News 07:00

BULLETIN 9 January 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Blade Nzimande says his track record in fighting corruption at NSFAS speaks for itself
# Duduzane Zuma will launch his political party later this month
# And, 401 Gold One Mine workers are dismissed for an illegal underground strike

# Higher Education minister Blade Nzimande says he views the allegations by the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse as reckless and largely based on gossip. A report by Outa contains a leaked audio recording of an alleged meeting between the minister, National Student Financial Aid Scheme board chairperson Ernest Khosa and two service providers. In the recording, they discuss alleged kickbacks, mismanagement and political meddling in the scheme. Nzimande says his track record in fighting corruption at Nsfas speaks for itself:

# Justice and Correctional Services minister Ronald Lamola reiterated the National Prosecuting Authority’s inadequate funds to address corruption and state capture cases. Despite a 5.39-percent increase in the medium-term budget, Lamola stressed its insufficiency for the country’s extensive corruption cases. Responding to the DA’s inquiry, Lamola underscored the overall inadequacy of the budget, with an 85 to 15 ratio of compensation to operational costs.

# Former president Jacob Zuma’s son, Duduzane, is gearing up to launch his political party this month. This development follows his father’s endorsement of uMkhonto weSizwe a few weeks ago. Duduzane Zuma revealed to Sunday World that his electoral plans revolve around promoting inclusivity and fostering a mindset shift for fundamental and structural change. He stresses the importance of the youth abandoning excuses, calling entitlement a curse hindering progress. The party’s name is expected to be disclosed soon.

# Gold One Mine has dismissed 401 miners for taking part in the illegal underground strike at its Modder East operation in Springs, east of Johannesburg last year. A labour dispute over organising rights at the mine saw over 500 workers failing to resurface from an underground shaft. The National Union of Mineworkers described the incident as a hostage situation, while the Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union said it was a worker sit-in demanding organisational rights. Gold One Mine’s, Ziyaad Hassam, says over 140 employees remain suspended.

# The Labour party in the United Kingdom says it is concerned that there has been no let up to the intolerable suffering of Palestinians in Gaza and the Israeli hostages still being held. Over 30-thousand people have been killed since the war between Israel and Hamas started in October last year. Labour’s shadow foreign secretary, David Lammy, has described Israel’s continued tactics in Gaza as devastating, saying the need for a sustained ceasefire is urgently needed:

# Rugby: Ireland’s Australian-born wing, Mack Hansen, will miss the Six Nations after dislocating his shoulder playing for Connacth during New Year’s Day’s United Rugby Championship match against Munster. He underwent an operation yesterday and is expected to be out of action for up to four months. The 25-year-old already played 21 Tests for Ireland and started four World Cup games in France last year. Ireland will also be without prop David Kilcoyne, who sustained a shoulder injury. The Six Nations starts on the second of next month.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-57-cents and the euro at 20-rand-36-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-70-cents and Bitcoin trades at 46-thousand-677-dollars-26-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-36-dollars-9-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 76-dollars-49-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….