News 16:00

BULLETIN 28 May 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Julius Malema calls for African industrialisation
# The DA calls for urgent parole reform after 28-thousand parolees are reported untraceable
# And rugby: Three South African teams are in action in the URC quarterfinals this weekend

# EFF Leader Julius Malema says Africa remains economically imbalanced due to a lack of industrialisation despite its vast natural resources. Speaking at the EFF’s Africa Day summit in Pretoria, Malema said Africa contributes only about 2.5-percent to the global economy while accounting for nearly 18-percent of the world’s population. He called for greater investment in industrial development to unlock the continent’s economic potential:

# Minerals Council South Africa’s CEO, Mzila Mthenjane, says disciplined policy reform, modernisation and stronger partnerships can unlock growth and job creation in South Africa’s mining sector. Speaking at the council’s annual general meeting, Mthenjane said mining remained critical to economic development and industrial growth. He highlighted the importance of infrastructure reform, regulatory certainty and investment in exploration. The council says modernisation, digitalisation and skills development are key to improving competitiveness and ensuring long-term sustainability in the industry.

# The DA says urgent reforms are needed in the parole system after reports that nearly 28-thousand parolees are untraceable. The party plans to ask Parliament’s portfolio committee on Correctional Services to review the community corrections system and push for GPS-enabled electronic monitoring of violent offenders on parole. DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis says the findings expose major failures within the Department of Correctional Services and pose a serious threat to public safety.

# The Public Servants Association is concerned over the more than eleven-billion-rand owed by provincial Health Departments to the National Health Laboratory Service. KwaZulu-Natal is the leading debtor with over 4.8-billion-rand, followed by Gauteng with over 3.2-billion-rand and the Eastern Cape with over 1.1-billion-rand. PSA’s Claude Naicker says this escalating debt crisis is severely undermining the NHLS’s ability to deliver critical healthcare support services:

# Rugby: Three South African teams are involved in the quarterfinals of the United Rugby Championship this weekend. The Bulls welcome Irish outfit Munster to Loftus at one o’clock on Saturday afternoon, followed by the match between the Stormers en Cardiff in Cape Town at 3.30. The Lions are away to Leinster in Ireland at nine that evening. The other quarterfinal will see Glasgow Warriors host another Irish team, Connacht, in Scotland. The semifinals will be played next weekend, and the final on the 20th of next month.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-34-cents and the euro at 19-rand-2-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-91-cents and Bitcoin trades at 73-thousand-296-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-391-dollars-20-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 94-dollars-17-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….