News 07:00

BULLETIN 20 June 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# OUTA says corruption, nepotism, and political interference undermine local government
# The Parliament is concerned by the Post Office’s turnaround strategy
# And Netanyahu praises Trump for helping Israel with its war against Iran

# The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse says local government problems are caused by weak and unethical leadership, not poor laws. In its submission on the draft White Paper on Local Government, the organisation stated that corruption, political interference, and lack of accountability are widespread. OUTA’s Julius Kleynhans says over half of municipalities are bankrupt or at risk, with poor service delivery, rising debt, and failing infrastructure:

# Parliament’s select committee on Economic Development and Trade has expressed concern regarding the work of the business rescue practitioners on the South African Post Office’s turnaround strategy. A total of four-thousand-875 employees were retrenched in 2024, after the Post Office entered business rescue, with an 8.7-billion-rand debt. It has been backed by a 2.4-billion-rand state bailout. Committee chairperson, Sonja Boshoff, says a turnaround plan cannot rely on slogans or structural tinkering, but must restore credibility, modernise operations, and rebuild trust with the South African public.

# The Special Investigating Unit has secured a freezing order from the Special Tribunal against a property allegedly purchased using funds misappropriated from the National Lotteries Commission. The property in Centurion, Gauteng, is registered under Black Tshisimba, a company owned by Collin Tshisimba, who has been implicated in other instances of NLC grant misappropriation. The SIU says Make Me Movement non-profit organisation, which received grants totalling approximately 17.5-million-rand from the NLC for cycling development in rural areas, diverted money to entities linked to Tshisimba and his associates.

# Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has praised president Donald Trump, saying the US is helping a lot in his country’s conflict with Iran. According to reports, Trump has reviewed attack plans for Iran but is waiting to see whether Tehran steps back from its nuclear programme. Netanyahu visited the Soroka Medical Centre in Beersheba yesterday, which was struck by an Iranian missile, leaving over 70 people injured. He says they are committed to destroying the threat of a nuclear annihilation against Israel:

# Rugby: British and Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell regards tonight’s warm-up match against Argentina in Dublin as a full-blown Test. The touring team will use the encounter as preparation for their visit to Australia which kicks off against Western Force in Perth next weekend. They leave tomorrow morning. Farrell expects his men to hold nothing back tonight, saying they are lucky to have a quality side like the Pumas to test them. Kick-off at the Aviva Stadium is at nine pm, South African time.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand and the euro at 20-rand-73-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-27-cents and Bitcoin trades at 104-thousand-725-dollar. Gold sells at three-thousand-362-dollars-56-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 75-dollars-69-cents a barrel.

# And finally: President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver the keynote address at the 30th anniversary of South Africa’s Constitutional Court today. The celebration takes place at Constitution Hill in Braamfontein, Johannesburg. Established in 1994 after the first democratic elections, the Court has played a vital role in upholding human rights and the rule of law. The event will be led by chief justice Mandisa Maya, the first woman to hold the position.

Stay tuned for more news………….