News 07:00

BULLETIN 21 January 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa will address the Basic Education Sector Lekgotla today
# The deputy minister of Justice says the safety around courts must be strengthened
# And, Panyaza Lesufi says an intensive scholar transport evaluation is underway in Gauteng

# President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver a keynote address at the 2026 Basic Education Sector Lekgotla in Benoni, Gauteng, today. The event will be held under the theme, Strengthening Foundations for a Resilient and Future-Ready Education System. The gathering will shape priorities aimed at improving learner outcomes across the education value chain. The Presidency says the lekgotla will advance sector priorities focused on, among others, improving access to and quality of Early Childhood Development, strengthening literacy and numeracy, and improving the safety, functionality, and quality of schooling environments.

# The Justice and Constitutional Development Department says work is underway with law enforcement authorities to ensure that all necessary measures are implemented to safeguard court users and personnel. This comes after two people were killed and three others injured in a shooting outside the Booysens Magistrate’s Court in Johannesburg on Tuesday. Deputy minister Andries Nel has warned that courts are increasingly being used by criminals as predictable locations where specific individuals are known to be present at certain times:

# The South African Medical Association Trade Union has called on the government to urgently address the crisis of unemployed doctors. The union says over one-thousand doctor posts remain unfilled nationwide, leaving many qualified doctors sidelined for over two-years after completing community service. They criticised provincial health departments for failing to use the public healthcare budget to hire staff. SAMATU’s Cedric Sihlangu says only Mpumalanga has filled all doctor posts.

# Gauteng premier Panyaza Lesufi says an intensive evaluation of scholar transport is underway across the province following the tragic Vanderbijlpark accident that claimed the lives of 12 learners. Lesufi told the media authorities are checking that drivers hold valid permits and that vehicles meet safety standards, as the province steps up efforts to improve scholar transport safety and prevent further accidents:

# European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has called US president Donald Trump’s threat to impose tariffs on European countries over their stance on Greenland a mistake. Over the weekend, Trump said he would impose a ten-percent tariff on goods from eight Nato allies starting in February if they oppose his proposed takeover of Greenland, threatening to raise it to 25-percent by June. Von der Leyen says Trump’s threat risked plunging Europe’s relations with the US into a downward spiral:

# Motorsport: Mercedes’ Formula One team announced the departure of its director of car design, John Owen, later this season after being involved with nine cars that have won the world championship. The team says Owen has decided to take a break from the sport and will start a period of so-called gardening leave, during which he isn’t allowed to join any other F1 team. The 52-year-old British engineer will first assure the transition to his successor, engineering director Giacomo Tortora.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-38-cents and the euro at 19-rand-22-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-4-cents and Bitcoin trades at 88-thousand-995-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-817-dollars-49-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 63-dollars-61-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….