News 11:00

BULLETIN 25 May 11 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Ramaphosa says there is a strong culture of participatory democracy in South Africa
# The EFF accuses the ANC of obstructing the Phala Phala impeachment process
# And tennis: Djokovic is off to a winning start at the French Open while Fritz and Raducanu are knocked out

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says since the adoption of South Africa’s constitution, the nation has built a culture that is robust, participatory, continuously evolving, and firmly anchored in the democratic values everyone holds dearly. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Constitution. In his weekly newsletter, Ramaphosa says there is a strong culture of participatory democracy, which began with the constitution-making process itself. He says the commitment to constitutionalism, transparency, and the rule of law has sustained public confidence in the country’s democracy.

# The EFF has accused the ANC of deliberately obstructing the Phala Phala impeachment process by failing to appoint members to the committee. According to reports, the ANC missed Friday’s deadline to submit names to serve on the committee, as chief whip Mdumiseni Ntuli and secretary‑general Fikile Mbalula allegedly clashed over representation. The EFF says any reasonable observer would conclude the current delays are part of a broader political strategy to shield Ramaphosa from accountability, and to weaken the impeachment process before it even begins.

# Gauteng Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC, Jacob Mamabolo, has described the local government turnaround strategy as a long-term programme to rebuild municipalities and restore public confidence. It is aimed at strengthening governance, financial recovery, infrastructure protection and service delivery. Mamabolo says coordinated interventions under the turnaround strategy were beginning to show results through improved oversight, infrastructure maintenance and technical support to struggling municipalities:

Moving abroad:

# US Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, says a US-Iranian peace deal is still a work in progress. President Donald Trump instructed negotiators over the weekend not to rush into a deal. The framework agreement under discussion reportedly includes a 60-day ceasefire extension, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and a plan for further negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme. Rubio reiterated during a visit to India that Trump won’t accept a bad deal:

# Tennis: Third-seeded Novak Djokovic kicked off his quest for a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title with victory in the first round of the French Open. The Serbian beat Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. Seventh-seeded Taylor Fritz was stunned by fellow American Nishesh Basavareddy. Germany’s Alexander Zverev ‌started his campaign with a victory over France’s ‌Benjamin Bonz. In the women’s draw, British number one Emma Raducanu suffered a first-round defeat to Argentina’s Solana Sierra.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-33-cents and the euro at 19-rand. One British pound costs 22-rand-1-cent and Bitcoin trades at 77-thousand-337-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-561-dollars-54-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 95-dollars-55-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….