News 07:00

BULLETIN 18 March 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Fikile Mbalula says the renewal of the ANC needs to be more visible
# BOSA is going to take legal action to compel the government to act on the water crisis
# And, the DA warns that 138 Gauteng schools are facing water and power cuts

# ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula says they need to act with utmost urgency, determination, and courage to make the renewal of the party more visible and irreversible. He addressed the national congress of the South African Municipal Workers Union in Mbombela, Mpumalanga, yesterday. Mbalula stated that with the South African Communist Party deciding to contest the upcoming local government elections independently, the tripartite alliance will not perish despite:

# Build One South Africa says it will be taking legal action to compel the government to act on the water crisis in the country. Deputy leader Nobuntu Hlazo-Webster says too many citizens are grappling with water shortages, and when taps aren’t completely dry, water throttling is implemented. She says Johannesburg is the epicentre of this unfolding human rights abuse, with residents enduring prolonged water outages due to infrastructure decay and mismanagement. Hlazo-Webster adds that the biggest problem is that no one in government is directly accountable for this crisis.

# The case against the man accused of murdering Department of Home Affairs whistleblower, Marumo Eric Phenya, has been postponed to 29 April. Minenhle Mthembu, who was recently arrested in KwaZulu-Natal after evading police for years, was denied bail by the Randburg Magistrate’s Court in Gauteng, over concerns for the safety of Phenya’s wife and family, and the risk of him fleeing trial. Mthembu faces charges of murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

# The DA says 138 schools in Gauteng are at risk of water and electricity disconnections due to unpaid municipal bills totalling about 82-million-rand. The party says many of these schools are already dealing with budget cuts of up to 64-percent. It warns if services are cut, teaching and learning will be affected. The DA’s Michael Waters calls on the provincial Education Department to urgently resolve the crisis and prevent further disruptions:

# US president Donald Trump says it is a good thing that the National Counterterrorism Centre director, Joe Kent, has resigned. In his resignation letter, Kent stated that he could not, in good conscience, support the ongoing US-Israeli war in Iran, as Tehran posed no imminent threat to America. He is the most high-profile figure from within the Trump administration to publicly criticise the operation in Iran. Trump says he thought Kent was a nice guy but weak on security:

# Cricket: Batter Ollie Pope says the perception that England “weren’t fussed” about winning the Ashes was tough but understandable. England suffered a 4-1 series defeat against Australia with concerns around individual performances and behaviour, including excessive drinking, and vice-captain Harry Brook’s altercation with a nightclub bouncer on the pre-Ashes visit to New Zealand. Pope insists they were intent on beating Australia, and might have been more successful had they built on a competitive start to the first Test in Perth.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-66-cents and the euro at 19-rand-22-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-25-cents and Bitcoin trades at 73-thousand-932-dollars. Gold sells at five-thousand-12-dollars-87-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 99-dollars-69-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….