News 08:00

BULLETIN 26 September 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# SAFTU calls for the immediate reinstatement of Masemola
# The GOOD Party asks its legal team to scrutinise Helen Zille’s voter registration in Johannesburg
# And rugby, the Stormers fight back to win their first URC outing against Connacht

# The South African Federation of Trade Unions is calling on President Cyril Ramaphosa to immediately lift the precautionary suspension of National Police Commissioner Fannie Masemola. The charges against Masemola over the SAPS Medicare24 tender were withdrawn in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, after the National Director of Public Prosecutions found there were no reasonable prospects of a successful prosecution. SAFTU’s Asive Dyani is also concerned about the questions surrounding the initiation of the prosecution:

# The GOOD Party opposes the DA’s Electoral Court application challenging its candidate lists for the local government elections on 4 November. GOOD argues its single-candidate proportional representation lists were certified by the Electoral Commission and comply with the law. GOOD secretary-general Brett Herron says the party’s legal team is also checking whether DA mayoral candidate Helen Zille’s Johannesburg registration complies with electoral law:

# Old Mutual’s OM Bank, launched in August last year, is on track to sign up one million clients by the end of this month. Old Mutual’s decision to launch the bank renews its rivalry with fellow insurer Sanlam, who received approval to provide transactional banking services in partnership with GoTyme Bank by the first quarter of 2027. OM Bank’s CEO, Clarence Nethengwe, says the biggest driver of them entering the banking sector was the convergence taking place in the market between banks and insurance.

# The International Air Transport Association is calling for stronger and more coordinated screening across the air cargo supply chain to detect undeclared or misdeclared dangerous goods. IATA says about 80-percent of dangerous-goods incidents reported in the first half of last year involved hidden or undeclared items, including lithium batteries, aerosols and e-cigarettes. The association proposes a five-layer approach involving governments, manufacturers, shippers, airlines, ground handlers and airports to improve safety and information sharing.

# Rugby: The Stormers have opened their United Rugby Championship campaign with a 29-15 victory over Connacht in Galway. The Cape side led 10-nil before two late first-half tries gave the Irish hosts a 12-10 half-time advantage. The Stormers fought back through replacement prop Sazi Sandi, before late tries by Vernon Paulo and Ezekiel Ngobeni secured the bonus-point win. Warrick Gelant also scored for the Stormers, who will next face Edinburgh in Scotland.

# And finally, Cupcakes of Hope is calling on South Africans to become Cupcake Angels for National Cupcake Day today. More than 80 shopping centres, as well as schools, workplaces and communities, will take part by baking and selling cupcakes to raise funds for children with cancer and their families. The organisation’s founder Sandy Cipriano says last year more than two-thousand Cupcake Angels raised over two-million-rand, while the organisation supported more than 140 children every month:

Stay tuned for more news………….