News 06:00

BULLETIN 24 February 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Ramokgopa says load-shedding will soon be a thing of the past
# An expert supports the US sanctions on a Rwandan minister
# And rugby: The Junior Boks record a hard-fought victory against Georgia

# We start with good news: Load-shedding has been reduced to stage four until further notice, following the successful recovery of several units. More to follow in our next bulletin.

Minister of Electricity and Energy, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, has meanwhile assured the country that load-shedding will soon be a thing of the past. Due to multiple unit trips and maintenance, Eskom implemented stage six load-shedding in the early hours of Sunday morning. Five generation units alone were lost at the Majuba power station in Mpumalanga. Ramokgopa says the government remains committed to the generation recovery plan, which is yielding positive results despite occasional setbacks:

Ramokgopa has also strongly dismissed any suggestions of underhanded dealings in the current load-shedding implementation. Eskom announced the return of load-shedding on Saturday, starting at stage three before escalating to stage six on Sunday morning. Ramokgopa says they will never make expedient decisions at the cost of the grid, because the consequences will be too ghastly to contemplate:

# Health minister Aaron Motsoaledi and Trade, Industry, and Competition minister Parks Tau will provide an update on the progress made in implementing Health Market Inquiry recommendations. The inquiry, led by former Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, highlighted competition barriers in private healthcare, including unregulated pricing and exclusive contracts. Health Department spokesperson Foster Mohale says the ministers will outline government interventions to improve competition and transparency in the sector as well as address longstanding concerns to ensure fairer access to healthcare services.

# The DA in Gauteng expects premier Panyaza Lesufi’s upcoming state of the province address to be filled with empty promises. DA leader Solly Msimanga accuses Lesufi of misleading residents while unemployment rises and infrastructure collapses. He highlights ongoing issues including overcrowded schools, failing municipalities, and unfulfilled housing promises. Msimanga urges real solutions instead of short-term fixes, insisting Gauteng needs leadership that prioritises sustainable job creation and infrastructure development.

# International relations expert Ayesha Kajee says US sanctions on Rwandan minister James Kabarebe are appropriate. The US Treasury imposed sanctions over his support for the M23 armed group in the Democratic Republic of Congo. M23 leader Lawrence Kingston and his companies were also sanctioned. Kajee told Newzroom Afrika this underscores Rwanda’s violation of DRC’s sovereignty and disregard for multilateralism:

# Rugby: The Junior Springboks got their two-match series against Georgia to a winning start, recording a hard-fought 38-29 victory at the Avchala Stadium in Tbilisi. The SA Under20s scored six tries and four conversions, while Georgia replied with five tries, while only two were converted. Junior Bok coach, Kevin Foote, says he saw enough in the match to be encouraged, but insisted that their maul defence will need to improve. The two teams will meet on Friday in the second and last meeting of the series.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-36-cents and the euro at 19-rand-23-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-23-cents and Bitcoin trades at 96-thousand-314-dollar-30-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-937-dollars-86-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 74-dollars-49-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….