News 07:00

BULLETIN 8 April 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The IFP affirms its independence within the government of national unity
# AfriForum demands clarity from Eskom on the registration of generators
# And the Pretoria High School for Girls demands the report on racism

# The Inkatha Freedom Party asserts its autonomy within the government of national unity. Addressing the media, IFP leader Velenkosini Hlabisa emphasised, the party is in the GNU for South Africans. Hlabisa said it is unfortunate that the two parties act like only they have a solution to South African challenges. He underscored the party’s commitment to maintaining its distinct identity while collaborating in the GNU:

# AfriForum has sent a legal letter to Eskom, seeking clarity on the regulations mandating the registration of small-scale embedded generators under 100 kilowatts. AfriForum’s Deidré Steffens questions the legal basis for Eskom’s enforcement of this requirement and potential penalties for non-compliance. She says the organisation requests a response by 18 April, reserving the right to take legal action if Eskom fails to provide the requested information:

# National Assembly speaker, Thoko Didiza, has been elected as the Inter-Parliamentary Union chairperson of the Africa Group of Parliaments. Her responsibilities will include convening member parliaments. Didiza says South Africa’s chairship of the African Caucus will ensure that parliaments contribute to making Africa the best-performing continent in human rights, democracy, and conflict resolution. She says parliaments need to forge common goals and recommit to ending the conflicts, adding that conflicts in Africa hold the continent back and lead to governance instability.

# The Pretoria High School for Girls School Governing Body has once again filed a court application to have the independent investigation report on claims of racism at the school reviewed and set aside. The investigation centred around allegations of learners’ involvement in a WhatsApp group, where messages with alleged racial connotations were shared. In November last year, the Gauteng Education Department released a summary of the findings and recommendations but has refused to release the full report publicly. The SGB says the department is obliged to provide the report.

# UK prime minister Keir Starmer says his government will fight to secure an economic partnership with the US, while also working to lower trade barriers with key partners around the world. This follows US president Donald Trump’s sweeping global tariffs. Starmer says the UK will only strike a deal with America if it’s in the country’s national interest. He adds that this is a time for cool heads and a moment of urgency as nobody wins in a trade war:

# Cricket: Cricket South Africa has awarded 18 national contracts and two hybrid contracts for the 2025/2026 season. Fast bowlers Lions’ Kwena Maphaka and Titans’ Lizaad Williams and Warriors all-rounder Senuran Muthusamy have been awarded national contracts for the first time. David Miller and Rassie van der Dussen are on hybrid contracts and will participate in specific agreed-upon bilateral tours and ICC events. It adds that discussions are ongoing regarding Heinrich Klaasen’s future, who was on a white-ball-only contract in the previous cycle.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-48-cents and the euro at 21-rand-35-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-89-cents and Bitcoin trades at 79-thousand-986-dollar-70-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-998-dollars-14-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 64-dollars-57-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….