News 12:00

BULLETIN 29 April 12 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The ANC says the 1.6-billion-rand textbook tender scandal points to a failure of governance
# Former FBI director James Comey is indicted over an alleged threat to Trump
# And soccer: Sundown’s coach is worried a busy schedule could lead to injuries to his Bafana Bafana players

# The ANC has expressed concern at the 1.6-billion-rand textbook tender for the publishing of textbooks for Grades 1 to 3. Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, has formally requested Finance minister Enoch Godongwana to initiate an investigation into alleged irregularities in the procurement process. Lighthouse Publishers was awarded over a quarter of the tender, despite allegedly being registered days after the formal briefing on the contract requirements. The ANC says these allegations point to a troubling failure of governance, procurement, integrity and accountability.

The party also says minister of Communications and Digital Technologies, Solly Malatsi, must appear before Parliament to account for the draft National Artificial Intelligence Policy. Malatsi withdrew the policy after it was discovered that six sources referenced in the document did not exist. Internal investigations subsequently confirmed that A-I-generated citations were inserted into the document. The ANC’s Hlengiwe Hadebe says this debacle represents one of the most alarming failures of ministerial oversight and intellectual rigour in the recent history of South Africa’s digital governance. 

# Minister of Higher Education and Training, Buti Manamela, has accepted the resignations of two National Student Financial Aid Scheme board members. Interim board chairperson Mugwena Maluleke cites personal and academic commitments for his decision. Karabo Mohale served as chairperson of the Human Resources and Organisational Development Committee. Manamela’s spokesperson, Matshepo Seedat, says the cumulative effect of these and other resignations has significantly reduced the number of remaining voting board members:

Moving abroad:

# Former FBI director James Comey has been indicted on two counts over a social media post interpreted as a threat to US president Donald Trump. The Instagram post from May 2025 showed seashells on a North Carolina beach forming the numbers: “86-47. Eighty-six is a slang term meaning “eject” or “remove”. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche says threatening the life of the president is a grave violation of American laws:

# Soccer: Mamelodi Sundowns’ coach, Miguel Cardoso, is worried his team’s busy schedule could result in key Bafana Bafana players being injured before the World Cup. He previously asked the Premier League to postpone domestic games so Sundowns would get more time to prepare for next month’s African Champions League final matches against Morocco’s Royal Armed Forces. The team plays four PSL matches before that. About 11 Sundowns players are regarded as possibilities for the World Cup.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-57-cents and the euro at 19-rand-39-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-38-cents and Bitcoin trades at 77-thousand-102-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-566-dollars-53-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 106-dollars-42-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….