News 16:00

BULLETIN 7 May 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Gamtoos Valley residents are urged to evacuate as the Kouga Dam exceeds its capacity
# Fadiel Adams is formerly charged and his case is postponed to 13 May
# And soccer: South Africa wants to host Afcon 2028 together with five other Southern African countries

# Residents in the Gamtoos Valley in the Eastern Cape are being urged to evacuate after the Kouga Dam overflowed and reached 113-percent capacity. People living in Kingsway Village, Big Fish, Gamtoos Mouth Resort, Ferry Hotel and other low-lying areas have been told to move to safer places. Kouga mayor Hattingh Bornman also urged farmers to move livestock and equipment to safe areas:

# National Coloured Congress leader Fadiel Adams has been charged with fraud and defeating the ends of justice in the Pinetown Magistrate’s Court in KwaZulu-Natal. This relates to alleged interference in the 2017 investigation into the murder of former ANC Youth League leader Sindiso Magaqa. Adams remains at an undisclosed location ahead of his bail application on Wednesday. His attorney, Bruce Hendricks, argues he is not a flight risk.

# The DA has elected George Michalakis as its new parliamentary leader. The previous chief whip was chosen ahead of contenders Andrew Whitfield and Kevin Mileham. The party says Michalakis will focus on legislative strategy and maintaining caucus discipline, especially with federal leader, Geordin Hill-Lewis, outside Parliament. The DA will now appoint a new chief whip. Michalakis says he is ready to strengthen accountability and advance the party’s goal of getting South Africa working for all.

# The Public Servants Association says ongoing fuel-price increases are rapidly driving up the cost of transport and essential goods, placing pressure on strained household incomes. Low-income households in peripheral areas spend between 40- and 50-percent of their income on transport, which is far above the ten-percent policy benchmark. PSA’s Claude Naicker says urgent relief measures are needed to address the impact of escalating fuel prices:

# Soccer: South Africa and five other Southern African countries plan a combined bid to host the Africa Cup of Nations in 2028. Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie says South Africa wants to involve Lesotho, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Mozambique. Next year’s tournament will be held in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, while South Africa previously hosted Afcon in 1996 and 2013. McKenzie says the finer details of the joint bid will be discussed during a meeting on the 17th of this month.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-24-cents and the euro at 19-rand-11-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-12-cents and Bitcoin trades at 81-thousand-43-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-737-dollars-26-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 95-dollars-40-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….