News 07:00

BULLETIN 28 February 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Cyril Ramaphosa says the ANC must ensure the safety of supporters travelling to events
# The National Council of Provinces passes the Eskom Debt Relief Amendment Bill
# And, six suspects were arrested in connection with the murders of AKA and Tibz

# President Cyril Ramaphosa says the ANC must ensure that when people are transported to and from its events all safety measures are adhered to. He was in Mpumalanga yesterday visiting the families of the nine ANC supporters killed in a bus crash, after attending the party’s election manifesto launch in KwaZulu-Natal. Ramaphosa says the party and the Mpumalanga government will provide the families with the necessary support:

# The National Council of Provinces has voted in favour of the Eskom Debt Relief Amendment Bill, despite opposition from the DA and EFF. The bill aims to amend the Eskom Debt Relief Act of 2023, which will allow Finance minister, Enoch Godongwana, to charge interest on the billions in debt relief funding currently set to be provided to the power utility. Eskom received 44-billion-rand from the National Treasury as part of the 78-billion-rand allocated to the utility in 2023/2024.

# Police say six suspects linked to the murders of rapper, Kiernan ‘AKA’ Forbes, and his friend renowned chief, Tebello ‘Tibz’ Motsoane, have been arrested. The two were gunned down outside Wish Restaurant on Florida Road in Durban on the tenth of February last year. KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner, Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, says the musician was followed from when he landed at Durban’s King Shaka Airport, to his hotel at Umhlanga and then to the restaurant where he was gunned down:

# ActionSA’s leader, Herman Mashaba, will announce the party’s candidate for Gauteng premier in Newtown tomorrow. ActionSA emphasises Gauteng’s significance as a powerhouse that will play a crucial role in determining the outcome of the May elections. Mashaba says the candidate’s responsibilities will include revitalizing the provincial economy, attracting investment, and improving the lives of residents in Gauteng, which serves as South Africa’s economic hub.

# The Japanese government has announced plans to take unprecedented steps, including expanding childcare and promoting wage hikes for younger workers, in response to the country’s record-low birth rate. Japan saw a 5.1-percent decrease in births last year, with only 758-thousand-631 babies born, and a 5.9-percent decrease in marriages, dropping below 500-thousand for the first time in 90-years. Prime minister Fumio Kishida calls the declining birth rate the gravest crisis the country faces and aims to reverse the trend before the population declines by about 30-percent to 87-million by 2070.

# Golf: South Africa’s Thomas Aiken says he is confident heading into the SDC Championship at St Francis Links in the Eastern Cape. England’s Matthew Baldwin is the defending champion. In-form Zander Lombard and DP World Tour winners Thriston Lawrence, Ockie Strydom, and Dylan Frittelli join a strong South African challenge in the field with Aiken. Aiken says the past few years have been tough, but he is now playing better than he has ever played:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 19-rand-9-cents and the euro at 20-rand-70-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-20-cents and Bitcoin trades at 56-thousand-989-dollars-18-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-30-dollars-85-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 82-dollars-39-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….