News 07:00

BULLETIN 3 June 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The director-general of the National Treasury says South Africa is on track to meet its fiscal targets
# The DA says South Africa’s criminal justice system is failing at almost every level
# And, Israel says export figures reflect international confidence in its defence systems

# National Treasury director-general Duncan Pieterse says South Africa remains on course to meet its fiscal targets, despite the economic uncertainty caused by the ongoing Middle East conflict. The country’s debt-to-gross domestic product ratio stabilised in February for the first time since before the 2008 global financial crisis and is expected to decrease to 76.5-percent by 2028/2029. Pieterse says recent assessments by credit rating agencies Moody’s and Standard and Poor’s have reinforced confidence in South Africa’s fiscal trajectory. He adds that government can meet both its fiscal consolidation targets and structural reform commitments.

# ANC chief whip, Mdumiseni Ntuli, says they strongly reject xenophobia, vigilantism, and the demonisation of African migrants. There has been growing anti-illegal immigration protest activity across parts of the country, particularly in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, in recent weeks. Speaking during the tabling of the Presidency’s budget in the National Assembly yesterday, Ntuli said they also reject the display of arrogance and contempt from some foreign nationals living in the country:

# The DA says the crisis within the country’s criminal justice system is not merely a departmental failure, but a failure of governance. South Africa recorded a nearly ten-percent drop in murders between January and March this year; however, more than five-thousand-100 people were still killed, an average of 58 killings every day. Speaking in the National Assembly yesterday, the DA’s George Michalakis stated that what is required is a willingness to recognise that no single sphere of government can solve this crisis alone:

# KwaZulu-Natal Hawks warrant officer Karl Sander has told the Madlanga Commission there is a culture of targeting and victimising whistleblowers within the provincial Hawks unit. Sander said he was reassigned to desk duty in 2024 after unproven allegations of corruption surfaced against him. He questioned why another Hawks officer facing extortion charges remained in a sensitive position while out on bail. Sander further claimed a whistleblower who raised concerns was swiftly victimised:

# Israeli Defence minister, Israel Katz, says the country’s growing export figures reinforce its position as a leading defence-technology power. Israel’s defence exports reached a record 314-billion-rand in 2025, marking the fifth consecutive year of growth, more than doubling in five years and quadrupling in a decade. The growth was largely driven by missile, rocket, and air defence systems. Katz says because Israel has been at war on multiple fronts since October 2023, it has served as an opportunity to show the world the “combat-proven performance” of its systems.

# Cricket: Some teams will test the pink ball in day Tests after the International Cricket Council’s executive board approved trialling the idea to minimise lost time due to bad light. Pink balls are already used in day-night Tests, while red balls are not easily visible in fading light. White balls, used in T20s and one-day games, are not durable enough for the longest format. The ICC also approved research on lighting technology for match officials and fields to reduce lost play due to poor light.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-23-cents and the euro at 18-rand-87-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-85-cents and Bitcoin trades at 66-thousand-527-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-476-dollars-56-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 96-dollars-20-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….