News 06:00

BULLETIN 19 December 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa confirms the nominees for the national dialogue steering committee
# AfriForum says private firefighters are vital in Tshwane
# And cricket: The Proteas and Ireland’s women face off in the final ODI today

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has confirmed the nominations for the steering committee of the national dialogue. The committee, made up of representatives from 33 social sectors, six sub-sectors, and additional co-opted members, will set priorities and coordinate the inclusive, citizen-led process. The presidential spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, says the committee is expected to hold its inaugural meeting and induction next month, with Ramaphosa wishing members well in their important task:

# The Public Protector has launched an investigation into suspended National Housing Finance Corporation CEO, Azola Mayekiso, over allegations of governance failures and irregular expenditure. The allegations include Mayekiso’s failure to disclose her involvement in 28 companies, irregular appointment process, and overseas travel to the US and London by her and the former board chairperson, costing close one-million-rand. Mayekiso was formally suspended on November 17 pending investigations into alleged serious misconduct.

# AfriForum has urged the City of Tshwane to work closely with volunteers and private firefighters, as they play a vital role where municipal services fall short. This follows a Pretoria High Court ruling that private and volunteer firefighting services are legal, dismissing the Metro’s attempt to have them banned. AfriForum’s Tarien Cooks has called for greater cooperation between the municipality and private firefighters to improve fire safety for residents:

# The European Union plans to expand its carbon border levy to include car parts, washing machines and other manufactured goods. Under proposals published by the European Commission, the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism will also tighten loopholes to prevent foreign firms from under-reporting emissions. The levy, which begins imposing costs from January, already covers high-emission imports like steel and cement. Business groups have welcomed the move, saying it targets sectors most at risk of carbon leakage.

# Cricket: Today’s third and final one-day match between the Proteas Women and Ireland in Johannesburg will be a dead rubber after South Africa already clinched the series by winning the previous two encounters. The hostesses first beat the visitors by seven wickets in East London, and then by 74 runs in Gqeberha. This followed their 2-0 victory in the T20 series when the final match in Benoni was rained out. Today’s action at the Wanderers starts at 1 this afternoon.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-71-cents and the euro at 19-rand-60-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-37-cents and Bitcoin trades at 85-thousand-355-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-335-dollars-29-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 59-dollars-35-cents a barrel.

# And finally: Four young South African scientists have brought home top honours from the World Innovative Science Project Olympiad in Bali, Indonesia. Albertus van Niekerk won a gold medal and a prestigious grand award for his research on using lavender oil as an eco-friendly fungicide for citrus. Ismaail Hassen received a gold medal for creating a wearable navigation device for visually impaired individuals. Milla Vorster and Dzunisa Chauke earned silver medals for projects in 3D bioprinting and detecting artificial intelligence-generated audio.

Stay tuned for more news………….