News 06:00

BULLETIN 29 May 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The chairperson of SCOPA says the Road Accident Fund has become a rogue institution
# The trio found guilty in the Joshlin Smith case will be sentenced today
# And cricket: Australia starts preparing for the World Test Championship final against South Africa

# Standing Committee on Public Accounts chairperson Songezo Zibi says the suspension of Road Accident Fund CEO Collins Letsoalo signals a rogue institution. Letsoalo was placed on special leave during a Special Investigating Unit probe into alleged financial mismanagement and corruption. Zibi revealed to Newzroom Afrika that Letsoalo had never appeared before the finance committee. He describes this as deeply troubling and defiant of legislative oversight:

Meanwhile, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse calls for a full leadership overhaul at the Road Accident Fund following serious allegations of irregular spending against its CEO. This comes after Letsoalo was placed on special leave over claims of 362-million-rand in irregular spending. OUTA’s Stefanie Fick says Letsoalo was previously fired from the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa and has once again failed in his leadership role:

# The City of Tshwane has partnered with the South African Revenue Service to boost its Reclaim Our City by-law enforcement operations. This follows a strategic meeting with SARS and the Inter-Agency Working Group on Illicit Trade. The collaboration aims to combat illegal businesses and protect residents. The partnership will also support city governance, reduce corruption, and enhance economic stability through strengthened joint operations with key law enforcement agencies.

# The Western Cape High Court sitting in Saldanha Bay will today hand down sentencing in Joshlin Smith’s kidnapping and human trafficking trial. Joshlin’s mother, Kelly, and two of her co-accused, Jacquen Appollis and Steveno van Rhyn, were found guilty of kidnapping and human trafficking in April related to the girl’s disappearance. In a victim impact statement, Joslin’s grandmother, Amanda Daniels, accused her daughter of failing to take responsibility. She added that she would not rest until her granddaughter was found.

# A former French surgeon, Joël Le Scouarnec, has been sentenced to 20-years in prison, for the sexual assault of 299 of his patients, mostly children under the age of 15-years-old. The 74-year-old, who has been dubbed as France’s most prolific paedophile, in March admitted to sexually abusing all the victims, many while they were under anaesthesia or waking up after operations. Le Scouarnec is already serving a 15-year prison sentence, for the rape and sexual assault of four children, including two of his nieces. 

# Cricket: Australia’s squad for next month’s final of the World Test Championship against South Africa in London started with a team-building camp in the British capital. This precedes the ramping up of training before the match starts at Lord’s on the 11th, with coach Andrew McDonald terming the recent period a muddled mess. Some players were at home, while others were playing county cricket, and the week-long suspension of the Indian Premier League also had an impact.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-98-cents and the euro at 20-rand-18-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-15-cents and Bitcoin trades at 107-thousand-962-dollar-50-cents. Gold sells at three-thousand-263-dollars-2-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 65-dollars-38-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….