News 06:00

BULLETIN 12 March 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa calls for the prudent use of pension funds
# Donald Trump says he will double the tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminium
# And athletics: The 2016 Olympics silver medallist Luvo Manyonga returns after his doping ban

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for the careful and responsible use of pension funds in long-term infrastructure projects. He says that while the government is driving investment in sectors like energy, transport, and water, pension funds remain the hard-earned savings of workers and must be protected. In his response to the National Assembly’s call for questions for oral reply, Ramaphosa said these investments must be prudent, ensuring both economic growth and financial security for pensioners:

Ramaphosa also outlined the second phase of South Africa’s economic restructuring, which will focus on improving water management and local government. Ramaphosa said in the National Assembly the aim is to better serve citizens and create more business opportunities in towns, rural areas, and townships while promoting a more inclusive economy for growth:

# Civil society organisations including Pay The Grants are urging president Cyril Ramaphosa to censure Finance minister Enoch Godongwana over remarks in the Sunday Times on Sunday. Pay the Grants’ Nathan Taylor says the minister’s statements mislead the public about the Social Relief of Distress grant’s budget allocation. He says the minister pits the poor against each other while pushing the National Treasury’s preferred policies:

# Gauteng MEC for Education Matome Chiloane will today visit the families of the learners who lost their lives in a fatal car accident on the N12 in Daveyton, Ekurhuleni, on Monday. The accident involved a collision between multiple vehicles on the N12 westbound near the Putfontein Road off-ramp. The deceased include two Grade 1 and Grade 3 boys, who were siblings, from Tom Newby Primary School and a Grade 1 learner from Rynfield Primary School. The department says an investigation into the accident is ongoing.

# US president Donald Trump says he will double tariffs on Canadian aluminium and steel from 25 to 50-percent from today. He says this is in retaliation to Ontario’s premier, Doug Ford, announcing a 25-percent surcharge on electricity exports to three US states, New York, Michigan, and Minnesota. In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump says he will declare a national electricity emergency in the states Ontario has targeted. He also threatened to substantially increase tariffs on cars coming into the US from Canada starting on April second.

# Athletics: A former South African long jump star is making a comeback today after serving a second drug ban. Luvo Manyonga served a ban in 2012 before clinching silver at the Rio Olympics in 2016, and gold at the world championships in 2017. He was banned again in 2020 for missing a mandatory drug test. Thirty-four-year-old Manyonga will participate in Athletics South Africa’s Grand Prix meeting in Pretoria tonight. His last competitive meeting was in London in 2019, where he jumped a season’s best of 8.37-metre.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-21-cents and the euro at 19-rand-88-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-59-cents and Bitcoin trades at 82-thousand-682-dollar-50-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-915-dollars-16-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 69-dollars-89-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….