News 06:00

BULLETIN 14 November 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa says the G20 has placed infrastructure at the centre of economic progress
# Solidarity is taking the Johannesburg metro to court over the removal of their banner
# And Olympics: South Africa wants to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has commended the work of the G20 Disaster Risk Reduction Working Group, as South Africa prepares to host the G20 Leaders’ Summit. The group supports G20 countries to develop and implement national policies that reduce risk, build resilience against future shocks, and promote disaster risk reduction in the work of international financial institutions. Ramaphosa says that through the work of the group, South Africa has placed infrastructure at the centre of economic progress and human development.

# The economist Dawie Roodt says the rand is performing very well, and on Thursday traded below 17-rand to the US dollar for the first time since early 2023. Roodt attributes the strength to Finance minister Enoch Godongwana’s fifth medium-term budget policy statement, including the announcement of a lower inflation target of three-percent and measures to stabilise public debt:

# Public Works and Infrastructure minister, Dean Macpherson, has announced that his department has officially joined the Green Building Council of South Africa. Macpherson told the Green Building Convention in Cape Town that his department will pursue Green Star certifications for new and existing buildings. In addition, his department will train staff as green professionals and publish a State of Public Works Green Building Report. He said sustainable infrastructure will drive economic growth and create lasting community value.

# Trade union Solidarity is heading to the High Court in Johannesburg on 18 November in an urgent bid to challenge the removal of its ‘race banner’ by the Johannesburg Metro Police Department. The banner formed part of the union’s campaign on race laws ahead of the G20 summit. Solidarity’s Anton van der Bijl says the city unlawfully removed the banner without notice and accuses Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi of political interference:

# Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s appeal against a conviction for criminal conspiracy related to illegal Libyan financing for his successful 2007 presidential bid will be heard from March 16 to June 3, a Paris appeal court said on Thursday.  Sarkozy walked out of jail this week after a court ruled he should not serve his prison sentence pending the appeal, contrary to the initial ruling. He will now seek to overturn the five-year sentence imposed in September. Sarkozy wrote on X after returning home that the truth would prevail.

# Olympics: Minister in the Presidency, Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, has confirmed that South Africa is planning to bid for the 2036 or 2040 Olympic and Paralympic Games. This will bring one of the world’s biggest sporting events to Africa for the first time. In 2010, South Africa became the first country on the African continent to host the FIFA World Cup. Ntshavheni says the country won’t require significant investment to improve its already available infrastructure:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-3-cents and the euro at 19-rand-80-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-39-cents and Bitcoin trades at 99-thousand-852-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-176-dollars-46-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 62-dollars-53-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….