News 07:00

BULLETIN 25 November 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Malema warns EFF members to guard against double agents
# The Financial Sector Conduct Authority says the two-pot retirement system is a success
# And rugby: Pieter-Steph du Toit is the World Rugby Player of the Year for a second time

# EFF leader Julius Malema says factionalism, disunity, and disloyalty will not be tolerated ahead of the party’s third National People’s Assembly next month. He addressed the Gauteng Provincial General Assembly in the East Rand on Sunday. The party has been hit with a leadership exodus, with big names, including Floyd Shivambu, Mzwanele Manyi, and Dali Mpofu, joining the MK Party. Malema claims the EFF has been infiltrated by double agents, with former founding members being captured:

# The Financial Sector Conduct Authority has declared the implementation of the two-pot retirement system a success, with 3.15-trillion-rand in assets managed across 887 funds. The authority’s head of Retirement Funds Conduct Supervision, Corlia Buitendag, credited the success to collaborative efforts from the pension fund industry, the National Treasury, and SARS. She says the system has seen significant withdrawals, with over 35-billion-rand requested, while challenges around tax directives, data inaccuracies, and delays remain under review.

# Deputy President Paul Mashatile will lead the launch of the 16 Days of Activism campaign today in Rustenburg, North West. This year’s theme highlights using technology to combat gender-based violence. Spokesperson Linah Ledwaba says the campaign aims to challenge stereotypes and promote gender equality, calling for a united effort to end violence against women and children:

# US president Joe Biden says the COP29 climate finance agreement puts the world one significant step closer to achieving its climate goals. Countries have agreed to a target for richer polluting countries to drum up 5.4-trillion-rand a year by 2035, to help poorer nations curb and adapt to climate change. The agreement was reached at the COP29 summit in Baku, Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, UK’s Energy minister Ed Miliband says the deal is a huge opportunity for British businesses to invest in other markets.

# Rugby: Springbok forward Pieter-Steph du Toit has been named World Rugby Player of the Year, becoming the first South African to win the award for a second time. He joins New Zealand’s Beauden Barrett as a double winner of the award with All Black greats Dan Carter and Richie McCaw winning three times each. Coach Rassie Erasmus missed out on the Coach of the Year award, which went to France 7s coach Jérôme Daret. Flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu lost out on Breakthrough Player of the Year to New Zealand’s Wallace Sititi.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-1-cents and the euro at 18-rand-88-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-69-cents and Bitcoin trades at 97-thousand-688-dollar-80-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-702-dollars-6-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 74-dollars-94-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The DA has expressed sadness at the passing of renowned South African poet, novelist, painter, and activist Breyten Breytenbach. He died in Paris yesterday at the age of 85. In 1975, Breyten was sentenced to imprisonment for treason against the apartheid government, a sentence which he served for seven years. The DA says his poetry has always reflected a deep sense of humanity, which reflected his values and nature. The party adds that Breytenbach was among the best.

Stay tuned for more news………….