News 06:00

BULLETIN 12 November 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The EFF and MK Party met to discuss coalition arrangements
# The Free Market Foundation says the government makes it harder for people to find work
# And swimming: The DA blames minister Gayton McKenzie for Tatjana Smith’s move

# The EFF says this is the time for left-wing organisations to rally together and save this country from Apartheid 2.0. The party met with the MK Party for coalition talks yesterday. There are 138 hung municipal councils, where no party achieved an outright majority. The EFF says they are committed to putting the people of South Africa first through practical service delivery. It says this is by ensuring regular refuse collection, insourcing municipal workers, and exempting vulnerable households from paying for basic services such as water and electricity.

# Tenderpreneur Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala says he no longer trusts alleged political fixer Brown Mogotsi, whom he claims used Police minister Senzo Mchunu’s name to ask him for money. Testifying at the Madlanga commission, Matlala said he initially trusted Mogotsi, who offered to help investigate a police raid on his home in December 2024. He claims he paid Mogotsi 20-thousand rand for investigators and over 150-thousand rand for the ANC’s January 8 celebrations: 

# The Free Market Foundation says that, instead of making it easier for businesses to hire and unemployed people to find work, government continues to introduce legislation that increases the cost and complexity of employment. South Africa’s official unemployment rate rose to 33.7-percent in the third quarter of this year. The foundation says it has long argued that South Africa needs fundamental labour market reform. It says its proposed Job Seekers Exemption Certificate would give long-term unemployed citizens the freedom to negotiate employment opportunities without being held back by restrictive labour legislation.

# The ANC in Johannesburg says it accepts the outcome of this year’s local government elections and respects the choices made by voters. However, the party has identified discrepancies in some areas and has submitted formal objections through the electoral process.  ANC’s Mantombi Nkosi has also acknowledged ongoing challenges facing residents, including water and electricity supply, unemployment, housing and poor municipal services: 

# Iran’s Defence Ministry has rejected US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth’s latest assessment of its military capabilities, calling his depiction a fabrication. Hegseth says during 40 days of combat, the US military struck 13-thousand targets and destroyed more than 80-percent of Tehran’s nuclear industrial base. United Nations experts believe Iran still has about 60-percent enriched uranium, a short step away from the 90-percent enrichment levels needed for high-yield military warheads. Iran’s Defence Ministry insists that its armed forces still have weapons stockpiled, making use of strategic production and upgraded technologies.

# Swimming: The DA says ongoing governance failures under Sport, Arts and Culture minister Gayton McKenzie have contributed to Olympic swimming champion Tatjana Smith’s decision to represent the Netherlands. The party claims Swimming South Africa has been plagued by mismanagement and a lack of accountability, despite repeated calls for intervention. The DA’s Leah Potgieter calls on McKenzie to account for his oversight of national sports federations and address the problems facing the sector:  

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-51-cents and the euro at 18-rand-33-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-98-cents and Bitcoin trades at 73-thousand-995-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-987-dollars-20-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 95-dollars-6-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….