News 08:00

BULLETIN 31 January 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Deputy president Paul Mashatile says corruption and abuse of state power undermine governance
# The DA in Gauteng says premier Lesufi is using jobs as an electioneering tool
# And cricket, Durban’s Super Giants confirms a  top-two finish with a win over Pretoria Capitals

# Deputy president Paul Mashatile says corruption, abuse of state power, and maladministration are weaknesses that undermine governance, institutions, and processes, which leads to the erosion of public trust. He was speaking at the South Africa Legislative Sector International Oversight Summit in Cape Town. The summit’s objective is to reflect on the effectiveness of the legislative sector’s role in the implementation of constitutional mandates. Mashatile says it is important that Parliaments continue to be people-centred institutions that bring the voices of the people to governance.

# The High Court in Pretoria has dismissed Kwaito legend Arthur Mafokate’s bid to release his property from a preservation order. The order stemmed from an investigation by the Special Investigating Unit into the National Lotteries Commission. Mafokate argued his entitlement to funds, but the court found his explanation inadequate. The court upheld that funds used to buy a guest house were misappropriated. The National Prosecuting Authority’s Lumka Mahanjana says the ruling allows the Asset Forfeiture Unit to proceed with seizing the guest house:

# The DA in Gauteng says it is clear that premier Panyaza Lesufi is using the unemployment crisis in the province as an electioneering tool, by offering jobs to former uMkhonto we Sizwe members ahead of this year’s general elections. The premier says he plans to employ three-thousand MK veterans to bolster the fight against crime in the province. The DA’s, Dorianne Arendse, says this is another desperate attempt by Lesufi to bolster his party’s chances of being in government for another five years:

# US president Joe Biden says he has decided how to respond to a drone strike in northern Jordan that killed three American soldiers. An Iran-backed militia group has claimed responsibility for Sunday’s attack at a US military base. Biden says he faces a balancing act in seeking to punish the perpetrators and downgrade their capabilities, but also not creating a wider war in the Middle East. Tehran says it had nothing to do with the attack and has not supported militant groups behind more than 150 strikes on US bases.

# Cricket: Durban’s Super Giants sealed a top-two finish on the SA20 points table with an eight-run victory over Pretoria Capitals at Kingsmead. Player of the match, Matthew Breetzke, scored 73 off 46 balls as the Super Giants posted 174 for nine in their 20 overs. In reply, fast bowler, Junior Dala, claimed career-best figures of five for 26 runs to restrict the Pretoria Capitals to 166 for nine. Dala says they will carry this winning momentum heading into their game against the Joburg Super Kings on Saturday:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-82-cents and the euro at 20-rand-36-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-86-cents and Bitcoin trades at 42-thousand-948-dollars-9-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-33-dollars-33-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 82-dollars-10-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….