News 09:00

BULLETIN 23 November 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Government’s pro-Palestine stance may put the rand under pressure
# The EFF says the just transition loans signed by Treasury are another debt trap
# And, Cape Town will have its largest-ever safety deployment over a festive season

# The Reserve Bank has warned of the potential impact of the government’s pro-Palestine stance in the Israel-Hamas conflict. Reserve Bank governor Lesetja Kganyago expressed concern that this stance may exert pressure on the rand, affecting trade relationships and causing economic costs for South Africans. Meanwhile, consumers are grappling with financial challenges amid sharp interest rate hikes, rising living costs, and stagnant salaries. Kganyago suggests reducing the interest rate to alleviate financial burdens, emphasising that additional rate hikes could worsen existing debt challenges.

# The EFF says the stability of South Africa’s energy generation, in a dependable and affordable manner, will not be driven by profiteering and involvement of Western imperialist agendas. This as the National Treasury has signed loan agreements totalling about 33.5-billion-rand with the World Bank, Germany’s development bank KfW and the African Development Bank, for concessional financing to support the country’s just energy transition. The EFF says these loans undermine the autonomy of the country’s energy policies and are just another debt trap by the ANC government.

# The GOOD Party in Tshwane is calling on the city mayor, Cilliers Brink to fast-track plans to convert abandoned city buildings into homeless shelters, after the closure of Tshwane’s only metro-run homeless shelter in Pretoria. The announcement of the Struben Street shelter’s imminent closure was made by Gauteng MEC for Social Development, Mbali Hlophe on Tuesday. The GOOD Party’s Sarah Mabotsa says the shelter was founded in 2005 but fell into disrepair in recent years:

# Cape Town mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis says the city will deploy 340 lifeguards and 330 policing personnel to beaches across the metro during the festive season. He launched the City’s Festive Beach Safety plans at Big Bay Surf Lifesaving Club yesterday. Mayoral committee member for Community Services and Health, Patricia van der Ross, says an additional 343 public swimming pool lifeguards will form part of the city’s drowning prevention campaign:

# Soccer: Orlando Pirates midfielder Thembinkosi Lorch has been suspended from all club activities until the 12th of next month, and he will undergo a formal disciplinary process. On Tuesday, the Randburg Magistrate’s Court sentenced him to three years direct imprisonment, which was wholly suspended for five years, for assaulting his former girlfriend, Fundiswa Mathithibala, in 2020. Lorch was also fined 100-thousand-rand. Orlando Pirates says it will deal with the matter in a manner that avoids double jeopardy, adding that the player should not be punished twice for the same offence.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-84-cents and the euro at 20-rand-55-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-57-cents and Bitcoin trades at 37-thousand-317-dollars-15-cents. Gold sells at one-thousand-995-dollars-66-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 80-dollars-75-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….