News 07:00

BULLETIN 23 November 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Crime costs South Africa ten-percent of its gross domestic product each year
# Solidarity says the National Prosecuting Authority must prosecute Matshela Koko and his co-accused
# And, Vladimir Putin says Russia is ready for talks to end the tragedy of war in Ukraine

# A World Bank study has revealed that the rising crime rates in South Africa are costing the economy ten-percent of its gross domestic product annually. The report, ‘Safety First: The Economic Cost of Crime in South Africa’, highlights that one in five households is impacted by crime annually. The study found that crime hampers the nation’s development goals of achieving high and inclusive growth. The findings emphasise the urgent need for legislative measures to empower authorities in prosecuting high-level crimes and recruiting specialised investigators.

# Eskom says the board is working hard to ensure financial and operational recovery with improved plant performance and consequence management for corruption. The utility briefed Parliament’s portfolio committee on Public Enterprises yesterday. Eskom has incurred a record loss of almost 24-billion-rand for the financial year ending March this year. The utility’s acting CEO, Calib Cassim, says the escalation of the municipal debt is concerning:

# Solidarity has written to the National Prosecuting Authority, demanding that the prosecution of former Eskom boss Matshela Koko and his co-accused be brought before the court again as a matter of priority. This is after the Middelburg Regional Court removed the 2.2-billion-rand Kusile power station corruption case from the roll. Koko was accused of being at the centre of a corrupt scheme, which sought to help Swiss engineering firm ABB secure a lucrative contract at the Kusile power station. Solidarity says it is imperative that Koko has his day in court.

# The DA in the Western Cape has reiterated its call that policing powers in the province be devolved to the provincial government and that Police minister Bheki Cele be removed. Figures show of the Western Cape’s 151 police precincts, 116 suffer shortages in staff, and only five are fully staffed. The DA’s Gillion Bosman, says in total, there are now only 15-thousand-327 operational police members deployed to the province’s police station, in spite of a SAPS-prescribed minimum of 20-thousand:

# Russian president Vladimir Putin says he is ready for talks to end what he describes as the tragedy of war in Ukraine, but blames a Kiev law for prohibiting talks. Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree in October last year formally declaring the prospect of any talks with Putin personally impossible but leaving the door open to discussions with Russia. Putin told the virtual G20 meeting called by Indian prime minister Narendra Modi, that Russia has never refused peace talks with Ukraine.

# Rugby: The Stormers will look to avoid a fourth straight loss on their United Rugby Championship tour when they tackle Cardiff on Friday. The Cape Town team is bracing for a higher-than-normal tempo when they take on the Welsh outfit, with the encounter played on Cardiff Arms Park’s synthetic 4G surface. Stormers assistant coach Dawie Snyman is confident that they can win in Cardiff:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-84-cents and the euro at 20-rand-54-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-55-cents and Bitcoin trades at 37-thousand-378-dollars-87-cents. Gold sells at one-thousand-994-dollars-38-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 80-dollars-77-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….