NEWSFLASH NEWS AGENCY 11 February 6 pm

Good afternoon,

In this bulletin:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa responds to Scopa’s questions on the alleged misuse of public funds
# The DA rejects plans for the establishment of a state-owned holding company
# And Rugby: The Bulls find inspiration in facing the talented Sharks side

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has responded to questions from Parliament’s standing committee on Public Accounts, Scopa, on the allegations implicating him in the misuse of public funds. Scopa chairperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa says he referred it to Parliament’s legal services to give guidance on certain aspects of Ramaphosa’s response. The committee’s programme has been adjusted and Ramaphosa’s response, along with the legal advice, will be tabled before the committee next week Wednesday. ANC MP Mervyn Dirks was earlier suspended by the party for requesting it to summons Ramaphosa.

# The DA has rejected government’s plans for the establishment of a state-owned holding company to house all commercial state-owned enterprises. The party’s Ghaleb Cachalia believes the establishment of a holding company will keep the SOEs beholden to the state for endless bailouts:

Play sound: ENG-Ghaleb

# KwaZulu-Natal agricultural producer Tongaat Hulett wants to ensure those responsible for the historic mismanagement at the company are held accountable. This comes after six former company executives were arrested for 1.5-billion-rand’s fraud, allegedly committed over a three-year period. They are believed to have pocketed big bonuses as a result of incorrect profits being declared. The company says it will continue to cooperate with law enforcement authorities to conclude this case. Company secretary Johann van Rooyen has welcomed the development in the legal process.

# The Pretoria Magistrate’s Court has remanded a fraud case against two associates of the Gupta brothers implicated in the failed Estina dairy project to the ninth of March. NPA spokesperson Sindisiwe Seboka says investigations found Kamal Vasram and Saliesh Indurjeeth had submitted customs clearance documents with a declared value of over 37.7-million-rand for a so-called ‘new’ pasteurisation plant. She says however that was not the true value of the plant as it was excessively high:

Play Sound: ENG Sindisiwe Seboka

Rugby: The Bulls are bracing themselves for a heated battle when they take on the Sharks in a United Rugby Championship encounter at Loftus Versfeld tomorrow. David Kriel will make a return to the side, starting at fullback,  while Cornal Hendricks will also earn a starting berth on the right-wing. Gerhard Steenekamp will be the only new face in the forwards pack that started against the Lions last week. He swaps places with Simphiwe Matanzima in a rotational switch, as Matanzima moves to the bench.

# Financial indicators: The dollar is trading at 15-rand-12-cents and the euro at 17-rand-23-cents. One British pound costs 20-rand-52-cents and Bitcoin trades at 43-thousand-518-dollars-7-cents. Gold is selling at one thousand-830-dollars-87-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 92-dollars-34-cents a barrel.

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