News 16:00

BULLETIN 3 May 4 pm

Good afternoon. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Kgalema Motlanthe supports a fair disciplinary process for Jacob Zuma
# Turkey’s inflation soars to 69.8-percent
# And rugby: A second victory for the Blitzboks in Singapore

# Former ANC deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe says the disciplinary process against former ANC president Jacob Zuma is a fair procedure. Zuma faces charges of breaching the party’s constitution by endorsing the MK Party. The ANC suspended Zuma in January for actions challenging the party’s integrity. Speaking on the campaign trail in Soweto, Motlanthe said Zuma’s own choices brought about his current predicament:

# Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa visited the first combined cycle power plant in South Africa, located in Richards Bay, KwaZulu-Natal. This innovative plant, with a capacity of three-thousand megawatts, represents a significant step in addressing the country’s electricity challenges. The gas-to-power project promises a reliable, cost-effective, and environmentally sustainable energy solution, diversifying South Africa’s energy mix and reducing reliance on coal. Ramokgopa, alongside premier Nomusa Dube-Ncube and Economic Development, Tourism, and Environmental Affairs MEC Siboniso Duma, received a briefing from Eskom executives on the project’s status.

# The DA says the Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority declared its intention to deny the issuance or renewal of Fidelity Fund certificates for businesses with less than 40 points on a BEE scorecard. The party says the PPRA is in effect trying to make it illegal to operate a property related business without being BBBEE compliant. The DA’s Michael Bagraim says it is disgraceful that the ANC once again seeks to use BBBEE certificates as a political tool in a country that operates within the framework of a Constitution:

# Turkey’s annual inflation rate accelerated to 69.8-percent in April, despite interest rate hikes aimed at taming soaring consumer prices. Inflation had reached 68.5-percent in March, also an increase from the previous month, as the country struggles to overcome a cost-of-living crisis. The central bank began to hike its key rate in June last year, gradually taking it from 8.5-percent to 50-percent after president Recep Tayyip Erdogan loosened his objections to such monetary policies.

# Rugby: The Blitzboks are still victorious at the Singapore world sevens series tournament. South Africa overpowered Spain 31-7 in their first group match this morning after scoring five tries to the opponents’ one. They then beat Samoa 15-10 after out-scoring the islanders by three tries to two. The Blitzboks play France in their final pool game tomorrow morning. In the women’s draw, South Africa lost 49-0 to France after causing a huge upset this morning by beating the strong American team 14-12.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-41-cents and the euro at 19-rand-88-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-23-cents and Bitcoin trades at 60-thousand-222-dollars-58-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-316-dollars-20-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 84-dollars-7-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….