News 07:00

BULLETIN 3 August 7 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# AfriForum says it is ready to challenge the Expropriation Act in court
# Two were killed when firefighting helicopters crashed in Greece
# And rugby: Erasmus says preparations for the clashes against Argentina and the All Blacks are on track

# AfriForum says implementing the Expropriation Act in its current form will have far-reaching consequences; therefore, it needs to be declared unconstitutional. The Western Cape High Court is today expected to hear an application to challenge parts of the Act. AfriForum, the DA, and the Institute of Race Relations want certain provisions of the legislation struck down. AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel says the only people who stand to benefit from this legislation are a small political elite:

# Minister of Agriculture, Willie Aucamp, says he will expand the terms of reference of the Industry Coordination Council to place greater emphasis on the rollout and practical implementation of the foot-and-mouth disease plan. He says specific reference will be made to farmers who are now allowed to vaccinate their own animals. The council was established to support the rollout of the National FMD Strategy. This includes vaccine distribution, traceability and disease control. To date, 17-million vaccine doses have been imported into South Africa to support the national strategy.

# Activists and Citizens Forum is considering laying criminal charges of Intimidation against Paul O’Sullivan. This followed the testimony at the Madlanga Commission by the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption senior investigator, Mantsha Raphesu, alleging that O’Sullivan sent an email in January 2025 to Dineo Mokwele, deputy national police commissioner Shadrack Sibiya, and Police minister Senzo Mchunu. Forum spokesperson Dennis Bloem says in that email O’Sullivan demanded that Mokwele must resign and pay back all the money she has received from her unlawful appointment:

# Two firefighting aircraft crashed mid-air north-west of Athens, Greece, causing the death of two crew members, a Danish pilot and a Greek fire service liaison officer. A British pilot and a Greek crew member survived the crash. Personnel from several European nations have been assisting Greece, France, Spain, and Portugal, as wildfires have torn through the countries since mid-July, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate their homes. Greek prime minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis says the government has invested more than ever before in resources to tackle the wildfires.

# Rugby: Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus says they are on track in their preparation for both the one-off Test match against Argentina on Saturday and Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Tests against New Zealand. A 26-man squad arrived in Buenos Aires yesterday morning, and will resume their on-field preparations today. The squad includes the likes of captain Siya Kolisi, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Eben Etzebeth, and Lood de Jager, who are all in need of game time. Erasmus says they are looking forward to the challenge of facing the Pumas once again.

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-48-cents and the euro at 19-rand. One British pound costs 22-rand-20-cents and Bitcoin trades at 63-thousand-163-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-48-dollars-29-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 87-dollars-58-cents a barrel.

# And finally: The South African Weather Service says it has recorded low rainfall in the Western Cape last month. Forecaster Samkelisiwe Thwala says below-normal rainfall was observed in June and persisted into July, with several parts of the region recording their lowest rainfall on record during July. She says preliminary rainfall data indicates that the Cape Town International Airport recorded its lowest rainfall in July since 1958, with only 14.4 millimetres recorded for the month:

Stay tuned for more news………….