News 08:00

BULLETIN 23 April 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The ANC’s parliamentary study group on the Police is calling on Ramaphosa to act against Masemola
# Iran says it won’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz as long as the US naval blockade continues
# And cricket: The Proteas Women seal the T20 series against India

# The ANC Study Group on Police is calling on president Cyril Ramaphosa to act with the necessary speed against National Police Commissioner, Fannie Masemola, and restore stability within the police service. Masemola has been charged with contravening the Public Finance Management Act in connection with an irregularly awarded 360-million-rand Medicare24 tender. The company belongs to Vusimuzi ‘Cat’ Matlala. The ANC parliament group says a National Commissioner facing criminal prosecution creates a crisis of command and control. It adds that the credibility of the police service is significantly eroded.

# The Presidency says significant progress has been made in structural reforms under Operation Vulindlela in the fourth quarter report. The latest dashboard indicates that 67-percent of the reform progress is on track, seven-percent of the reform work has been completed, six-percent faces significant challenges, and 20-percent is delayed. Operation Vulindela focuses on removing long-standing obstacles that have held back South Africa’s economy. Presidency’s project management office head, Rudi Dicks, says key milestones achieved during the quarter, including the establishment of the Eskom Restructuring Task Team:

# The DA in Tshwane is calling for the EFF to be held accountable over allegations of tender rigging in the metro. This follows claims made at the Madlanga commission and WhatsApp messages suggesting possible political interference in a security tender linked to EFF leader Julius Malema. The DA’s Cilliers Brink says the EFF cannot ignore the allegations while raising concerns about other governance issues in the city:

# Iran says it is impossible to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as long as the US naval blockade remains in place, calling it a blatant violation of the ceasefire agreement. Yesterday, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps seized two vessels in the Strait, which is normally the passage for one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supplies. Meanwhile, the White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, says the US does not consider Iran’s seizure of two ships in the Strait to be a violation of the ceasefire:

# Cricket: Captain Laura Wolvaardt scored her 17th career century to guide the Proteas Women to a nine-wicket victory against India in the third T20 at the Wanderers. India captain Harmanpreet Kaur scored 66 to help the visitors post 192 for four. In reply, Wolvaardt scored 115 from just 53 balls and shared an opening partnership of 183 with Sune Luus, as South Africa reached the winning target with 21 balls to spare. The result means the Proteas win the series, leading 3-0 with two games left to play.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-53-cents and the euro at 19-rand-34-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-29-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 77-thousand-693-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-705-dollars-25-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 98-dollars-13-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….