News 06:00

BULLETIN 5 October 6 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The US Ambassador accuses minister Lamola of insulting him
# DA demands detailed crime statistics on crimes against women and children
# And, the African Union is going to launch an African Credit Rating Agency

# US Ambassador to South Africa Leo Bozell has accused minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, of insulting him, saying the South African government then wonders why relations are collapsing. Speaking to the Sunday Times, the minister said he was shocked by Bozell remarks that the time for talking was over, arguing that dialogue is the foundation of a diplomat’s role. Lamola said if Bozell is tired of talking, ‘he should get out of the kitchen’. He also accused the ambassador of undiplomatic conduct. This follows Bozell third demarche last week.

# The DA has written to the acting minister of Police, Firoz Cachalia, demanding that the upcoming crime statistics provide accurate, disaggregated data on crimes against women and children. This comes after president Cyril Ramaphosa announced a plan to address gender-based violence and femicide, including a funded plan to reduce forensic backlogs and identify the resources required. The DA’s Lisa Schickerling says government cannot properly allocate resources to fight this scourge when the very crime statistics on which any strategy must be based are inherently wrong:

# The African Congress for Transformation president Ace Magashule says the party’s local election manifesto focuses on practical solutions to challenges facing communities. Speaking in Welkom, Free State, Magashule highlighted the party’s focus on unemployment, basic service delivery, and education. He says the party will consult communities before choosing mayors in municipalities it wins. He argues that people without matric should be eligible as councillors, as community knowledge and experience create opportunities:

# A new political movement, Born to Win Party, will contest the Polokwane Municipality in November’s local government elections. Party president and former ANC Member of Parliament, Boy Mamabolo, says the movement will focus on corruption and service delivery, particularly in Limpopo. Mamabolo says half of the people being recruited to the party are from rural areas who will be trained as councillors. The party says it wants communities to help shape its policies and will focus on municipal challenges including water shortages, potholes and accountability.

# The African Union is set to launch the Africa Credit Rating Agency in Port Louis, Mauritius, this week. The agency will provide independent, Africa-focused assessments of governments, businesses and institutions. African Peer Review Mechanism Ambassador CEO, Marie Antoinette Rose Quatre, estimates Africa’s market at about 66-trillion-rand, with less than five-percent of financial instruments currently rated. She told the SABC that improved ratings could strengthen investor confidence and access to capital:

# Motorsport: Max Verstappen claimed his and Red Bull’s first win of the season in a chaotic Bahrain Grand Prix in Malaysia that had torrential rain, a lengthy race-start delay and safety cars. Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli, who finished second, extended his drivers’ championship lead over his teammate George Russell to 84 points after an engine fault forced the Briton out of the race with five laps to go. Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton finished third, with his teammate Charles Leclerc in fourth and Red Bull’s Isack Hadjar rounding off the top five.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-61-cents and the euro at 18-rand-73-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-3-cents and Bitcoin trades at 86-thousand-319-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-147-dollars-30-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 105-dollars-91-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….