News 06:00

BULLETIN 13 January 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Gwarube is set to announce the 2024 matric results today
# The DA slams the Emfuleni Municipality for spending a half-billion-rand on overtime
# And the death toll in Los Angeles rises to 16 with firefighters still battling strong winds

# Minister of Basic Education, Siviwe Gwarube, will announce the 2024 matric results in Gauteng today, as more than 870-thousand candidates are ready to learn their fate. This year, the individual results for the National Senior Certificate and Independent Examinations Board will be published in the media on Tuesday. Last week, the High Court in Pretoria dismissed the Information Regulator’s urgent application to block the publication of the matric results in the media. The national matric pass rate was 82.9-percent in 2023.

Meanwhile, the Western Cape Education MEC David Maynier will also reveal the province’s 2024 matric results today. Maynier says the focus will extend beyond the pass rate to quality indicators like bachelor’s passes and reducing underperforming schools. He is also hopeful of building on strong results in Mathematics and Physical Science:

# The DA has criticised Emfuleni Municipality for spending over 561-million-rand on overtime since 2019. DA Emfuleni North constituency head, Kingsol Chabalala, says despite massive overtime payments, residents suffer from poor service delivery. Chabalala has urged the Gauteng government to hold officials accountable for financial mismanagement. He also proposed audits and reforms to prevent abuse:

# The death toll from the wildfires in Los Angeles has risen to 16, with eleven attributed to the Eaton fire and five to the Palisades blaze, while 16 people have been reported missing. More than 12-thousand structures have been destroyed. There are approximately 105-thousand residents under evacuation orders and approximately 87-thousand residents under evacuation warnings. LA mayor, Karen Bass, says the days ahead will continue to be challenging but they get through this crisis:

# Rugby: The Cheetahs recorded a narrow 22-18 victory against Italian side Zebre in their Challenge Cup clash in Amsterdam. Zebre led 18-17 for the final 35 minutes of the match and it looked like they had done enough to win. However, replacement fullback Cohen Jasper scored a try after the siren to seal a victory that keeps the Cheetahs in the running for a place in the playoffs with one round of pool matches remaining. The Cheetahs complete the pool phase of their campaign against Lyon on Saturday.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-9-cents and the euro at 19-rand-56-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-30-cents and Bitcoin trades at 94-thousand-207-dollar-7-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-688-dollars-61-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 80-dollars-71-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Drown-prevention organisations are urging urgent swimming education after 42 drowning incidents were recorded during the festive season, including 34 fatalities. Lifesaving SA president, Dhaya Sewduth reported KwaZulu-Natal and the Western Cape were hardest hit. Limpopo led January’s incidents with river drownings. Sewduth attributed many cases to unsupervised swimming and a lack of water safety education. Meanwhile, the National Sea Rescue Institute calls for a school water safety curriculum, as South Africa accounts for a third of global child drowning deaths under 14.

Stay tuned for more news………….