News 14:00

BULLETIN 26 March 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The FF Plus is to monitor minister Mantashe’s action as he declares fuel withholding illegal
# The Tshwane metro cuts outsourcing and boosts internal capacity
# And rugby: Minimal changes to the Sharks for the United Rugby Championship encounter against Cardiff

# The Freedom Front Plus has welcomed minister of Mineral and Petroleum Resources, Gwede Mantashe’s warning to petrol stations withholding fuel, as this practice is illegal. During a question and answer session in the National Assembly yesterday, the minister made it clear that any deliberate attempt to withhold fuel from the market would not be tolerated. The FF Plus’ Wynand Boshoff says, despite there being no fuel shortage in South Africa, nor is one expected, numerous filling stations and wholesalers currently have no diesel:

# Tshwane mayor Nasiphi Moya says the metro is cutting spending on contracted services to build internal capacity. Briefing the media on the city’s budget, Moya revealed that water tanker costs dropped by 79-percent to126.7-million-rand, while security contracts fell by 17-percent. Overall outsourcing declined 4.4-percent, as capital spending rises over 14-percent. She emphasised that funds will boost infrastructure, waste systems and policing, including expanding fleets and strengthening crime-fighting operations:

# The National Consumer Commission has received a product recall notification from Dynamic Brands Manufacturing. The recall affects batches of the six-percent Slimsy Pomegranate Squash Concentrate in one-litre bottles, which are believed to pose potential health hazards due to packaging defects. The affected products carry a best-before date of 14 October 2026. The NCC’s Prudence Moilwa says around 17-thousand-364 units of the product have been made available in the market, all of which were distributed across multiple provinces:

# Rugby: Sharks coach JP Pietersen has opted for minimal changes to the side that got the better of Munster in the United Rugby Championship last week, for their clash against Cardiff in Durban tomorrow. There are two changes at the back. Bradley Davids comes in for the injured Williams at scrumhalf, while Ethan Hooker is back from family responsibility leave to partner captain Andre Esterhuizen in the midfield. In total, there are seven Springboks in the starting line-up with three on the bench.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-99-cents and the euro at 19-rand-66-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-71-cents and Bitcoin trades at 69-thousand-597-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-442-dollars-60-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 99-dollars-79-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The agriculture organisation, TLU SA, is expanding its Young Farmer of the Year competition by launching a Youth Farmer of the Year category for school learners this year. The initiative encourages students to develop entrepreneurial skills, creativity, and responsibility through practical agricultural projects. TLU SA’s Bennie van Zyl says the project introduces children to sustainable farming and problem-solving, aiming to inspire the next generation of future pioneers in farming:

Stay tuned for more news………….