News 07:00

BULLETIN 13 May 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# DA says South Africa’s economic reforms are moving too slow to meaningfully create jobs
# A mother and child were killed in an accident involving minister Motsoaledi’s official vehicle
# And, Qatar says Iran should not use the Strait of Hormuz as a weapon to blackmail

# The DA says the latest Quarterly Labour Force Review shows that serious economic reform is urgently required. The survey shows South Africa lost 345-thousand jobs in the first quarter of 2026, pushing the official unemployment rate up to 32.7-percent. Expanded unemployment climbed to 43.7-percent. DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis says economic reform has been too slow, too cautious, and too easily displaced by other political priorities. He says the country’s central national mission must be to get the economy growing and creating jobs. 

ActionSA meanwhile says president Cyril Ramaphosa must dismiss all government of national unity ministers responsible for economic policy following the latest Statistics South Africa labour force survey. The party’s Alan Beesley warns that millions of South Africans have now given up looking for work and urgent action is needed to address the worsening unemployment crisis:

# Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mmamoloko Kubayi, says priorities for the 2026/2027 financial year include fighting crime and corruption, increasing access to justice, and deepening the transformation of the legal sector. She tabled the department’s 26.3-billion-rand budget in Parliament on Tuesday. Kubayi revealed that during the current financial year, an additional 20 sexual offence courts will be established in communities with the highest incidence of sexual offences to ensure a dedicated focus on these cases. She added that her department is also expanding access to justice for rural communities.

# Police are investigating two cases of culpable homicide following the death of three people in two separate accidents on the N1 in Limpopo, involving Health minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s official vehicle. Police spokesperson Athlenda Mathe says a woman was attempting to cross the highway with her two children when they were struck by the minister’s vehicle. The woman and one child died. Mathe says the woman’s husband died after being struck by a vehicle driven by an off-duty police officer in another accident:

# Qatar has reaffirmed the importance of safeguarding freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, condemning any attacks against commercial vessels or threats to maritime security. About a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas supply normally passes through the Strait. Tehran says the Strait will remain closed until the US lifts its blockade on Iranian ports. Qatari prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, says the Strait must not be used as a weapon to blackmail:

# Rugby: The Stormers’ Springbok hooker, André-Hugo Venter, says any place below second on the United Rugby Championship log won’t be good enough. The Cape Town team plays Cardiff in Wales this weekend in their last group match. The Stormers are currently second on the log and already secured a home quarterfinal. Venter says they realise the seventh-place home team will be desperate to reach the play-offs, but they are equally desperate to finish among the top-two to secure a home semifinal should they reach that round.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-49-cents and the euro at 19-rand-36-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-33-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 81-thousand-and-43-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-699-dollars-90-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 104-dollars-56-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….