News 07:00

BULLETIN 1 March 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Desmond Tutu Health Foundation is concerned the USAID grant freeze will jeopardise South Africa’s HIV and AIDS fight
# Namibia’s founding president’s state funeral is taking place today
# And, rugby: Pollard’s return to the Bulls is seen as massive coup for Jake White

# The Desmond Tutu Health Foundation Health warns the permanent freeze of USAID grants in South Africa will have severe consequences in the battle against HIV and AIDS. The foundation’s CEO Linda-Gail Bekker says the cancelled funding, including for PEPFAR, which supports 5.5-million people with antiretroviral treatment, threatens critical services. She express concern over the loss of specialised care and prevention tools:

# ActionSA on Monday will unveil three groundbreaking legislative reforms aimed at overhauling governance in South Africa. Spokesperson, Matthew George, says this reforms are the most significant executive changes since 1994, targeting corruption as a top priority. George says that these initiatives will drive meaningful change and reshape governance. He emphasised that the announcement marks the first in a series of bold steps to improve the country’s prosperity:

# The South African Spaza and Tuck Shop Association has raised concerns about the no extension of the registration of spaza shops. This comes as hundreds of spaza shop and food handling outlets failed to meet yesterday’s deadline due to various challenges including the struggle to obtain required documents from Home Affairs, municipalities, and SARS. The association urges the government to extend the deadline, allowing time to address administrative hurdles.

# With delegations from more than ten countries expected, president Cyril Ramaphosa will represent South Africa at the state funeral of Namibia’s founding president, Sam Nujoma, in Windhoek today. Nujoma will be buried at Heroes’ Acre, with today declared a public holiday. Nujoma was a revolutionary, anti-apartheid activist and politician, who served three terms as the first president of Namibia from 1990 to 2005. He was a founding member and the first president of the ruling Swapo in 1960.

# And rugby: Springbok flyhalf Handré Pollard’s return to the Bulls is described as a massive coup for the team’s director of rugby, Jake White. The 30-year-old reportedly opted to take Pretoria’s offer after his contract with Irish team Leicester Tigers expired, although he had lucrative offers from Japanese clubs. This means the Bulls will have the luxury of at least six Bok back players next season if all the signings are confirmed. Pollard’s professional career started in Pretoria in 2013 and he represented the union until 2017.

Stay tuned for more news………….