News 08:00

BULLETIN 25 February 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa calls for consequence management for corrupt leaders
# Eskom announces a reduction in load-shedding to Stage 2
# And, Saldanha Bay residents and police continue search for a missing six-year-old girl

# ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa has called for consequence management for corrupt leaders, stating that corruption must be treated as a crime against South Africans. He called for corrupt leaders to be held accountable and emphasised the need for building a social compact against corruption with law enforcement. Ramaphosa also stressed the importance of protecting whistle-blowers:

# Eskom announced a reduction in load-shedding to Stage 2 from 5AM until 4PM today. Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokoena says the decision follows the recovery of emergency reserves overnight and the potential return of two generating units by today. The power utility has outlined the schedule for load-shedding, with Stage 3 load-shedding to be implemented from 4PM until 5AM tomorrow.

#  President Hage Geingob of Namibia will be laid to rest today in one of the mausoleums at Heroes’ Acre, reserved for heads of state. The funeral service in Windhoek will be attended by several heads of state and government, including president  Ramaphosa. Geingob’s firstborn son, Mangaliso Toure Fernandez Geingob, earlier honoured his father’s memory during a memorial service.

# Tennis: Italy’s Jasmine Paolini captured her first WTA 1000 title yesterday with a three-set win over Russian qualifier Anna Kalinskaya in the final of the Dubai Open. The 26th-ranked Paolini came back from a set down to win 4-6, 7-5, 7-5 to enter the top 20 tomorrow for the first time. It was the 28-year-old’s second career title win since 2021.

# And finally: The search continues for a six-year-old girl from Saldanha Bay on the West Coast who has been missing since Monday. Police say Joslin Smith was left in the care of the mother’s friend. News24 reports the police have questioned several people, including her mom’s boyfriend, and there have been no new developments. Saldanha Bay mayor André Truter says two people offered 20-thousand-rand for the municipality to reward anyone for reliable information on her whereabouts. Patriotic Alliance leader Gayton McKenzie, meanwhile, posted a reward of 100-thousand-rand.

Stay tuned for more news………….