News 06:00

BULLETIN 5 November 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The IEC is encouraged by the voter turnout in the elections
# The US midterm results send ripples through global politics and trade
# And rugby: Vianca Boer will captain the young Springbok Women’s Sevens squad in Kenya

# The Electoral Commission says voting in the local government elections progressed well across the country, despite minor challenges. By 5 pm yesterday, 12-million people had voted, with Gauteng leading the way with three million, followed by KwaZulu-Natal with 2.5-million and the Western Cape with 1.5-million. Briefing the media at the national results operation centre in Midrand, Gauteng, yesterday evening, IEC chief electoral officer Sy Mamabolo said all ballot papers are counted at the voting station where they are cast:

Meanwhile, with counting underway following the local government elections, the DA is currently leading nationally with 34.73-percent of the votes. The ANC is second with 33.35-percent followed by the Freedom Front Plus on 7.21-percent. The Patriotic Alliance is fourth, with the EFF rounding out the top five. The SACP, which contested the elections independently, breaking the historical agreement to always support its alliance partner, the ANC, is currently fifth nationally with 2.9-percent of the votes.

# Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Velenkosini Hlabisa has reiterated that the revised White Paper on Local Government will be a game-changer for South Africa’s local government. The revised White Paper proposes a differentiated approach to municipal funding, recognising that metropolitan municipalities and smaller rural municipalities have different responsibilities, resource requirements, and service delivery challenges. Hlabisa stated that municipalities need competent councillors who can provide effective political oversight:

# Pikitup says it expects to clear outstanding waste collection backlogs in Johannesburg within the next week. Roodepoort, Randburg, Norwood, Marlboro and Waterval are among the areas still affected. The city’s waste management entity has increased operational capacity to remove accumulated waste while maintaining scheduled collections in areas where services have stabilised. Pikitup has apologised to affected residents and urged communities to avoid illegal dumping.  

# The Democrats’ sweeping victories in the United States midterm elections could have repercussions well beyond America. The results may increase pressure on President Donald Trump over the war with Iran, while opening the way for renewed military aid to Ukraine and greater scrutiny of US support for Israel. Countries negotiating trade deals with Washington may also feel less pressure to accept Trump’s tariff demands. However, Trump remains in office, and his foreign-policy powers are largely intact. US foreign-policy analyst Jon Alterman says presidents facing political constraints at home can still act relatively freely abroad.

# Rugby: Vianca Boer will captain a young Springbok Women’s Sevens ‘A’ squad at the Rugby Africa Women’s Sevens tournament in Kenya this weekend. South Africa will face Zambia, Zimbabwe and Rwanda in Pool A. Head coach Cecil Afrika has selected an inexperienced group as preparations for the 2027 season gather momentum. Four players have previous HSBC-Sevens experience, while four recently represented the Junior Springbok Women. South Africa has already qualified for next year’s HSBC Sevens 2 series, allowing Afrika to use the tournament to develop emerging talent.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-35-cents and the euro at 18-rand-36-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-3-cents and Bitcoin trades at 80-thousand-577-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-61-dollars-33-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 98-dollars-1-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….