News 13:00

BULLETIN 29 January 1 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Panyaza Lesufi says the Gauteng government plans to employ three-thousand MK veterans to fight crime 
# Corruption Watch wants clarity from Treasury on why Edwin Sodi’s firms are still not blacklisted
# And soccer: Cape Town is to host the Palestine national team for the exhibition matches

# ANC Gauteng chairperson, Panyaza Lesufi, says he plans to employ three-thousand uMkhonto weSizwe veterans to bolster the fight against crime in the province. He was speaking at a gathering attended by ANC Greater Johannesburg volunteers at the Orlando West Communal Hall. This is part of the ruling party’s campaign for the upcoming elections. Lesufi says beyond the recruitment of MK veterans, the provincial government has already pledged to reappoint 35-thousand workers, including teachers and nurses with lapsed contracts:

# Corruption Watch has written to National Treasury, seeking answers on why the controversial businessperson Edwin Sodi’s companies, NJR Projects and Blackhead Consulting, have not been blacklisted. Sodi’s companies, along with partner CMS Water Engineering, had secured a 290-million-rand tender to upgrade the Rooiwal Wastewater Treatment Works plant in Tshwane. Only 60-percent of the first phase was completed, despite being paid 291.4-million-rand by the City of Tshwane. Corruption Watch says it also wants clarity on practical repercussions for companies and directors who were added to the restricted suppliers register.

# Iran says it was not involved in yesterday’s drone attack in Jordan that killed three US military personnel and left dozens wounded. US president Joe Biden and British Foreign secretary David Cameron have blamed Iranian-backed groups. Iran’s Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Nasser Kanaani, says they had nothing to do with it. But an umbrella organisation of Iranian-backed groups, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, has claimed responsibility. The strike marked the first loss of American life by enemy fire since the start of the war in Gaza.

# Soccer: The Palestine national  team will play two exhibition matches against local invitational teams at the Athlone Stadium in Cape Town next month. National governing body Safa has scheduled the matches for the eleventh and 18th of February. Cape Town mayor, Geordin Hill-Lewis, says the city will waive the rental hire costs for the stadium and provide 400-thousand-rand in event support services, including traffic and waste management:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-78-cents and the euro at 20-rand-33-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-86-cents and Bitcoin trades at 42-thousand-180-dollars-62-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-and-29-dollars-93-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 82-dollars-75-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Danish firm, Too Good To Go, has introduced an Artificial Intelligence-powered solution for managing expiry dates, a key challenge in retail food waste. The company aims to help supermarkets tap into untapped revenue streams by selling products nearing expiration. Too Good To Go initiates its global rollout with international supermarket chain SPAR. The company hopes that supermarkets will embrace Artificial Intelligence to reduce food waste by selling near-expired goods.

Stay tuned for more news………….