News 12:00

BULLETIN 13 April 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Finance minister Godongwana and the Reserve Bank governor are not accredited to attend G20 finance meetings
# Power cuts hit 189 Ekurhuleni schools over 110-million-rand municipal debt
# And rugby: Two familiar Springbok Women’s Sevens players are recalled for Hong Kong

# Finance minister Enoch Godongwana and South African Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago have not been accredited to attend the upcoming meeting of the Group of 20 finance chiefs in Washington in the US. America took over the annual rotating presidency of the G20 from South Africa late last year. Godongwana told Bloomberg South Africa will not be part of the G20 for the whole of this year. US president Donald Trump has already barred South Africa from attending the G20 summit in Miami later this year.

# The Freedom Front Plus has congratulated Geordin Hill-Lewis on his election as federal leader of the Democratic Alliance. It says it remains fully committed to co-operating with political parties that seek to make South Africa better. FF Plus leader Corné Mulder says this includes parties willing to work together to actively oppose the trite and failed ideologically-driven policy directions of the ANC, the MK Party and the EFF, and are open to forming coalitions which will constrain, rather than promote, these groupings.

# At least 189 schools across Ekurhuleni on the Gauteng East Rand face electricity disconnections due to municipal debt exceeding 110-million-rand. The cut-offs form part of the metro’s credit control campaign targeting unpaid accounts. The provincial Education Department says funding was allocated, while schools cite billing disputes and coordination failures. Teaching, exams, and administration have been disrupted, with some left without power for weeks. City spokesperson Zweli Dlamini says the affected schools change daily as they receive payments and enforce credit control.

Meanwhile, the DA in Gauteng raises alarm over a fragmented vetting system, warning it places learners at risk. It says while Basic Education minister Siviwe Gwarube outlines steps to improve safeguards, gaps remain across departments. The DA’s Michael Waters calls for a unified, digital vetting system and an inter-ministerial task team. He says despite existing laws, poor coordination still allows unsuitable people to work with children without proper clearance:

# Rugby: Two Springbok Women’s Sevens players, Zintle Mpupha and Eloïse Webb, have been recalled to the squad for the first Sevens World Championship tournament, to be played in Hong Kong this coming weekend. Mpupha played for the squad in January, while Webb last represented the team in 2024. Coach Cecil Afrika has also called on the uncapped duo of Jané Mulder and Owami Mohuli. Mpupha says the senior players are ready to make another step up:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-52-cents and the euro at 19-rand-32-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-19-cents and Bitcoin trades at 70-thousand-814-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-732-dollars-52-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 98-dollars-66-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….