News 07:00

BULLETIN 29 July 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Municipalities must comply with financial management requirements before December
# Fikile Mbalula says the ANC is selecting mayors who will serve, not steal
# And, at least 13 are dead after an earthquake in Japan

# Minister of Finance Enoch Godongwana says the National Treasury must balance enforcing financial management requirements with the need to avoid communities carrying the immediate consequences of failures by municipal institutions and officials. This comes as Treasury will release the remaining 7.1-billion-rand in equitable share funding that was withheld from municipalities over serious financial failures. Godongwana says letters will be sent to premiers and MECs for Finance with strict conditions for consideration in withholding the December instalment of the equitable shares:

Meanwhile, the minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Velenkosini Hlabisa, says municipalities should only budget for expenditure that can be financed through available revenue. Hlabisa has warned municipalities to stop adopting unfunded budgets, saying the practice undermines financial sustainability and misleads communities:

# ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula says the party has introduced a stricter process to select mayoral candidates ahead of the local government elections on 4 November. Mbalula told the media candidates are being screened, independently vetted and interviewed to ensure only competent and ethical leaders are chosen. He also announced that the ANC will launch its local government election manifesto in Riverpark, in Diepsloot, Gauteng, on 15 August:

# The Technology Innovation Agency has signed a partnership agreement with the Botswana Digital and Innovation Hub to strengthen innovation and technology development across Southern Africa. The agreement includes plans to establish a joint South Africa-Botswana innovation fund to support researchers, start-ups and small businesses. The two organisations will also work together on projects in areas such as digital technology, clean energy, agriculture and mining, to create jobs, attract investment and help commercialise African innovations.

# At least 13 people have been confirmed dead and many are still unaccounted for after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake hit southern Japan yesterday. Over 170 people have been injured. More than 260-thousand people were advised to evacuate, most of them in Kumamoto Prefecture and in the neighbouring Nagasaki Prefecture. Officials say people are unaccounted for at the Aeon Mall and at a paper factory. Japan’s prime minister, Sanae Takaichi, says an emergency disaster countermeasures headquarters has been established. She says rescue teams are being guided by the principle of “human life first”.

# Golf: The Sunshine Tour is expanding further into Africa with the launch of the new Rwanda Open, which will be played at the Kigali Golf Club in September. The 2.5-million-rand tournament will feature Sunshine Tour and Rwandan professionals, leading amateur stars, and a host of players from throughout Africa. The Tour already has a tournament presence in Zambia, Zimbabwe, Eswatini, Kenya, and Uganda. Sunshine Tour commissioner Thomas Abt says the Rwanda Open is another positive step towards offering opportunities for African golfers on the global stage.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-74-cents and the euro at 19-rand-5-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-23-cents and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-789-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-23-dollars-22-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 90-dollars-38-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….