News 06:00

BULLETIN 20 February 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Godongwana accuses ministers of leaking the VAT increase plans
# A senior Hamas official says they will release all remaining hostages in one batch
# And rugby: 26 players are invited to the first virtual Springbok alignment camp of the year

# Finance minister Enoch Godongwana has accused some cabinet ministers of leaking plans for a VAT increase to the media. He said the leak exposed divisions within the cabinet and criticised the Freedom Front Plus for claiming they were unaware of the proposal. In a media briefing, Godongwana said the government of national unity will work towards an agreement before the budget is presented on 12 March:

Meanwhile, minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni has dismissed claims that budget disagreements are a battle between the DA and ANC. She said the decision to postpone the budget to 12 March was made by the cabinet as a whole, not by individual parties. Ntshavheni told the media the focus is on managing the economy, not party politics, and that even ANC ministers had differing views on the proposed VAT increase:

# The Gauteng Department of Health reports that the water supply at Kopanong Hospital has been restored. Spokesperson Motalatale Modiba, says Weskoppies Psychiatric Hospital has 95-percent of the facility with electricity, but repairs continue in affected areas. South Rand Hospital faces power issues due to internal faults, impacting the theatre and X-ray departments. He confirmed that emergency cases are being diverted as authorities are monitoring the situation:

# The GOOD Party in the Eastern Cape says Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality’s severe underspending could cost it 262-million-rand in grant funding. This follows last year’s loss of 430-million-rand due to underspending. According to the party, the National Treasury plans to stop payments for projects like water infrastructure, housing, and upgrading informal settlements. GOOD’s Lawrence Troon says the municipality has until Friday to explain why the funds should not be stopped. Troon blames the ANC-led coalition for failing the residents.

# A senior Hamas official says that the Palestinian militant group was prepared to release all remaining hostages in a single swap during the second phase of the Gaza truce. Taher al-Nunu says they have informed the mediators that Hamas is ready to release all hostages in one batch, rather than in stages, as in the current first phase. He did not clarify how many hostages were currently held by Hamas or other militant groups. Israel and Hamas are currently in the process of implementing the first phase of the truce.

# Rugby: Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus has invited a group of 26 players to take part in the first in-person camp and a virtual alignment camp next month. The group features 20 overseas players, including Japan-based Pieter-Steph du Toit and the England-based Handrè Pollard, and six South African players. Stormer’s centre Jonathan Roche has earned his first invitation to an alignment camp. In addition to this group, 56 players have also been invited to the in-person camp, which will serve as preparations for the season.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-51-cents and the euro at 19-rand-29-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-29-cents and Bitcoin trades at 96-thousand-567-dollar. Gold sells at two-thousand-934-dollars-91-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 75-dollars-96-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….