News 06:00

BULLETIN 17 October 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Senzo Mchunu takes responsibility for disbanding the political killings task team
# Minister De Lille is calling for nominations for candidates for the SA Tourism board
# And rugby: An Elite women’s competition is planned for South Africa next year

# Polie minister Senzo Mchunu has told Parliament’s ad hoc committee that he alone wrote the letter disbanding the political killings task team at his village home in KwaZulu-Natal. Accused of overstepping his mandate by disbanding the task team, Mchunu is adamant no one else was involved in the decision, as the team was never part of the South African Police Service organogram. He said while funding continued after 2022, no signed approval existed for the team’s ongoing operations:

# Minister of Tourism Patricia de Lille says she has gazetted the process for nominations of eligible candidates to fulfil the functions of the South African Tourism board. This comes after the High Court in Pretoria dismissed the urgent application by the former board members to overturn the minister’s decision to dissolve the board in August. The court ruled that the application did not satisfy the legal requirement of urgency. De Lille says the nomination process for new board members will close on December 5th:

# AfriForum has slammed the Gauteng Education Department for reducing subsidies and cutting departmental posts at quintile 5 schools. In a letter to MEC Matome Chiloane, AfriForum demanded greater autonomy for financially independent schools. Head of Cultural Affairs, Alana Bailey warned that the cuts will harm education quality, leading to overcrowded classes. She confirmed that AfriForum’s legal team is exploring possible action to challenge poor planning and centralised control:

# The military chief of Yemen’s Huthi rebels has been killed in an Israeli attack. The Iran-backed group said major general Mohammed al-Ghamari died in battle against Israel without giving further details and threatened revenge. His death was announced days into a ceasefire in the two-year Gaza war, during which the Huthis repeatedly attacked Israeli targets and cargo ships in the Red Sea. Ghamari died alongside “companions” and his 13-year-old son.

# Rugby: SA Rugby plans an elite, fully professional women’s competition next year. President Mark Alexander says this follows the Springbok Women’s great achievement at the World Cup in England, where they reached the quarterfinal for the very first time. He says the potential for growth in the women’s game in the country is fantastic, and while the playing base grows, so will excellence at a high-performance level. Alexander believes it’s not a question of whether South Africa’s women can win the World Cup, but when.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-33-cents and the euro at 20-rand-27-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-29-cents and Bitcoin trades at 108-thousand-182-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-357-dollars-82-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 60-dollars-70-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Basic Education minister Siviwe Gwarube will lead the National Senior Certificate Pledge Signing Ceremony with the Matric Class of 2025 at Harry Gwala High School in Khayelitsha today. The annual event reinforces honesty and integrity in the exam process, as learners commit to avoiding cheating or misconduct. The ceremony underscores the Department’s drive to uphold fairness, credibility, and public confidence in South Africa’s education system.

Stay tuned for more news………….