News 06:00

BULLETIN 24 June 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The National Treasury says the World Bank loan will support critical structural reforms
# The DA wants Paul Mashatile to explain his alleged lottery links in Parliament
# And rugby: Manie Libbok leads an exodus of nine Stormers

# Government and the World Bank have signed a 27-billion-rand loan that will assist in unlocking key infrastructure bottlenecks, particularly in the energy and freight transport sectors. The National Treasury states that the loan is intended to support critical structural reforms aimed at enhancing the efficiency, resilience, and sustainability of the country’s infrastructure services. Treasury says specifically, the loan offers both favourable interest rates and flexible repayment terms, contributing to minimising the increase in debt service costs.

# The DA will today grill Trade, Industry and Competition minister Parks Tau and the National Lotteries Commission in Parliament over the controversial awarding of a 60-billion-rand lottery licence to Sizekhaya Holdings. The winning lottery bidder is reportedly connected to deputy president Paul Mashatile’s close associates and family members. The DA’s Toby Chance says the High Court in Pretoria had already ruled the licence process was irregular:

# President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to visit the Nuclear Medicine Research Infrastructure Facility at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital in Pretoria today. The cutting-edge centre supports cancer and TB drug development. Ramaphosa will also tour the cardiac catheterisation lab, a specialised room equipped for performing diagnostic and interventional procedures on the heart and blood vessels. The Presidency says that this underscores South Africa’s commitment to healthcare innovation, equitable access, and integrated infrastructure investment in medical research and services.

# ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba says ongoing water and electricity problems in Alexandra highlight government failure. Speaking at the launch of a national Fix Local Government campaign in Alexandra in Gauteng, Mashaba condemned poor service delivery and corruption, saying it violates basic human rights. He urged voters to support ethical, people-focused leadership, adding that ActionSA is ready to restore dignity through effective governance at local level:

# The White House says president Donald Trump was simply raising a question when he suggested there should be a regime change in Iran. In a social media post on Sunday, Trump wrote that if the current Iranian regime is unable to make Iran great again, why wouldn’t there be a regime change. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt says the president is still interested in diplomacy with Iran:

# Rugby: Springbok flyhalf Manie Libbok leads an exodus of nine players from the Stormers following the end of the United Rugby Championship. The 27-year-old playmaker is linked with a move to Hanazono Liners in Osaka, Japan, following the departure of Wallaby flyhalf Quade Cooper. The other players who are leaving Cape Town, is Brok Harris and Dave Ewers, who had retired, Herschel Jantjies, Paul de Wet, Clayton Blommetjies, Joseph Dweba, Ben Loader and Angelo Davids.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-81-cents and the euro at 20-rand-67-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-13-cents and Bitcoin trades at 105-thousand-468-dollar. Gold sells at three-thousand-347-dollars-12-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 69-dollars-7-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….