News 06:00

BULLETIN 15 August 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Justice Department refutes reports of blocking NPA access to state capture evidence
# The DA criticises the delay in the release of crime statistics for 2024/2025
# And Home Affairs offices nationwide hold nearly 600-thousand uncollected Identity Documents

# The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has refuted claims alleging that the National Prosecuting Authority’s Investigating Directorate has been hampered in doing its work on the State Capture Commission report. According to News24, the NPA had been blocked from accessing crucial state capture data for over two years. The report stated that the NPA and the ID had lost complete access to a significant digital evidence database compiled by the commission’s investigators. The department’s spokesperson, Tsekiso Machike, says the report is inaccurate:

# The DA has expressed frustration over the delayed release of crime statistics for the first quarter of 2024/2025. The stats remain unpublished pending Cabinet approval. The SAPS has not released crime data since the third quarter of 2023/2024 in February. DA deputy Spokesperson on Police, Lisa Schickerling has urged Police minister, Senzo Mchunu to release the overdue statistics:

# Minister of Home Affairs, Leon Schreiber, has disclosed that nearly 600-thousand identity documents remain uncollected at government offices across South Africa. In a written Parliamentary reply, Schreiber revealed that over 450-thousand of these are re-issue applications, with more than 142-thousand being first-time IDs. The offices with the most uncollected IDs include those in Gqeberha, Johannesburg, Akasia, and Cape Town. In addition, 53 employees have faced disciplinary action for irregular ID processing since April 2019, with 33 dismissed.

# The GOOD Party has terminated its coalition agreement with the ANC and Patriotic Alliance in the Theewaterskloof Municipality in the Western Cape. It has now formed a coalition with the DA and the Socialist Revolutionary Workers Party to govern the municipality. DA member Lincoln de Bruyn has been elected mayor, while GOOD’s John Michels is the council speaker. The SRWP will assume the Municipal Public Accounts Committee chairperson role. The parties say under the new coalition, residents can look forward to improved service delivery.

# The World Health Organisation has declared mpox a public health emergency of international concern, the highest level of alarm under international health law. This follows the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention declaring the viral infection a public health emergency on the continent on Tuesday. More than 14-thousand cases and 524 deaths have been recorded this year. WHO director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, says they are on the ground working with the affected countries:

# Rugby: Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus doesn’t believe foul play was the cause of the one red and five yellow cards his players received in their previous three Tests, saying most of the infringements were the result of poor technique. He denies the cards were shown for a lack of discipline and isn’t concerned over the issue before Saturday’s second Rugby Championship Test against Australia in Perth. Erasmus says they have worked on the technical issues and hopefully will get it right this weekend.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-6-cents and the euro at 19-rand-88-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-16-cents and Bitcoin trades at 58-thousand-855-dollars-78-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-448-dollars-46-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 79-dollars-98-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….