News 13:00

BULLETIN 27 March 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Political parties push for the repatriation of foreign inmates to ease overcrowding in prisons
# Rugby: It’s a pivotal weekend for South African teams in the United Rugby Championship clashes
# And: Traffic volumes are expected to increase on the N3 Toll Route as from midday

# Several political parties, including the DA, Freedom Front Plus, and ActionSA, are calling for the deportation of convicted foreign nationals, in a bid to address South Africa’s overcrowded prisons. There are more than 26-thousand foreign nationals incarcerated in correctional facilities, costing taxpayers around eleven-million-rand a day. The country’s prison overcrowding rate is 57-percent. The political parties argue that repatriation could reduce expenses, relieve pressure on correctional facilities, and improve rehabilitation efforts.

# Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi, says she has noted the growing concerns that weaknesses in SIM card registration processes are undermining national security efforts, and enabling organised criminal activities. The minister recently engaged with stakeholders to address challenges related to SIM card registration. The ministry’s spokesperson, Terrence Manase, says it is important to ensure that the regulatory framework keeps pace with technological developments, including the emergence of eSIM technologies:

# The GOOD Party has criticised the George Municipality coalition government’s proposed tariff hikes for the 2026/2027 financial year.  The proposed increases are 11.32-percent for electricity, six-percent for water and refuse. GOOD’s Rosa Louw says the municipality has allocated 797.1-million-rand for capital projects, yet water infrastructure continues to crumble, streetlights are failing, and pump stations are malfunctioning:

# Rugby: South Africa’s United Rugby Championship franchises enter a pivotal weekend, hunting for a second consecutive “full house” of victories to secure their playoff spots. The Stormers, currently second on the log, headline the action, hosting Edinburgh in Cape Town tomorrow evening. Meanwhile, the Bulls and Lions look to climb into the top six, facing Munster and Dragons respectively at home. The Sharks, in 11th place on the log, host Cardiff in Durban tonight, desperate to maintain their late-season surge and keep their top-eight qualification dreams alive.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-14-cents and the euro at 19-rand-75-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-81-cents and Bitcoin trades at 67-thousand-810-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-434-dollars-14-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 103-dollars-12-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The N3 Toll Concession says traffic volumes are expected to increase on the N3 Toll Route between Gauteng, Free State, KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga this afternoon. This is due to the closure of schools and the Easter weekend. N3 Toll Concession chief operating officer, Thania Dhoogra, says maintaining safe following distances remains one of the most effective, yet often overlooked, defensive driving practices. She adds that crash risks increase as traffic volumes rise, usually accompanied by driver fatigue, and road users taking greater risks:

Stay tuned for more news………….