News 06:00
BULLETIN 21 November 6 am
Good morning. I am……..
In this bulletin:
# Minister in the Presidency says those responsible for manipulation of rand will face consequences
# The IEC praises the effectiveness of its voter management device
# And cricket, Quinton de Kock is named in the World Cup Eleven, with Gerald Coetzee as 12th man
# Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshaveni says those responsible for the manipulation of the rand will be brought to book. Last week, UK-based Standard Chartered Bank reached a settlement with the Competition Commission for colluding with 27 other banks in manipulating the rand. This was between 2007 and 2013. The bank agreed to pay around a 43-million-rand fine to resolve the case. Ntshaveni says the manipulation of the rand was part of the private sector’s ongoing efforts to destabilise the government.
# Gauteng recorded the highest number of registrations during the special voter registration weekend. The Independent Electoral Commission reported a total of 610-thousand-940 registrations in the province. KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape follow closely behind with high numbers of registered voters. During a briefing chief electoral official Sy Mamabolo said the total number of registered voters in Gauteng now amounts to 6.2-million:
Meanwhile, the IEC has praised the effectiveness of its voter management device. The innovation has helped increase the speed in which voter registrations were processed. Briefing the media, Mamobolo confirmed that all registrations were effectively captured through the system. He says the voters roll currently stands at 26.8-million voters, an increase from 26.3-million before the registration weekend:
# Newly elected speaker of the Johannesburg council Margaret Arnolds says she wants to ensure the council is run smoothly and residents of the province have services delivered to them. The African Independent Congress councillor replaces Colleen Makhubele, who was fired as a Congress of the People councillor last week. According to the ANC/EFF/PA-led coalition government, the position of speaker is allocated to a minority bloc and it resolved the vacancy should be filled by Arnolds. She says she is ready to get to work:
# President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his role as the chairperson of the BRICS group of nations, will deliver opening remarks at the BRICS extraordinary joint meeting on the situation in Gaza today. The virtual meeting will bring together existing BRICS members along with leaders from Saudi Arabia, Argentina, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. United Nations secretary-general António Guterres is also expected to participate. The leaders will adopt a joint statement addressing the current situation in Gaza, underscoring international collaboration on the crisis
# Cricket: Quinton de Kock is the lone South African in the World Cup Eleven named by the International Cricket Council after the conclusion of the tournament. He contributed 594 runs, including four centuries. Proteas quick bowler Gerald Coetzee was named twelfth man. There are six players from hosts India, who lost to Australia in the final: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami. The others are Adam Zampa and Glenn Maxwell from Australia, Daryl Mitchell from New Zealand and Dilshan Madushanka of Sri Lanka.
# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-32-cents and the euro at 20-rand-6-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-92-cents and Bitcoin trades at 37-thousand-388-dollars-81-cents. Gold sells at one-thousand-985-dollars-23-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 82-dollars-14-cents a barrel.
Stay tuned for more news………….