News 07:00

BULLETIN 30 October 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The BOSA leader says South Africa needs a new vision under a new political leadership
# AfriForum presses the acting police minister for concrete action on farm attacks
# And, South Africa selects Durban as its preferred host city for the Olympic Games bid

# Build One South Africa leader Mmusi Maimane has criticised sentiments that votes for newer political parties are wasted votes, saying the country needs a new vision under a new political leadership. BOSA held its final campaign rally in Finetown, Johannesburg yesterday ahead of its first local government elections. Maimane made the case for a new approach to local government that prioritises service delivery, affordability, safety, and economic opportunity. He added that ethical political leadership must be the starting point for fixing municipalities:

# AfriForum calls on the government to declare farm attacks priority crimes and introduce a national strategy to prevent them. The call follows Wednesday’s brutal attack on North West farmer Donovan Marx, who was brutally assaulted. The organisation’s Jacques Broodryk says authorities must strengthen crime prevention and ensure those responsible are brought to justice. Broodryk urges acting Police minister Firoz Cachalia to improve the safety of farmers and rural communities:

# Minister of Human Settlements Thembi Simelane says government is making progress in providing dignified housing, bringing communities closer to economic opportunities and essential services, and addressing spatial inequalities. Since the advent of democracy, government has delivered more than five million housing opportunities. The proportion of households living in formal dwellings increased from 65-percent in 1996 to more than 88-percent in 2022. Simelane says government is also fully committed to eradicating mud houses, with the current financial target of close to seven-thousand mud houses across the country.

# ActionSA says it has been vindicated after Tshwane’s chief financial officer, Gareth Mnisi, left Tshwane House today accompanied by South African Revenue Service officials. This follows an operation involving search warrants at his office and home. The party’s Michael Beaumont says Mnisi returned to work with only a slap on the wrist after evidence against him was presented at the Madlanga commission. Beaumont added that any new evidence from the SARS investigation could give the city grounds to start fresh disciplinary proceedings.

# Fourteen people were killed, and ten others wounded when a Russian drone struck the main railway station in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro yesterday. A jet-powered drone hit the station as a train due to travel to Zaporizhzhia stood at a platform. This marks the latest in a series of Russian attacks on transport and energy infrastructure in Kyiv. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky says these are deliberate strikes against civilians and are brazen in their cruelty. He has reiterated his call for further US, European and G7 sanctions on Moscow.

# Olympics: The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee has selected Durban as the preferred host city for its bid to stage the 2036 or 2040 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The government has backed the bid following Cabinet approval. Johannesburg and Cape Town were also considered as candidate cities. Currently, seven countries have expressed interest in hosting the 2036 Olympic Games. SASCOC acting president Lwandile Simelane says discussions around the Olympic budget will take place as the bid progresses through the different stages:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-61-cents and the euro at 18-rand-69-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-25-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 77-thousand-34-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-and-3-dollars-92-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 117-dollars-13-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….