News 07:00

BULLETIN 30 September 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Solidarity Movement says the government lacks the political will to reach a trade deal with the US
# The DA calls for speedy disciplinary action against the Tembisa officials
# And, judgment in the firearm case against Malema and Snyman will continue today

# The Solidarity Movement says concluding a trade agreement with the US is within reach, but the South African government lacks the political will. The movement, which is the umbrella body for a range of Afrikaans interest groups, including AfriForum and Solidarity, paid a follow-up visit to the White House over the weekend to provide additional information about its proposed trade framework. Solidarity’s Jaco Kleynhans says the framework includes both political and trade components needed for a positive agreement:

# The Industrial Development Corporation is weighing an 8.5-billion-rand bid for control of ArcelorMittal’s South African operations. According to Bloomberg, the deal, including debt repayment, could resolve two-years of talks with government and the global steelmaker. It follows ArcelorMittal’s plan to shut its Newcastle and Vereeniging mills, threatening three-thousand-500 jobs. The IDC may also seek global partners to run the plants. No final decision has yet been made.

# The DA says the Gauteng Health Department must take urgent disciplinary action following the Special Investigating Unit’s interim findings on corruption at the Tembisa Hospital. The report exposed three major syndicates that siphoned off over two-billion-rand, including contracts linked to president Cyril Ramaphosa’s nephew Hangwani Morgan Maumela and Vusimusi “Cat” Matlala. The party’s Jack Bloom warns that the big fish must not escape justice:

# The judgment in the firearm discharge case against EFF leader Julius Malema and his former bodyguard Adriaan Snyman has been rolled over to today in the East London Magistrate’s Court. The two are accused of breaching the Firearms Control Act, amongst other charges. It is alleged that Malema fired shots from a rifle at a 2018 rally in Mdantsane, near a large crowd of EFF supporters. Presiding Magistrate Twanet Olivier spent yesterday going over all the evidence presented in the trial, saying this was important to provide context.

# Britain’s interior minister proposed tough new rules for migrants seeking to settle in the United Kingdom, as the ruling Labour party sought to win back votes at its annual conference. Migrants looking to remain indefinitely will have to have a job, not claim benefits and undertake volunteer community work under plans designed to claw back support among voters drawn to the hard-right, anti-immigrant Reform UK party, whose popularity is soaring in opinion polls. Confronting Reform, led by firebrand Nigel Farage, is the main theme of Labour’s four-day gathering in Liverpool.

# Soccer: Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, says Fifa’s decision to deduct three points from Bafana Bafana in the World Cup qualifiers is deeply regrettable. South Africa has been sanctioned for fielding an ineligible player, Teboho Mokoena, in the game against Lesotho in March. The South African Football Association has been ordered to pay 215-thousand-rand, while Mokoena has been issued with a warning. Mckenzie says his department will lead a thorough investigation into the incompetence that led to this sanction.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-26-cents and the euro at 20-rand-23-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-18-cents and Bitcoin trades at 114-thousand-696-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-842-dollars-61-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 66-dollars-64-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….