News 07:00

BULLETIN 9 May 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation believes the Electoral Court has erred in its interpretation of Zuma’s eligibility 
# Minister Nxesi will visit the George building collapse site today
# And minster Pandor criticises the targeting of the media in Gaza

# The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation believes the Electoral Court erred in its interpretation of the Constitution when it ruled that former president Jacob Zuma can contest this month’s elections. The foundation has been admitted as a friend of the court in the Electoral Commission’s appeal in the Constitutional Court over the Electoral Court ruling. In a written submission filed with the apex court, the foundation says Section 47 of the Constitution, prohibiting a convicted person from running in elections, must also apply to former Zuma.

# The DA accuses Police minister Bheki Cele of creating a culture of impunity within the South African Police Service. This follows the trial of eight SAPS officers from deputy president Paul Mashatile’s VIP protection detail, recorded assaulting a motorist. The party blames Cele’s incompetence and ego for the lack of consequence management within SAPS. The DA’s Andrew Whitfield has vowed to submit a Promotion of Access to Information Act application for transparency on unsolved crimes:

# Employment and Labour minister, Thulas Nxesi, is today set to visit the George site where a building under construction collapsed on Monday afternoon. Eight workers have died while 38 are still trapped under rubble and unaccounted for. The minister will get an update from rescuers and occupational health and safety inspectors from the department, who were dispatched to the site shortly after the collapse. Nxesi says this accident is a reminder of the critical importance of prioritising safety in the workplace.

# Deputy president Paul Mashatile has concluded a visit to Rand Water’s Zuikerbosch Plant in Vereeniging, Gauteng. President Cyril Ramaphosa earlier this year established a water task team under leadership of Mashatile, to address water challenges. Mashatile has commended Rand Water for its efforts in serving over eleven-million people on a constant basis. The visit also included a tour of the water purification plant at Zuikerbosch Station, built to ensure sustainable water supply, and meet the current and future water demands.

# International Relations and Cooperation minister, Naledi Pandor, says the targeting of journalists in Gaza and the West Bank is part of a pattern to silence the free press. Yesterday, she delivered the second annual Shireen Abu Akleh Memorial Lecture at the University of Johannesburg. Abu Akleh, a renowned Palestinian journalist, was killed by Israeli armed forces. Israel shut the local offices of Al Jazeera on Sunday down, accusing the Qatar-based station of a threat to national security. Pandor says Israel must be held accountable:

# Tennis: Ten-time champion Rafael Nadal of Spain takes on Belgian qualifier Zizou Bergs in his first match in the Italian Open today. The 37-year-old is unseeded for the tournament he traditionally uses as final preparation for the French Open, which he had won a record 14 times. The former world number one’s ranking has plummeted to 305th due to a slew of injuries, but he has shown some promising form in clay-court tournaments he played before coming to Rome. Twenty-four-year-old Bergs’s current ranking is 102nd.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-57-cents and the euro at 19-rand-97-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-21-cents and Bitcoin trades at 61-thousand-531-dollars-17-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-309-dollars-73-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 83-dollars-74-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….