News 07:00

BULLETIN 23 September 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The deputy minister of Forestry says the public must heed weather warnings
# Eskom and Sasol sign a Memorandum of Understanding to secure the supply of gas
# And cricket: The Proteas record a consolation win against Afghanistan

# Deputy minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment, Narend Singh, is urging the public to heed severe weather warnings and consider their plans, including travel, carefully. Over the weekend, Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, Free State, and Eastern Cape experienced a major drop in temperatures, with snow reported. Two people lost their lives, after being trapped in snow on the N3 in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands. Both died of hypothermia. Department’s spokesperson, Peter Mbelengwa, says relief efforts are ongoing in parts of the country:

# The United Africans Transformation has called on the Special Investigating Unit and Auditor General to investigate rising extortion within municipalities. They revealed that corrupt officials are demanding bribes from businesses in exchange for payments, disrupting service delivery and hindering economic growth. The party’s spokesperson Mighty Mabule also condemned construction mafias for disrupting infrastructure projects by demanding protection fees: 

# Eskom and Sasol have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on securing gas supplies as South Africa faces a looming gas supply crisis. The agreement focuses on initial research to inform planning for domestic gas ambitions. Sasol warned that as it faces dwindling gas feedstock, it could stop supplying gas by June 2026. Electricity and Energy minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa emphasised the importance of gas as a lower-carbon energy source and a way to stabilise the grid amid increasing renewable energy use.

# Gauteng MEC of Finance and Economic Development, Lebogang Maile, has warned that the Emfuleni Municipality faces a service delivery collapse. This comes as the sheriff of the court successfully attached the municipality’s four bank accounts earlier this month, to ensure that the money collected for electricity was paid directly to Eskom. Emfuleni owes the power utility eight-billion-rand. This represents about ten-percent of the total 82-billion-rand owed by municipalities. Maile says this situation is concerning:

# News broadcaster Al Jazeera has condemned the Israeli military raid and closure of its offices in the occupied West Bank as a criminal act. Israeli forces raided the offices of the broadcaster in Ramallah and ordered it to close for an initial period of 45 days. In May, the Israeli government banned Al Jazeera from operating inside the country. Al Jazeera says Israel’s ongoing suppression of the free press is blatantly aimed at concealing its actions in the Gaza Strip, in contravention of international and humanitarian law.

# Cricket: South Africa defeated Afghanistan by seven wickets in the third and final one-day international at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. The home side, who had already clinched the series, were dismissed for 169 with Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, and Nqaba Peter taking three wickets each. Rahmanullah Gurbaz top scored with 89. In reply, Aiden Markram scored 69 as the Proteas reached the target in 33 overs. Captain Temba Bavuma says he is happy with their overall performance:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-41-cents and the euro at 19-rand-43-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-19-cents and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-826-dollars-63-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-620-dollars-13-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 74-dollars-89-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….