News 07:00
BULLETIN 24 November 7 am
Good morning. I am……..
In this bulletin:
# Minister Nxesi is heading to court over the controversial five-billion-rand Unemployment Insurance Fund jobs deal
# Parliament begins the process of reforming intelligence laws
# And golf, Thriston Lawrence leads the Joburg Open after the first round
# Minister of Labour and Employment Thulas Nxesi says he will file court papers to set aside the controversial five-billion-rand Unemployment Insurance Fund jobs deal with Thuja Holdings. Thuja Holdings CEO and former Productivity SA chairperson, Mthunzi Mdwaba, has alleged that minister Nxesi and two other cabinet ministers solicited a 500-million-rand bribe to allow a dubious job creation scheme by the UIF to proceed. Nxesi has strongly denied the allegations, saying Mdwaba must now prove his claims in a court of law:
# The Freedom Front Plus in Gauteng says it cautiously welcomes the provincial government appointing a senior advisor to help the Rand West City Municipality out of its financial predicament. At the end of last month, the municipality owed Eskom 932-million-rand, while the outstanding Rand Water bill amounts to 483-million-rand. The FF Plus says it hopes the appointed person will be fit for the enormous task of saving the municipality from utter ruin.
# The Irish Justice Department has condemned the riots that broke out in Dublin city centre after a stabbing attack outside a school. A five-year-old girl, a woman in her 30s, and a man in his 50s sustained serious injuries. A 40-year-old man was arrested by police in connection with the attack. Violent unrest then broke out with vehicles being set alight and shops looted. Justice minister Helen McEntee labelled the scenes intolerable, saying a thuggish and manipulative element must not be allowed to use an appalling tragedy to wreak havoc.
# Golf: Thriston Lawrence made a strong bid to become only the third player to win two Joburg Open titles, as he opened with an eight-under-par 62 to lead the first round by three strokes at the Houghton Golf Club. Lawrence’s nearest challenger is fellow South African Nikhil Rama who signed for a five-under-par 65, while defending champion Dan Bradbury is in a strong group of players on four under par. Lawrence says he is very happy with his start:
# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-80-cents and the euro at 20-rand-51-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-57-cents and Bitcoin trades at 37-thousand-359-dollars-12-cents. Gold sells at one-thousand-992-dollars-93-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 81-dollars-43-cents a barrel.
# And finally, the Cape Town City Ballet is currently rehearsing the festive season production of choreographer Veronica Paeper’s legendary A Christmas Carol, featuring Marcel Meyer as Scrooge. Over 200 children from across the greater Cape Town area auditioned for the production with 60 being selected. The Charles Dickens tale about the mean-spirited Scrooge will be presented at the Artscape Theatre from the eighth to the 29th of next month. Ticket prices range between 200-rand and 400-rand.
Stay tuned for more news………….