News 07:00

BULLETIN 27 July 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The IDAC head, Andrea Johnson, has asked to resign with immediate effect
# An investigation reveals AfriForum’s spending priorities
# And motorsport: Lando Norris wins his first race of the season at the Hungarian Grand Prix

# Investigating Directorate Against Corruption head, Andrea Johnson, has written to president Cyril Ramaphosa and the National Director of Public Prosecutions, Andy Mothibi, requesting to resign with immediate effect, and for her three-month notice period to be waived. This follows intense scrutiny at the Madlanga Commission regarding her handling of high-profile corruption cases involving senior crime intelligence officials. In a leaked letter, Johnson described the attacks against her as unprecedented. She says her resignation would serve the institutions and the country best. Mothibi has confirmed receiving Johnson’s resignation request.

# Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, says South Africa supports engagement on migration at the highest level of the African Union, provided the discussions focus on orderly, regular and legal migration, as envisaged by existing continental frameworks. Two Ghanaians have petitioned the International Criminal Court to investigate repeated xenophobic attacks in South Africa, a move government has dismissed as “opportunistic”. Lamola says African countries have consistently recognised the sovereign right of every state to enforce its immigration laws:

# A News24 investigation has found that AfriForum raised 1.6-billion-rand from members and donors between 2019 and 2024, with 1.5-billion-rand reportedly spent on salaries, marketing and administration. The report says only 304-million-rand was allocated to direct projects, including 13.4-million for neighbourhood watch initiatives. It also found that more than 80-million-rand was spent on conferences and travel, while marketing costs averaged about four-million-rand a month during peak recruitment periods. AfriForum says it is independently audited, and maintains that its spending supports its mission and activities.

# eThekwini mayor, Cyril Xaba, says the municipality has maintained a strong financial position and experts are increasingly confident that its finances will remain stable. In May, the council officially adopted the metro’s 2026-2027 Medium Term Revenue and Expenditure Framework, with a total budget of 75.3-billion-rand. This is aimed at accelerating service delivery, infrastructure renewal, and the implementation of turnaround strategies for eThekwini’s trading services. Xaba says they don’t owe their water and electricity utilities, thereby guaranteeing residents a continued supply of these essential services:

# US ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, says president Donald Trump has paused strikes on Iran to allow more room for diplomacy. On Friday night, the US military paused its bombing campaign on Tehran after nearly two weeks of consecutive nights of strikes. No attacks were reported over the weekend on Iran or its neighbours. In an interview on NBC, Waltz stated that Trump is keeping all options on the table, as his preference has always been diplomacy:

# Motorsport: McLaren’s Lando Norris won the Hungarian Grand Prix, his first victory of the season. The Briton, who started on pole, lost out to his teammate Oscar Piastri in the opening lap but retook the lead after the second round of pit stops. Red Bull’s Max Verstappen and Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli finished second and third respectively. Piastri was forced to retire with 14 laps remaining due to a gearbox problem. Antonelli has extended his championship lead to 50 points over Ferrari’s Lewis Hamilton and 59 points over his teammate George Russell.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-72-cents and the euro at 19-rand-7-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-33-cents and Bitcoin trades at 65-thousand-90-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-102-dollars-59-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 93-dollars-39-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….