News 06:00

BULLETIN 5 March 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Government says a positive growth in the GDP is encouraging
# Israel says humanitarian aid has become a main source of revenue for Hamas
# And cricket: India beat Australia to seal their place in the Champions Trophy final

# Government says the latest gross domestic product data from Statistics South Africa is encouraging and signals a welcome recovery. The country’s GDP increased by 0.6-percent in the fourth quarter of 2024, following a decrease of 0.1-percent in the third quarter of 2024. The growth was primarily driven by the agriculture, finance, and trade sectors. The government says one of its immediate priorities is to ensure positive economic growth, which will encourage business development and provide more employment opportunities.

Meanwhile, ActionSA has challenged the government of national unity partners to break the ANC’s reliance on failing economic policies. ActionSA’s Alan Beesley says South Africa’s economy remains far below emerging market averages, while unemployment remains at 41.9-percent. He calls for urgent reforms, including tax changes and pro-growth policies, to prevent further economic decline and restore investor confidence:

# Social Development deputy minister Ganief Hendricks has called on non-profits to help South Africa exit the Financial Action Task Force grey list by year-end. Speaking at a multi-stakeholder event in Kempton Park, Hendricks warned against overregulating NPOs but stressed the need for compliance with anti-money laundering rules. A national survey found that some NPOs pose medium risks of terror financing. FATF will assess South Africa’s progress in September.

# The Pretoria North Regional Court has sentenced a 69-year-old woman to ten years in prison for perjury, fraud, and theft. Sarathamoney Devi Sigamoney defrauded SASSA while leading a company that won SAPS tenders worth 88-million-rand. She fraudulently received 123-thousand-rand in SASSA pension payouts alleging she has not worked for 20 years. The Investigating Directorate Against Corruption’s Henry Mamothame says the court ordered Sigamoney to repay 138-thousand-593 with interest.

# Israel’s top diplomat claims that humanitarian aid had become the number one source of revenue for Hamas, as he defended his government’s decision to block all deliveries to Gaza. The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, Philippe Lazzarini, said the move threatens the lives of civilians exhausted by 16 months of war. Israel announced on Sunday that it would halt the entry of aid after negotiations hit an impasse. Foreign minister Gideon Saar says aid that goes to Hamas is used to fund its operations against Israel.

# Cricket: India is through to their third consecutive Champions Trophy final after defeating Australia by four wickets in Dubai. Australia was bowled out for 264, with captain Steve Smith scoring 73 and Alex Carey 61. Mohammed Shami took three wickets. In reply, Virat Kohli’s composed 84 off 98 balls helped India reach the target with eleven balls to spare. On Sunday, India will play New Zealand or South Africa, who contest the second semifinal in Lahore today.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-46-cents and the euro at 19-rand-61-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-64-cents and Bitcoin trades at 87-thousand-339-dollar-40-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-916-dollars-36-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 71-dollars-4-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….