News 18:00
BULLETIN 1 December 6 pm
Good afternoon. I am……..
In this bulletin:
# The High Court orders a separation of trials in the 1.8-billion-rand BOSASA corruption matter
# A commission joins forces with Southern African Fraud Prevention Services to combat rising scams
# And Rugby: Three World Cup-winning Boks are in Stormers’ starting team against Zebre
# The High Court in Pretoria has ordered the separation of trials in the 1.8-billion-rand BOSASA and Department of Correctional Services fraud and corruption case. Former BOSASA executive Angelo Agrizzi, who made a virtual court appearance, will now be tried separately from the others, who were present in court. They are the former commissioner of Correctional Services, Linda Mti, former chief financial official Patrick Gillingham, and former BOSASA chief financial official, Andries van Tonder. The case is set to return to court on the 24th of next month.
# The National Consumer Commission has joined forces with the Southern African Fraud Prevention Services in a bid to tackle the surge in scams. The scams involving company impersonation, investments, financial fraud, multiplication, and pyramid schemes have sharply increased. The commission’s acting commissioner Thezi Mabuza says the fraud prevention services are committed to raising awareness of fraud, financial crime, and identity theft, assisting individuals and businesses in preventing losses. Mabuza urges caution during online transactions, especially amid rising scams during the festive season:
# The DA has strongly rejected the National Treasury’s announcement of a 47-billion-rand guarantee facility issued to Transnet. The party criticises the move, asserting it heightens taxpayer risk exposure to the ANC’s mismanagement of the logistics and transport sector. Transnet, grappling with a 135-billion-rand debt and recent financial losses, aims to implement a recovery plan with this guarantee. The DA’s Dion George proposes alternative solutions, including granting exporters unconditional access to Transnet corridors. George advocates for privatisation to ensure economic stability:
# The Freedom Front Plus has issued an apology to the South African Jewish community for the appalling way in which the ANC government has handled the terror attacks on innocent Israeli citizens. The party accuses the ANC of betraying the Jewish community by embracing Hamas leaders in the country under the pretext of attending an international summit on solidarity with the Palestinians. The FF Plus’s Corné Mulder condemned the ANC’s alignment with Hamas during the 16 Days of Activism against gender-based violence. Mulder deems the association with Hamas tragic and contrary to the values of the late president Nelson Mandela.
# Rugby: The Stormers’ team has been reinforced with the return of three World Cup-winning Springboks. Backs Manie Libbok and Damian Willemse, as well as loose forward Deon Fourie were named in head coach John Dobson’s starting team for tomorrow’s United Rugby Championship clash with Italian side Zebre Parma in Stellenbosch. Flyhalf Libbok will form a half-back pairing with another Bok, Herschel Jantjies. Dobson says it’s a major boost for his struggling team to have the Boks and other key players back after a disappointing overseas tour.
# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-69-cents and the euro at 20-rand-32-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-61-cents and Bitcoin trades at 38-thousand-348-dollars-44-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-and-38-dollars-36-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 80-dollars-88-cents a barrel.
Stay tuned for more news………….