News 07:00

BULLETIN 11 December 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Institute of Race Relations suggests a non-racial approach to the BELA Act debate
# The Department of Trade and Industry is probing maladministration allegations at the SABS
# And cricket: The Proteas beat Pakistan in their first T20

# The Institute of Race Relations has proposed a non-racial approach to the ongoing debate over the Basic Education Law Amendment Act. They suggest focusing on increasing the number of classrooms and addressing systemic issues in the education system, rather than using language policy to force schools into becoming dual-medium. The institute’s Gabriel Crouse urges the government to explore the causes of South Africa’s poor education performance and advocates for non-racial practices in school admissions:

# The Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition has reportedly launched an investigation into allegations of maladministration against some SA Bureau of Standards executives. This comes after the DA revealed that serious governance failures at the bureau have come to light over the past several months. These include an illegally constituted board with insufficient members and allegations of corruption and deliberate organisational destabilisation by senior management. SABS is the statutory body that is responsible for product standardisation and quality.

# The Road Accident Fund has raised alarm over individuals deliberately throwing themselves at slow-moving vehicles to file fraudulent claims. The fund has reiterated that this dangerous trend strains its resources and compromises rightful claimants’ cases. The RAF emphasised it does not compensate intentional accidents or beneficiaries of such cases. In a statement, the fund says that from 2021 to 2024, over 49-thousand claims have been denied, citing fraud and negligence. The Fund urges road safety to remain a priority during the festive season.

# The Gauteng Department of Human Settlements, led by MEC Tasneem Motara, is intensifying efforts to address the province’s 1.2-million housing backlog. Key challenges like stalled projects, illegal occupations, and site disruptions were discussed at a meeting with project managers. The department spokesperson Tahir Sema says the department plans to enhance monitoring systems, strengthen collaborations with professional bodies, and conduct regular site visits to improve service delivery and meet housing targets:

# Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called the corruption charges against him an ocean of absurdity. The 75-year-old, who finally took the stand in a court in Tel Aviv yesterday, is accused of bribery, fraud, and breach of trust. He has denied the charges. Prosecutors allege that Netanyahu granted advantageous regulation to two media companies in exchange for favourable coverage of himself and his wife. Netanyahu told the court he had waited eight years to say the truth, which is important for justice.

# Cricket: South Africa defeated Pakistan by eleven runs in the first T20 at Kingsmead in Durban to take a one-nil lead in the three-match series. David Miller scored 82 and George Linde 48 as the Proteas posted 183 for nine in their 20 overs. In reply, Linde took four wickets for 21 runs, his best figures in T20, as Pakistan were restricted to 172 for eight. Linde says he is happy to be back in the team:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-79-cents and the euro at 18-rand-74-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-74-cents and Bitcoin trades at 96-thousand-408-dollar-1-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-699-dollars-95-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-27-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….