News 16:00

BULLETIN 15 April 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# A financial group says South Africa’s fuel levy cut only offers short-time relief
# BOSA calls for urgent action on VIP protection expenditure
# And tennis: Alcaraz is still on course to reclaim his number one ranking on Sunday

# EBC Financial Group warns South Africa’s three-rand-a-litre fuel levy cut will bring only brief relief, as rising global oil prices and a weaker rand continue to drive inflation due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. Analyst David Precious says diesel costs, tied to Brent crude and dollar pricing, remain the biggest concern. He warns higher fuel prices are expected to increase transport and export costs, placing further strain on the economy and limiting the impact of temporary tax relief measures.

# FNB says South Africa’s mining sector recorded strong growth in February, with output rising by 9.7-percent compared to a year earlier. The increase was mainly driven by a sharp jump in platinum group metals production, along with gains in chromium, manganese and gold. Economist Thanda Sithole says while output grew on a monthly basis, the sector still showed a slight decline over the past three months:

# Build One South Africa criticised government for failing to act on what it calls excessive VIP protection spending, saying urgent reforms are needed to reduce wasteful expenditure. The party’s Roger Solomons says billions of rand continue to be spent on protecting political elites while basic services face budget constraints. BOSA contends government has not taken any significant measures to reassess or reduce the allocation. Solomons calls for a transparent audit and firm action to prioritise public spending over executive privilege.

# Teachers’ union Sadtu condemns the brutal attacks on educators in Ekurhuleni, Gauteng, which left one teacher dead and another critically injured. Spokesperson Nomusa Cembi says Barcelona Primary School educator Tshepo Mankge was shot dead while walking to school, while Lethulwazi Comprehensive School deputy principal Kenneth Mandoyi was wounded. She says nearly ten educators have been killed in the area since 2023, and calls for urgent action:

# Tennis: Local hero Carlos Alcaraz is still on song to reclaim the number one ranking when the Barcelona Open in Spain concludes on Sunday. He lost the position to Jannik Sinner when the Italian beat him in the final of the Monte-Carlo Masters in Monaco last weekend. Alcaraz easily saw off the challenge of Finnish qualifier Otto Virtanen in his first match, and will next face Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic. Sinner isn’t playing this week and is expected to return to action in Madrid next week.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-42-cents and the euro at 19-rand-35-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-25-cents and Bitcoin trades at 74-thousand-197-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-810-dollars-93-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 92-dollars-89-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….