News 07:00

BULLETIN 29 August 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Justice minister is willing to answer questions on VBS allegations
# More than 300 government buildings are hijacked
# And athletics: Bayanda Walaza is the World U20 100m champion

# Justice and Constitutional Development minister Thembi Simelane has told members of Parliament that she is committed to answering any questions on the VBS Bank allegations levelled against her. The minister allegedly took a loan of more than half-a-million rand from a company that brokered unlawful investments of 349-million-rand into VBS by the Polokwane Municipality, while she was mayor in 2016. President Cyril has asked Simelane for a detailed report on the claims. The minister says she is also willing to avail herself to the Public Protector.

# Public Works and Infrastructure minister Dean MacPherson has revealed that 338 government-owned buildings have been hijacked nationwide. These properties have been illegally occupied, impacting government operations and public services. Recently, one building in eThekwini, KwaZulu-Natal, was successfully reclaimed. In a media briefing, MacPherson said the department is working to reclaim these buildings, prevent further hijackings, and protect state assets: 

# AfriForum says its renewed calls for partnership in managing South Africa’s water sector aims to address knowledge gaps in water and sewage treatment by training experts, especially in rural areas. Despite no formal response from deputy president Paul Mashatile, AfriForum’s Lambert de Klerk welcomes the government’s stance in tackling the ongoing water crisis by establishing a public-private partnership model:

# The EFF in Gauteng is demanding the immediate release of the report on the investigation into the alleged misconduct of the City of Ekurhuleni’s Chief of Police, Isaac Mapiyeye. He allegedly assaulted a heavily pregnant security guard and also coerced her to drop the criminal assault charges against him. The EFF’s, Dumisani Baleni, says these allegations are serious and must be taken with the urgency they warrant:

# The US State Department has imposed sanctions on extremist settlers in the West Bank who are funded by the Israeli government. The targeted group is Hashomer Yosh, which provides security for illegal settler outposts, including some which have already been sanctioned by the US. The department is also sanctioning Yitzhak Levi Filant, the civilian security coordinator of the Yitzhar settlement in the West Bank. The department says it will continue to take action to promote accountability for those who commit and support extremist violence affecting the West Bank.

# Athletics: South African Olympic medallist Bayanda Walaza won gold in the men’s 100-metre final at the World Athletics Under 20 Championships in Lima, Peru. The 18-year-old clocked in a time of 10.19 seconds with Thailand’s Puripol Boonson winning silver and Walaza’s compatriot Bradley Nkoana bagging the bronze medal. Walaza and Nkoana won a silver medal in the four-by-100-metre relay at the Olympic Games in Paris earlier this month. Meanwhile, another South African Johannes Morepe has booked a spot in the men’s one-thousand-500-metre final.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-80-cents and the euro at 19-rand-82-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-52-cents and Bitcoin trades at 59-thousand-57-dollars-90-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-512-dollars-48-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 77-dollars-66-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….