News 07:00

BULLETIN 6 September 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Ramaphosa says he needs time to deal with allegations against Justice minister
# The Public Servants Association and allied unions demand a 12% wage increase for public servants
# And, Netanyahu says a ceasefire and hostage agreement is not even close

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says he needs time and space to deal with the VBS-related allegations against Justice minister Thembi Simelane. The minister has already been asked to submit a report to the president and is set to appear before Parliament’s Justice committee today. Simelane allegedly received a suspicious loan when she was mayor of Polokwane, from a company owned by a man with links to VBS. Ramaphosa says the matter is receiving attention:

# The Public Servants Association and other unions have resumed wage talks, demanding a 12-percent increase for public servants due to rising living costs. At a special Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council meeting, the unions argue that public servants have not received a substantial wage increase in five years, leading to a significant shortfall compared to the consumer price index. The association’s Claude Naiker says the government has acknowledged receipt of their demands and will consider them before making a counteroffer: 

# The Western Cape Education Department urges teacher unions not to strike over teacher job cuts in the province. The department will cut two-thousand-400 teaching posts by the end of the year due to budget cuts. MEC David Maynier says striking will not change the fact that they are being short-changed by the national government, which only provided 64-percent of the cost of the wage agreement negotiated nationally with unions, leaving the province to fund the remaining 36-percent:

# The Gauteng Department of Social Development underspent its 2023/2024 budget by 554-million-rand, with the funds returned to the National Treasury. This is according to a report by the Auditor-General of South Africa. The department spent 6.5-million-rand irregularly, approved transactions without following proper procurement processes, and made material misstatements in its performance report. The Auditor General found that the department underspent its budget on programmes focusing on children and families, restorative services such as substance use treatment, and research and development.

# Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denied reports that a ceasefire and hostage agreement with Hamas is 90-percent complete. This comes as he is facing mounting accusations that he has purposefully blocked a deal with the militant group. Netanyahu says an agreement is not close adding that the obstacle to the end of this war and the release of hostages in Gaza is Hamas. Meanwhile, Hamas has accused Netanyahu of using evasions and deceptive manoeuvres to avoid reaching an agreement on a ceasefire.

# Rugby: Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture Gayton McKenzie has confirmed Saturday’s Rugby Championship Test between South Africa and New Zealand won’t be broadcast on SABC TV. He brokered an agreement between the public broadcaster and SuperSport for last week’s match at Ellis Park, but it didn’t include the Cape Town encounter. McKenzie plans to talk to cabinet about the situation soon, as he believes government should look after the needs of all South Africans. He says people shouldn’t be excluded because they don’t have money.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-70-cents and the euro at 19-rand-67-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-33-cents and Bitcoin trades at 56-thousand-792-dollars-42-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-516-dollars-67-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-74-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….