News 06:00

BULLETIN 3 March 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Government’s fund to support spaza shops will be rolled out soon
# Another special cabinet meeting is scheduled for today to discuss the budget
# And golf: Dylan Naidoo makes history at the SA Open

# Small Business Development minister, Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams, says a 500-million-rand Spaza Shop Support Fund will start being rolled out within two weeks. The fund aims to enhance market competitiveness to help spaza shops and food handling outlets compete with larger retailers. The minister says other businesses will still benefit from existing departmental funds and programmes, including financial assistance by the Small Enterprise Development and Finance Agency:

Ndabeni-Abrahams, also says last Friday’s deadline does not mean that the problems and challenges of compliance by spaza shops and food handling outlets are over. Sunday marked exactly 107 days since president Cyril Ramaphosa announced the registration of all spaza shops and food-handling outlets following deaths related to foodborne illnesses. Ndabeni-Abrahams says spaza shops and food-handling businesses that applied to register their businesses but were awaiting their registration outcomes will not be penalised:

# Another special cabinet meeting will be held today, as the government of national unity continues to deliberate on the national budget. Finance minister Enoch Godongwana’s budget speech was postponed last month after political parties within the government could not reach a consensus on the proposed two-percent value-added tax increase. The budget will now be tabled next Wednesday. Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni says the cabinet’s deliberations will determine the best ways to fund the national priorities and ensure the budget reflects the aspirations of all citizens.

# Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi says the Department of Water and Sanitation continues to work with the provincial government, Rand Water, and all municipalities to reduce the risk of water supply disruptions. Demand for water in Gauteng has skyrocketed, largely due to population growth and partly due to increasing leaks in municipal distribution systems. Lesufi says there are inter-governmental relations to resolve water challenges in the province:

# Israel blocked the entry of aid trucks into Gaza at the weekend, as a standoff over the truce that has halted fighting for the past six weeks escalated, with Hamas calling on Egyptian and Qatari mediators to intervene. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said it had adopted US envoy Steve Witkoff’s proposal for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza for the Ramadan and Passover periods. The truce would halt fighting until the end of the Ramadan fasting period around March 31st and the Jewish Passover holiday on April 20th.

# Golf: Johannesburg-born Dylan Naidoo beat England’s Laurie Canter on the first play-off hole to win the South African Open Championship in Durban, his maiden DP World Tour title. The tournament went straight to a play-off between the joint overnight leaders after the final round was abandoned due to rain. Another Englishman, Marco Penge, finished third. Naidoo, who is the first South African player of colour to win the tournament, says the play-off was a free hit for him:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-65-cents and the euro at 19-rand-43-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-50-cents and Bitcoin trades at 94-thousand-416-dollar-80-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-870-dollars-97-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 73-dollars-25-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….