News 14:00

BULLETIN 2 April 2 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Intercape’s CEO alleges the Competition Commission fears investigating taxi collusion
# Parliament’s legal advisory warns of the Road Accident Fund’s indirect payment maladministration
# And cricket: England’s Brook and Bethell receive warnings for the Wellington nightclub incident

# Intercape CEO Johan Ferreira alleges the Competition Commission refused to investigate collusion by taxi associations, claiming the regulators are scared despite being provided with evidence. This follow the arrest of seven suspects linked to extortion in the long-distance transport sector. Ferreira says authorities’ inaction allows anti-competitive practices to persist, undermining fair competition and passenger safety in the industry:

# Parliament’s legal advisors have raised concerns over the Road Accident Fund paying beneficiaries directly, bypassing attorneys. Briefing the standing committee on Public Accounts, legal advisor Fatima Ebrahim warned this may fuel maladministration and financial mismanagement. She says findings reveal duplicate payments, unlawful deposits to evade legal claims, and irregular expenditure, including 340-million-rand in dual payments. Ebrahim says the Special Investigating Unit has referred some cases to the National Prosecuting Authority:

# Union federation Cosatu is urging government to ramp up its investment campaign, as the economy braces for severe global economic turmoil. This is due to the Middle East conflict and the subsequent massive hikes in fuel prices. Cosatu’s Matthew Parks says they welcome the nearly 900-billion-rand investment commitments made at the sixth South African investment conference this week. He says the pledges are a bold vote of confidence by domestic and international investors in South Africa’s future:

# Cricket: England’s Cricket Regulator has issued white-ball captain Harry Brook and all-rounder Jacob Bethell with caution notices for breaching player conduct rules. During their one-day series against New Zealand last year, Brook had a confrontation with a nightclub bouncer in Wellington. The 26-year-old initially insisted he was out alone, but later admitted he had been accompanied by Bethell and fast bowler Josh Tongue. No further action has been taken against Tongue. The notices will remain on Brook and Bethell’s disciplinary records for the next three years.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-99-cents and the euro at 19-rand-57-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-41-cents and Bitcoin trades at 66-thousand-364-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-616-dollars-96-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 106-dollars-33-cents a barrel.

# And finally: South Africa’s largest banks contributed about 90-billion-rand in taxes in 2024, accounting for nearly five-percent of total government revenue. However, more than half of this amount was collected on behalf of the South African Revenue Service. According to a study by PwC and the Banking Association, the sector also faces rising compliance costs. Industry leaders say banks play a dual role as taxpayers and tax collectors, significantly supporting the fiscus while absorbing growing administrative and regulatory burdens.

Stay tuned for more news………….