contractor who will expand Gautrain lines to Springs, Atteridgeville, Fourways, and other economic areas of the province will be announced. The provincial Transport Department has been allocated 27.8-billion-rand over the next three years, which will go towards infrastructure, road upgrades, and maintenance, as well as digital ticketing systems. Lesufi says the Gautrain rail expansion will be a gateway to opportunity:
# The United Arab Emirates’ General Civil Aviation Authority has temporarily closed its airspace, as the country’s air defences are responding to incoming missiles and drones from Iran. Authorities say this precautionary step has been taken to ensure flight safety as regional tensions continue to escalate. The UAE has intercepted over 300 ballistic missiles and one-thousand-600 drones since the war started. On Monday, Dubai authorities temporarily suspended flights at the city’s international airport after a drone incident caused a fuel tank fire in the vicinity.
# Rugby: Scotland is uncertain over the long-term future of one of its Six Nations stars, Jack Dempsey, who announced he was leaving Glasgow for a lucrative offer in Japan. The eighthman will play in the Eastern country from December to May, and BBC Sports reports it’s unclear whether he will be available for his country for November’s Nations Championship fixtures. Another player, George Turner, didn’t play for Scotland while under contract for Japan’s Kobelco Kobe Steelers. Scotland ended third in this year’s Six Nations.
# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-68-cents and the euro at 19-rand-18-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-20-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 74-thousand-794-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-29-dollars-28-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 100-dollars-3-cents a barrel.
Stay tuned for more news………….