News 06:00

BULLETIN 12 August 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The National Convention clarifies the estimated budget for the National Dialogue
# Donald Trump describes his upcoming talks with Putin as a ‘feel-out meeting’
# And cricket: The Proteas hope to prevent the Aussies from winning their tenth consecutive T20 today

# The Preparatory Task Team says the estimated 700-million-rand budget for the National Dialogue is a provisional figure. The price tag for the event sparked criticism over whether the country could afford such an undertaking, given fiscal constraints. The first National Convention, which will guide the National Dialogue, will be held on Friday and Saturday. National Convention spokesperson reverend Zwoitwaho Nevhutalu stressed that this initiative is a people’s project and not solely a government undertaking:

Meanwhile, the chairperson of the Standing Committee on Appropriations, Mmusi Maimane, has voiced concern over the lack of a clear funding plan for the upcoming national dialogue, which aims to foster unity and reimagine South Africa’s future. While calling the initiative vital, Maimane warned against diverting resources from key services. The committee has asked National Treasury for clarity on funding, impact assessments, and mitigation plans. He stressed the need for transparency, inclusivity, and fiscal responsibility to ensure the dialogue’s success.

# The Daily Maverick reports that suspended Independent Development Trust CEO Tebogo Malaka’s benefactor is the Collen Mashawana Foundation and Afribiz Group chair, businessman Collen Mashawana. The foundation allegedly received a 60-million-rand IDT contract to run employment schemes, despite lacking large-scale experience. Records show Mashawana made payments toward Malaka’s luxury property while the IDT transferred over 23-million-rand to his foundation. Meanwhile, hundreds of Expanded Public Works Programme workers remain unpaid, sparking concerns that public funds were misused.

# The DA says Gauteng faces a shocking ten-year delay for toxicology reports in unnatural death cases. According to the party, families waiting for answers are stuck in limbo, unable to get justice or bury their loved ones. The backlog affects 140-thousand cases nationwide due to forensic lab failures, despite a 703-million-rand facility remaining unopened in Johannesburg. The DA’s Madeleine Hicklin urges Parliament to support grieving families and fix the system:

# US president Donald Trump has expressed scepticism that his meeting with Russian president Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday will make a difference in reaching a peace deal. He has described the meeting as a feel-out meeting. Trump says that while Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy wouldn’t be a part of the meeting, he would speak to him as soon as he saw a fair deal for a ceasefire emerge:

# Cricket: A huge task awaits the Proteas in Darwin today, where they have to prevent Australia from winning a tenth consecutive T20 match to salvage the three-match series. The hosts defeated the visitors by 17 runs in Sunday’s first match when Tim David was the main destroyer, smashing 83 runs off just 52 balls. When he came in to bat, Australia was struggling on 75 for six, but he punished the South African bowlers as the hosts fought back. The Proteas’ batters’ lack of meaningful partnerships then led to the defeat.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-74-cents and the euro at 20-rand-61-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-83-cents and Bitcoin trades at 118-thousand-788-dollar. Gold sells at three-thousand-347-dollars-60-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 66-dollars-28-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….