News 07:00

BULLETIN 31 July 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa’s legal team defends minister Mchunu’s special leave
# The fuel hike unrest in Angola claims 22 lives
# And cricket: South Africa will play Australia in the only semifinal of the World Championship of Legends

# President Cyril Ramaphosa’s legal team says placing Police minister Senzo Mchunu on special leave was the right step to ensure good governance. The MK Party is challenging Ramaphosa’s decision in the Constitutional Court. Ramaphosa’s legal counsel, Ngwako Maenetje, told the court the president acted within his powers to prevent interference in the probe into KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi’s allegations:

# Employment and Labour Deputy minister, Judith Nemadzinga-Tshabalala, says geopolitical division and escalating trade tensions are threatening to unravel decades of carefully woven economic interdependence. She delivered an address at the 4th G20 Employment Working Group meeting in the Western Cape. She says a sudden, severe tariff imposition by a major trading partner, the US, has cast a long shadow over South Africa’s economic landscape. Tshabalala says equality means ensuring that all nations have a fair stake and a powerful voice in shaping the economic rules that govern their destinies. 

# The EFF has strongly rejected the Eskom Debt Relief Amendment Bill, saying the current debt relief approach prioritises lenders over ordinary South Africans. The legislation passed in the National Council of Provinces on Wednesday adjusts the Eskom debt relief allocation for the 2025/2026 financial year from 40-billion-rand to 80.2-billion-rand. It also introduces a further ten-billion allocation in 2028/2029. The EFF’s Mathapelo Siwisa says electricity must not be produced for profit, but for the development and the livelihood of citizens:

# The SACP in KwaZulu-Natal says, despite an improved relationship with the ANC, its resolution to contest the local government elections independently will not change. The SACP provincial executive committee last year expressed dissatisfaction with its ANC provincial counterpart for allegedly sidelining tripartite alliance partners in making key decisions. The SACP KZN secretary, Themba Mthembu, says the resolution of the party’s congress is binding, and it has to be implemented:

# Unrest in Angola following protests against a fuel price hike has killed 22 people since Monday, as calm returned to the capital. Sporadic gunfire was heard across Luanda and several other cities on Monday and Tuesday as people looted shops and clashed with police when violence erupted during a taxi strike. The strike was the latest in a series of protests after the price of fuel was hiked from 5-rand-92-cents to 7-rand-72-cents a litre on 1 July, squeezing living costs for the millions of poor in one of Africa’s top oil producers.

# Cricket: South Africa takes on Australia in the only semifinal of the World Championship of Legends at Edgbaston in England today. The South Africans are captained by former Proteas star player AB de Villiers, who was in brilliant form so far in the tournament, contributing consecutive centuries in the group stage. They ended second on the log behind Pakistan, with Australia third and India fourth. Today’s winner will play Pakistan in Saturday’s final after India boycotted their semifinal over the geopolitical tension between the neighbouring countries.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-98-cents and the euro at 20-rand-56-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-84-cents and Bitcoin trades at 118-thousand-171-dollar. Gold sells at three-thousand-288-dollars-62-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-30-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….