News 06:00

BULLETIN 29 July 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa wants high-profile state capture prosecutions accelerated
# Floyd Shivambu says the MK Party is Zuma’s family stokvel
# And the Fuel Industry Association warns of a looming jet fuel crisis

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says that while substantial work has been made on the implementation of recommendations of the State Capture Commission, the work continues. The Presidency released the latest progress report on the commission, covering the period up to the end of 2024/2025. Ramaphosa says there are key priorities that the government will be focusing on this year. These include accelerating high-profile prosecutions and bringing new cases to court, finalising the Whistleblower Protection Bill, and finalising anti-corruption architecture proposals.

# Former MK Party secretary-general Floyd Shivambu has accused former president Jacob Zuma of turning the party into a family stokvel, claiming party funds are being misused for personal benefit. Although still a member of the MK Party, he has been removed from all leadership roles and dropped from the party’s parliamentary list. Speaking in Mpumalanga this weekend, Shivambu, now leading the Mayibuye Consultative Process, said political movements should represent collective interests, not family or tribal agendas:

# Madlanga Commission of Inquiry chairperson, Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga, says efforts to secure Gauteng premises and infrastructure for hearings into KZN Police Commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s corruption allegations are underway. Madlanga assures the public this won’t delay progress, with preparatory work ongoing. The number of witnesses and full timeline remains unknown. He stressed the importance of witness protection and said a preliminary report is expected within three months:

# The Fuel Industry Association has warned that South Africa risks another jet fuel shortage by October unless urgent regulatory reforms are made. The association’s CEO, Avhapfani Tshifularo, told Engineering News that the planned National Petroleum Refiners of South Africa refinery shutdown and outdated customs laws could severely impact jet fuel supply to OR Tambo International Airport and regional networks. He’s calling for interim measures to ease import and export restrictions, warning fuel emergencies could ground flights and threaten economic stability across South Africa and its neighbours.

# Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu maintains that there is no starvation in Gaza. To date, 147 people have died of malnutrition in Gaza since the conflict began. More than one-thousand people have been killed since May in desperate efforts to obtain food for their families. The Israeli military blames the United Nations for failing to collect and distribute the aid that reaches the territory. Netanyahu says his country is committed to achieving its war goals:

# Roadrunning: The new board of the Two Oceans marathon plans a meeting with the City of Cape Town to iron out their differences. This follows after the organisers approved more participants for the half-marathon this year, violating the permit and leading to the metro withdrawing its support and sponsorship. It also threatened not to grant a permit for next year’s race unless there are major organisational changes. New board member Stuart Mann says Friday’s meeting would be the start of restoring the city’s trust.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-89-cents and the euro at 20-rand-74-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-90-cents and Bitcoin trades at 118-thousand-176-dollar. Gold sells at three-thousand-312-dollars-29-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 69-dollars-43-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….