News 06:00

BULLETIN 14 April 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The ANC says its meeting with the FF Plus was constructive and forward-looking
# The EFF calls for an inquest into sexual assault in the basic education sector
# And golf: France’s Perrine Delacour wins the South African Women’s Open

# The ANC says its meeting with the Freedom Front Plus on Sunday was cordial, and forward-looking and underscored a shared appreciation for the urgency of resolving key fiscal and governance challenges facing the country. The meeting took place against the backdrop of the current budget impasse. The ANC says there was broad alignment on the importance of the recently adopted fiscal framework, particularly as a foundation to stabilise public finances. It reiterates that the government of national unity partners must be guided by mutual respect and common purpose.

# The EFF says it is disheartened regarding the high levels of child rapes and sexual assaults that occur to children who are in the care of the basic education sector. For many years, the safety of children in our schools has been compromised with little to no intervention from the government of the day to make our schools a safe refuge for children. The EFF is calling for a country-wide inquest on deciphering the true levels of sexual violence in the basic education sector.

# The Gauteng Department of Road and Transport, SANTACO in Gauteng, and the National Taxi Alliance have condemned the ongoing issues of corruption, violence, and killings that have plagued the taxi industry in the province. The escalating taxi violence has claimed 59 lives since January. The department’s spokesperson, Lesiba Mpya says incidents of violence and criminal activity within the industry have led to a tarnished reputation, and they are committed to addressing these issues head-on:

# Water and Sanitation minister, Pemmy Majodina is calling on the communities residing near the floodline of Bloemhof Dam to relocate as there will still be more water released from the dam. This is to manage heavy inflows from the upper catchment area. Majodina refuted claims made by some of the residents affected that the department should have opened the radial gates earlier to prevent the current flooding. She maintained that the water releases, including the opening of the gates at Bloemhof dam, were done according to regulatory requirements:

# Clashes between pro-government forces and M23 rebels reached Goma in east Congo, residents told Reuters yesterday, as each side blamed the other for the worst violence in the area’s largest city since the rebels seized it in January. The toll from the clashes was not immediately clear. A government statement said 52 people had been killed in and around Goma. Residents reported gunfire and explosions into the pre-dawn hours of Sunday.

# Golf: France’s Perrine Delacour carded a final round two-under 70 to win the South African Women’s Open by two shots at the Erinvale Country and Golf Estate in Cape Town. This is her second Ladies European Tour title. South Africa’s Casandra Alexander made a strong charge with her final round of 66 to take second place on 12 under par. Australia’s Kelsey Bennett and England’s Bronte Law shared third place on 11 under par. Delacour says this win is a huge confidence boost for her:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-13-cents and the euro at 21-rand-70-cents. One British pound costs 25-rand-1-cents and Bitcoin trades at 83-thousand-475-dollar-80-cents. Gold sells at three-thousand-236-dollars-55-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-59-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….