News 07:00

BULLETIN 17 February 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Members of Parliament will start to debate president Ramaphosa’s SONA today
# OUTA says South Africa does not lack water laws, but consequence management
# And cricket: Pakistan deny the Proteas Women a clean sweep in the T20 series

# Members of the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces will debate president Cyril Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address today and tomorrow. The president delivered the address last Thursday, where he set out the government’s priorities, plans, and policy direction for the year ahead. Parliament spokesperson, Moloto Mothapo, says the SONA debate is a central part of Parliament’s constitutional role in holding the executive to account:

# The Bureau for Economic Research says South Africa has some fiscal breathing room ahead of the national budget. This is thanks to lower borrowing costs, a three-percent inflation target, and rising commodity prices. The bureau says these factors could improve government finances, bringing in more than 100-billion-rand in extra revenue. It added the upcoming budget will be a crucial test of whether the government uses the extra funds to reduce debt and stabilise finances, instead of increasing spending or taxes.

# The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse says the Water Services Amendment Bill is necessary but warns legislation alone will not fix collapsing water and sanitation services. The organisation argues the country already has strong laws, but poor leadership and lack of accountability have caused infrastructure to collapse. OUTA’s Julius Kleynhans says consequence management and independent regulation are critical to restoring service delivery:

# The Gauteng Department of Education says it will establish an internal enquiry into the death of a ten-year-old Grade 5 boy learner from Reagile Primary School, in the Winnie Mandela area of Tembisa. It is reported that a group of learners, including the deceased, were playing yesterday when a goal post reportedly fell on a learner. The department’s spokesperson, Steve Mabona, says the enquiry will run parallel to the police investigation:

# Senior Ukrainian and Russian officials are set to meet in Switzerland today for a second round of peace talks. The talks will again be led by US president Donald Trump’s envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. Ahead of the talks, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has reiterated that his country is unwilling to give up territory in the Donbas region, a key Kremlin demand. He also added that Kyiv would play a constructive role in the trilateral talks but acknowledged there were differences with the US over security guarantees.

# Cricket: The Proteas Women won the three-match T20 series against Pakistan 2-1, despite a 53-run defeat in the third and final match in Benoni. Captain Fatima Sana scored an unbeaten 47 to help the visitors post a competitive score of 144 for seven. In reply, South Africa produced a poor performance as they slumped to 91 all out inside 17 overs, with Sadia Iqbal taking three wickets. The teams will now turn their attention to the three-match ODI series, with the first to be played in Bloemfontein on Sunday.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 15-rand-97-cents and the euro at 18-rand-92-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-75-cents and Bitcoin trades at 68-thousand-819-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-948-dollars-92-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 67-dollars-99-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….