News 06:00

BULLETIN 26 May 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa pledges 81.5-million-rand in response to the Ebola outbreak
# Farmers celebrate a court victory in the fight against foot-and-mouth disease
# And, Corruption Watch sounds an alarm in their new annual corruption report

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa will contribute an initial 81.5-million-rand to the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, to bolster a continental response to the Ebola outbreak. The outbreak, which is primarily affecting the Democratic Republic of Congo and Uganda, has claimed the lives of 220 people, and there are over 900 suspected cases. Speaking virtually during a high-level meeting of African Health Ministers yesterday, Ramaphosa stated that African leaders have aligned behind a comprehensive 5.2-billion-rand continental preparedness and response plan:

Ramaphosa also says Africa cannot continue to face deadly epidemics without equitable access to diagnostics, vaccines, and treatments. The World Health Organisation has stated that it could take up to nine months for a vaccine to be ready for the Bundibugyo strain of Ebola. Ramaphosa said, although there are no therapeutics and vaccines, there is reason to be hopeful:

# The Southern Africa Agri Initiative, Saai,  says a ruling by the High Court in Pretoria on foot-and-mouth disease is a major victory for livestock and game farmers. The court found that Agriculture minister John Steenhuisen and senior officials failed to properly respond to the outbreak, leading to delays in vaccination efforts and significant losses in the sector. Saai’s Francois Rossouw says the ruling offers hope for stronger action to protect farmers: 

# Corruption Watch has urged government to urgently strengthen accountability and public participation in the fight against corruption. In its 2025 annual report, the organisation received more than two-thousand-200 complaints last year, with fraud, bribery and maladministration among the top cases reported. Policing remained the most complained-about sector, while Gauteng recorded the highest number of cases. Corruption Watch says fighting corruption cannot be left to law enforcement alone and has urged all South Africans to help expose wrongdoing.

# Rugby: Versatile Springbok Cheslin Kolbe says he always believed he would return to Cape Town eventually. His departure from his Japanese club was confirmed yesterday, and he will play for the Stormers again from July. The 32-year-old double World Cup winner made his debut for South Africa in 2018 and has played 49 Tests since, scoring 136 points. He left the Stormers for French outfit Toulouse in 2017 and moved to Japan in 2023. Kolbe says it’s huge to return to the team where it all started for him.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-28-cents and the euro at 18-rand-96-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-99-cents and Bitcoin trades at 77-thousand-76-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-571-dollars-20-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 93-dollars-72-cents a barrel.

# And finally: University of Cape Town’s professor Liesl Zühlke has won the 2026 L’Oréal- United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation for Women in Science International Award for Africa and the Arab States. The award recognises Zühlke’s work in cardiac and cardiovascular science, especially improving treatment for children and women in low- and middle-income countries. Zühlke hopes the recognition will draw attention to childhood heart disease, which often receives little global focus. The university says Zühlke’s research has helped improve health systems and influence global policy.

Stay tuned for more news………….