News 06:00

BULLETIN 13 January 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The matric class of 2025 has achieved an 88-percent pass rate
# The Madlanga Commission will resume public hearings on 26 January
# And motorsport: Two South Africans take the top honours in Dakar’s eighth stage

# The National Senior Certificate pass rate for the class of 2025 is 88-percent, an increase of 0.7-percent from 87.3-percent in 2024. The pass rate is the highest in the country’s history. The best-performing province is KwaZulu-Natal, with a 90.6-percent pass rate, followed by the Free State with 89.33-percent, and Gauteng in third place with an 89.06-percent pass rate. Basic Education minister, Siviwe Gwarube, says more than 900-thousand candidates wrote the exams, the largest class in history to sit for the NSC exams:

Meanwhile, Gwarube has expressed concern at the number of learner dropouts, especially as learners move into Grades 11 and 12. She says if learners exit the system before Grade 12, the system is not yet delivering quality at scale, regardless of how strong the final pass rate is:

# The Madlanga commission, investigating criminality, corruption, and political interference in the criminal justice system, will resume public hearings on 26 January. The commission delivered its interim report to president Cyril Ramaphosa last month. Phase two allows responses to allegations, while phase three will recall KwaZulu-Natal Police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi and his supporting witnesses. The commission’s Jeremy Michaels says dozens of witnesses are expected to appear over the next few months:

# The City of Johannesburg has intensified action against alleged property hijacking and illegal occupation in Bryanston. This follows a raid on a mansion in the same area, where Lawrence Ramalwa, arrested last week, is accused of hijacking properties and renting out illegal dwellings. Two high-value properties are under investigation, one for overcrowding and illegal land use, and another for hijacking with municipal arrears of about one-million-rand. Illegal water and electricity were disconnected, and two undocumented occupants were detained.

# A ⁠Swiss court on Monday ordered that ‌the ⁠co-owner of a ‍bar in the upscale ski ‌resort of Crans-Montana, where 40 people were killed in a fire on New Year’s Day, must remain in custody. The court said Jacques Moretti will be held for a provisional period of three months, but that this could be reviewed if measures are ‌taken to counter the risk of flight, such ⁠as a security deposit. Prosecutors initially ordered Moretti to be detained on ⁠Friday after a lengthy hearing with him and his wife, Jessica.

# Motorsport: Toyota delivered a South African one-two in the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally as Saood Variawa won the stage with Henk Lategan in second. Variawa denied his compatriot the top spot by just three seconds, clawing back the 45-second deficit he faced at the final checkpoint before the finish. Sweden’s Mattias Ekström finished just 29 seconds off the lead in third place for Ford. The result also marked only the second stage win of Variawa’s short career in Dakar, after his breakthrough victory in 2025.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-36-cents and the euro at 19-rand-9-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-4-cents and Bitcoin trades at 91-thousand-180-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-584-dollars-25-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 63-dollars-76-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….