News 06:00

BULLETIN 28 October 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Department of Basic Education raises alarm over food poisoning incidents
# The DA slams Panyaza Lesufi’s Nasi Ispani programme
# And the latest poll suggests a slight lead for Harris among registered voters

# The Department of Basic Education has expressed concern over increasing food poisoning cases among learners, which have affected learners’ well-being. The department emphasises that the incidents involve items purchased from vendors near schools, not the National School Nutrition Programme. Department’s spokesperson, Elijah Mhlanga, has stressed the importance of community responsibility in monitoring food safety and urged schools to engage vendors and parents:

# ActionSA is demanding a leadership overhaul at the South African Social Security Agency due to rampant corruption and mismanagement. Allegations include ghost beneficiaries, fraudulent payouts, and officials enriching themselves at taxpayers’ expense. ActionSA’s Dereleen James says recent testimony from Stellenbosch University students exposed a fraud scheme, supported by whistleblower emails revealing efforts to alert SASSA’s CEO, Busisiwe Memela, about critical issues. ActionSA insists that urgent reforms are necessary to restore oversight and protect millions of vulnerable South Africans reliant on the agency.

# The DA claims Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi’s Nasi Ispani initiative is failing, as nearly a third of Gauteng households live on the upper-bound poverty line, surviving on just one-thousand-558-rand monthly. DA Leader Solly Msimanga criticised the programme for creating only temporary jobs while the province faces soaring unemployment, currently at 2.76-million. He demands transparency, urging the release of forensic reports on corruption and lifestyle audits, emphasising that effective governance is vital for investment and permanent job creation.

# US vice president and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris has a narrow lead of 51-percent among likely voters nationally with former president and Republican nominee Donald Trump at 47-percent. This is according to the latest ABC News/Ipsos poll. The poll suggests that Harris’ backers are more likely to turn out, with the margin among registered voters at a narrower 49-percent Harris to 47-percent Trump. Issues of importance among registered voters include the economy, crime and safety, immigration, abortion, and the Middle East conflict.

# Cricket: The Lions secured their second-consecutive T20 Challenge title by beating the Titans by eight wickets at the Wanderers. Lutho Sipamla took four wickets as the Titans were bowled out for 119. In reply, Rassie van der Dussen and Connor Esterhuizen scored an unbeaten 98-run stand for the third wicket as the Lions reached 124 for two with 29 balls to spare. The Lions now have six titles.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-64-cents and the euro at 19-rand-6-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-88-cents and Bitcoin trades at 67-thousand-954-dollar-26-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-738-dollars-28-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 75-dollars-91-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The Department of Social Development, in partnership with the Human Sciences Research Council, will launch the Social Security Review Volume 2 today, in Cape Town. Spokesperson Bathembu Futshane says the publication offers expert analyses of national and global social protection measures introduced during the pandemic. Futshane says it aims to promote evidence-based policy-making toward a comprehensive social security system:

Stay tuned for more news………….