Good News 14:00

BULLETIN 1 February 2 pm

Good afternoon, here is your Good News:

# Six young classical and jazz pianists have been selected as finalists for the 15th Unisa International Piano Competition. The finalists in the jazz category are South Africa’s Zibusiso Makhathini, American Tomás Jonsson, and Dabin Ryu from South Korea. The finalists in the classical category are Russia’s Elizaveta Ukrainskaia, the UK’s William Bracken, and Spain’s Leo De Maria. The final rounds take place tomorrow and Saturday, with the prize-giving ceremony set to be held at Unisa’s ZK Matthews Great Hall in Pretoria.

# Gauteng MEC for Social Development, Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment, Mbali Hlophe, will host a send-off ceremony for 250 social development beneficiaries who passed matric last year in Boksburg today. Amongst the beneficiaries are learners in foster care programmes, and those in government-run and funded child and youth care centres across the province. The department says the MEC will honour the learners and also present them with gadgets that will assist them to easily facilitate their post-matric education and studies.

# The City of Cape Town has opened the new Invest Cape Town Centre, a multi-use hub for economic activity. The centre will be activated for networking events and engagements with investors, high-level delegations and stakeholders. Mayoral committee member for Economic Growth, James Vos, says the hub is part of the city’s commitment to bringing more job-creating investment, and where investors can immerse themselves in all things Cape Town:

# The South African Social Security Agency and the Department of Social Development in the Eastern Cape have announced the launch of the Social Relief of Distress School Uniform programme. It aims to provide school uniforms to children from economically disadvantaged backgrounds who fall below the poverty line. The departments have allocated up to five-thousand-rand per learner for the purchase of uniforms. Additionally, Social Development plans to spend 35-million-rand in the current financial year on sanitary dignity packs.

# And finally: Singer-songwriter, Tracy Chapman, will make a return to the spotlight to perform a duet of her hit song Fast Car with country singer, Luke Combs, at the Grammy Awards on Sunday. She has only performed for the cameras three times since wrapping up her last tour in 2009. Combs’ version of the hit song was ranked as the fifth biggest song of the year in the US last year, beating Taylor Swift’s Anti-Hero. South African comedian Trevor Noah will host the Grammys in Los Angeles.

Stay tuned for more news………….