News 18:00
BULLETIN 3 April 6 pm
Good afternoon. I am……..
In this bulletin:
# The ANC is found guilty of contempt of court for withholding its cadre deployment records
# The Tax Institute urges SARS to address corruption
# And soccer: It’s a tight tussle at the top of the Premiership with Man City and Arsenal in action tonight
# The DA welcomes a ruling by the High Court in Johannesburg, finding the ANC and its secretary-general, Fikile Mbalula, guilty of contempt of court. This comes after the ANC failed to disclose records of its cadre deployment committee, dating back to 2013 when president Cyril Ramaphosa was chairperson. The court has ordered the ANC to pay the DA’s costs and provide the requested information within 15 days. The DA’s Leon Schreiber urges Ramaphosa to comply with the ruling:
# The South African Institute of Taxation is calling on SARS to address corruption, emphasising the importance of combating fraudulent activities. This comes as SARS announced exceeding its provisional revenue target by nearly 10-billion-rand, which is considered good news for the country. The gross tax revenue collected for the 2023/24 financial year reached 2.15-trillion-rand, with net revenue at 1.74-trillion-rand after refunds. However, the institute’s CEO, Keith Engel, noted the challenges in prosecuting corrupt individuals and stresses the need for continued efforts in fighting corruption effectively.
# The Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa has announced the successful restoration of five critical Metrorail services across Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Western Cape. Services now operational include Cape Town to Stellenbosch, Merebank to Chatsglen, Johannesburg to Florida, Johannesburg to Nancefield, and Germiston to Elsburg. Prasa spokesperson, Andiswa Makanda, says with 31 of 40 lines partially operational, efforts continue towards full functionality, preventing vandalism while demonstrating a commitment to efficient public transport:
# The deaths of seven aid workers killed by airstrikes in Gaza on Monday have been condemned by several of Israel’s closest allies. American president Joe Biden said the deaths were tragic and Israel was not doing enough to protect civilians. UK prime minister Rishi Sunak told his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, he was appalled by the attack and demands a transparent investigation. Meanwhile, Israel’s military chief, Lieutenant General Herzi Halevi, says the strike was a mistake due to misidentification, while Netanyahu admitted it was an unintended strike on innocent people.
# Soccer: It’s a tight tussle at the top of the English Premier League, with just three points separating the top three. Liverpool lead Arsenal by two points, with Manchester City a point further back. Tonight will see Arsenal up against Luton, while Man City will have a tough game against Aston Villa, who are in fourth place on the log and fighting for a place in the Champions League. City manager Pep Guardiola says they can not afford to drop any points:
# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-75-cents and the euro at 20-rand-27-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-64-cents and Bitcoin trades at 66-thousand-730-dollars-62-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-276-dollars-91-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 89-dollars-65-cents a barrel.
Stay tuned for more news………….