News 07:00

BULLETIN 31 January 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Parliament welcomes the dismissal of the EFF’s application about the suspension of its members
# Duduzane Zuma criticizes his father’s leadership
# And soccer, South Africa stunned Morocco to make the Afcon quarterfinals

# Parliament has welcomed the Western Cape High Court’s decision to dismiss with costs the EFF’s urgent application to overturn the suspension of six of its members from Parliament. The members including leader, Julius Malema, and deputy president Floyd Shivambu, were found guilty of contempt of Parliament after they stormed the stage during president Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address in February last year. Parliament’s spokesperson, Moloto Mothapo, says the suspensions of the EFF members is effective from the first to the 29th of next month:

# The International Monetary Fund has sounded the alarm on the growing impact of the Transnet crisis on South Africa’s economy as it slashes the 2024 growth forecast to one-percent. Logistical challenges at Transnet result in daily losses of one-billion-rand, affecting rail and port operations. The IMF’s figures for SA were not much different from the outlook the South African Reserve Bank gave on 25 January when GDP growth was revised down to 0.6-percent from the November figure of 0.8-percent for 2023.

# Former president Jacob Zuma’s son, Duduzane, has expressed his disappointment in his father’s leadership, acknowledging that his father was part of a collective that contributed to a failing government. He also confirmed the establishment of his own political party called All Game Changers, stressing the need for young people to take charge and change their mindsets. The young Zuma also expressed his willingness to collaborate with like-minded parties.

# The case against 65 people accused of instigating the July 2021 unrest in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng has been postponed to 8 April. The accused, facing charges such as conspiracy to commit public violence, terrorism, sedition, and conspiracy to commit murder, made their first appearance in the High Court in Durban. Their appearance follows after the South African Human Rights Commission released its report on the violence. National Prosecuting Authority spokesperson Natasha Ramkisson-Kara says the postponement allows some of the accused additional time to finalise their legal representation.

# The World Health Organisation has urged donors not to suspend funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in Gaza, saying this is not the time to abandon the people of Palestine. Countries including the US, UK, Germany, and Canada have temporarily paused funding to the agency after Israel accused some of its workers of taking part in Hamas’s seventh of October attack, which claimed the lives of over one-thousand people. WHO’s spokesperson, Christian Lindmeier says this is a critical moment in Gaza:

# Soccer: South Africa is through to the Africa Cup of Nations quarterfinals in the Ivory Coast after knocking out one of the tournament favourites Morocco. Evidence Makgopa’s 57th-minute strike and a free-kick from Teboho Mokoena in the fifth minute of stoppage saw Bafana Bafana beat the 2022 World Cup semifinalists. South Africa will next play Cape Verde on Saturday for a place in the last four. Coach Hugo Broos says beating Morocco, Africa’s top-ranked side, is special:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-81-cents and the euro at 20-rand-36-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-85-cents and Bitcoin trades at 42-thousand-752-dollars-65-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-34-dollars-2-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 82-dollars-11-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….