News 06:00

BULLETIN 6 February 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Parliament allocates six-million-rand for SONA
# Harmony Gold mourns five fatalities in mine incidents
# And rugby: A former player and coach is appointed as the new CEO for the Cheetahs

# Parliament secretary Xolile George has confirmed a six-million-rand budget for the State of the Nation Address. Dignitaries, members of parliament, and former presidents will attend the event. George says the allocation is due to increased logistical costs of hosting the event at Cape Town City Hall following the 2022 fire. He confirmed that the reconstruction of Parliament is still ongoing:

Meanwhile, Rise Mzansi urges president Cyril Ramaphosa to use his State of the Nation address to demonstrate strong leadership and set clear priorities. The party wants decisive action on job creation, crime prevention, and service delivery. They also propose a wealth tax to boost economic growth. Rise Mzansi spokesperson Mabine Seabe warned Ramaphosa that failure to tackle corruption decisively will erode public trust:

# Harmony Gold has reported the tragic deaths of five workers in two separate incidents. Two fatalities occurred at Doornkop Mine in Soweto, while three workers lost their lives after a fall of ground at Joel Mine in the Free State. Blasting operations have been temporarily suspended. Harmony Gold confirmed that investigations into the causes of these accidents are ongoing. The company expressed its condolences to the affected families.

# The Special Investigating Unit has welcomed the outcomes of a disciplinary inquiry initiated against nine Gauteng Department of Health and Department of Infrastructure Development officials. They faced charges relating to alleged irregularities in awarding contracts for refurbishing the Anglo Ashanti Hospital in 2022 amounting to 588-million-rand. Five of the officials have been dismissed. The SIU says the disciplinary actions show that state institutions are acting on the results of its investigations, and implementing the consequences to hold officials implicated.

# Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba has joined global leaders in calling for peace in Goma, in the Democratic Republic of Congo after M23 rebels took control of the city. Over 900 people have been killed and thousands injured in the past week as the conflict intensifies. At the Goma Call for Peace launch in Cape Town, Makgoba urged African leaders and the international community to take immediate action to end the violence and prevent further escalation:

# Rugby: Former Cheetahs lock and coach Rory Duncan has been appointed as the new CEO of the union. The 47-year-old succeeds Ross van Reenen, whose three-year stint ended in November. Duncan played for the Cheetahs from 2006 until 2008 and also represented the Sharks, the EP Kings, and a Japanese club. He coached the Free State team from 2014 until 2018 before becoming the coach of English club Worcester Warriors. Duncan plans to focus on the franchise’s long-term sustainability and strengthening their international participation.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-53-cents and the euro at 19-rand-26-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-14-cents and Bitcoin trades at 96-thousand-529-dollar-10-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-868-dollars-61-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 74-dollars-71-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….