News 07:00

BULLETIN 28 June 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Gayton McKenzie describes Ramaphosa’s letter as a polite but firm rejection of the DA’s plans
# Panyaza Lesufi refutes claims that the Nasi iSpani programme has been discontinued
# And tennis:  Andy Murray is still not giving up on his Wimbledon farewell

# Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie says the ANC has been pushed too far by the DA. President Cyril Ramaphosa sent a letter to DA leader John Steenhuisen, criticising the DA for jeopardising the government of national unity negotiations. Ramaphosa accused the DA of shifting goalposts by demanding more Cabinet positions. Ramaphosa initially offered six cabinet positions including Trade and Industry and then revoked that portfolio and offered a portfolio perceived to be of less importance. The DA says eight cabinet positions will be proportional to its support in the elections.

# The EFF in Gauteng has expressed concern over the Gauteng Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, and Environment’s, planned termination of the Green Army Expanded Public Works Programme contracts. Spokesperson Dumisani Baleni says the notice circulated on Wednesday also mentions delays in June payments. He says the party has called for sustainable, state-owned solutions to address environmental issues and unemployment:

Meanwhile, Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi has refuted claims that the Nasi iSpani mass recruitment programme has been discontinued, calling them baseless and false. The confusion arose from a leaked circular about the Green Army’s expanded public works programme, which ended its one-year contract last month. Lesufi’s spokesperson, Sizwe Pamla, said efforts to tackle unemployment in the province continue unabated: 

# PRASA has reported significant progress in restoring passenger rail services, with 40-million passengers in 2023/24 using 31 of 40 operational rail corridors. Group CEO Hishaam Emeran announced at the Africa Rail 2024 Conference that PRASA recovered 80-percent of its corridors after severe theft and vandalism during the Covid-19 lockdown. Emeran also highlighted PRASA’s 12-billion-rand investment in capital projects and a nearly 200-percent increase in passenger numbers over the past year. He says rail services remain critical as they are affordable, safe, and reliable public transport.

# Former president of Honduras, Juan Orlando Hernández, has been sentenced to 45-years in a US prison for drug crimes. Convicted in March of importing cocaine and possessing machine guns, Hernández was accused of running Honduras as a narcotic state. Reports indicate that Hernández received millions in bribes from drug traffickers. Prosecutors stated he paved a cocaine superhighway to the United States. He maintains his innocence, calling the accusations unjust. He was also fined 146-million-rand.

# Tennis: Andy Murray remains hopeful he will play at Wimbledon after undergoing surgery on a spinal cyst, but admits it is unlikely to be in the singles competition. The 37-year-old, who plans the Olympics in Paris to be the final event of his career, was forced to pull out of his second-round match at Queens. Murray won two of his three Grand Slams at Wimbledon. He said it was impossible to tell when he would be able to compete again. The draw for the singles takes place on Friday, with first-round matches starting on Monday.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-48-cents and the euro at 19-rand-77-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-36-cents and Bitcoin trades at 61-thousand-560-dollars-80-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-323-dollars-49-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 85-dollars-67-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….