News 11:00

BULLETIN 24 May 11 am

Good morning . I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Moody’s acknowledges the upcoming local government elections presents political and policy risks in South Africa
# COSATU urges Parliament to swiftly open the public participation phase for the Protected Disclosures Bill
# And soccer: Pirates are crowned the Betway Premiership champions

# Momentum Investments’ Chief Economist, Sanisha Packirisamy says in Moody’s baseline assumptions the government of national unity is expected to see through its term. However, she says Moody’s acknowledges that the upcoming electoral cycle, including the local government elections scheduled for 4 November, presents political and policy risks in South Africa. Packirisamy says while Moody’s notes that reform momentum might slow down during the election period, a complete rollback of these structural changes is seen as highly unlikely:

#  Acting national police commissioner, Puleng Dimpane, has called on police across the country to sustain intelligence-driven operations and continue stamping the authority of the state. This followed the release of the latest quarterly crime statistics, which reflected a downward trajectory in several serious and violent crime categories. Dimpane commended the commitment and hard work of police officers on the ground, saying the reduction in crime in a number of categories demonstrates that focused operations, community cooperation and coordinated policing interventions are yielding positive results.

# Cosatu is urging Parliament to swiftly open the public participation phase for the Protected Disclosures Bill to effectively combat corruption and protect whistleblowers. The initial window for written public submissions has officially closed and the legislative process is advancing toward parliamentary public hearings. COSATU’s spokesperson, Matthew Parks, says South Africa’s cannot afford to cut corners when protecting the lives of whistleblowers:

# The Health Department has assured the public that the operations at forensic pathology centres continue as usual across the country. Spokesperson Foster Mohale says this follows a sporadic cases of picketing actions by public forensic pathology staff in some provinces over labour-related issues. He says the department and the National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union have agreed on how they are going to deal with the challenges related to the employment of forensic pathology officers:

# Three Red Cross volunteers died in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from suspected Ebola likely caught while managing dead bodies. The volunteers are among the first known victims of the DRC’s Ebola outbreak, which has resulted in more than 170 suspected deaths and 750 suspected cases. The outbreak involves a rare species of Ebola, known as Bundibugyo, which has no proven vaccine and kills about a third of those infected. The World Health Organisation on Friday raised the public health risk from the virus in the DRC from “high” to “very high”.

# And soccer: Orlando Pirates were crowned Betway Premiership champions after securing a 2-nil victory over Orbit College at the Mbombela Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Buccaneers finished one point ahead of runners-up Mamelodi Sundowns, ending a 14-year league title drought. The Soweto giants claimed their fifth PSL Premiership title and will now head into next season’s CAF Champions League with renewed confidence. Orbit College on the other hand, were relegated from the Betway Premiership after finishing 16th. The Mswenko Boys will campaign in the Motsepe Foundation Championship next season.

Stay tuned for more news………….