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BULLETIN 16 February 9 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# COSATU stands firmly with Cyril  Ramaphosa and the government in defence of South Africa’s values 
# The Public Servants Association urges the Defence minister to stop the relocation of staff to unsafe Bester building in Pretoria 
#  And, the DA Western Cape says police dogs are instrumental in the fight against crime

# Cosatu says it stands firmly with president Cyril Ramaphosa and government in defence of South Africa’s values and transformation mandate. Cosatu’s spokesperson, Matthew Parks says no country can be allowed to dictate to the people of South Africa their path. He says the federation is a robust and noisy democracy, and it will not tolerate any attempts to intimidate the country:

# The Public Servants Association urges Defence minister Angie Motshekga to stop the relocation of the Department of Defence’s infantry and army support formations to the fire-damaged Bester building in Pretoria. The PSA claims the building, which was declared unsafe after a 2013 fire, remains in a state of severe disrepair with exposed wiring, non-functional lifts, and vandalism. The association’s Claude Naiker warns legal action will be taken if the relocation is not halted:

# The DA in the Western Cape says police dogs are considered a force-multiplier and are instrumental in the fight against crime particularly in respect of drugs, which in turn help the scourge of gang-related crime on the Cape Flats. The DA’s Nicholas Gotsell says the police have many dedicated handlers who are hamstrung in doing their job, and living their passion, because they do not have dogs:

# M23 rebels in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo have entered Bukavu, the eastern region’s second-largest city. Corneille Nangaa, the leader of the Congo River Alliance which includes M23 rebels, told Reuters the rebels entered the South Kivu provincial capital over the weekend. The Rwandan-backed militants’ progress comes despite international calls for a ceasefire and a resumption of peace talks. Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced from their homes in recent weeks. Thirteen South African soldiers, part of a SADC regional peace keeping force, have died in the conflict..

# Rugby: The Sharks came away with a bonus-point win against the Bulls in their United Rugby Championship (URC) derby at Loftus yesterday. The Sharks scored three tries in a row in the second half, bringing the score to 29–19 against the Bulls on their home ground. The half-time score was 10-7 in the Sharks’ favour. And earlier in Johannesburg, the Lions beat the Stormers 30–23. After round 11 of the URC the Bulls are third and the Lions 4th on the URC points log.

Stay tuned for more news………….