News 08:00

BULLETIN 29 October 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# President Ramaphosa says government will take the necessary steps to protect lives, property and lawful businesses
# Tshwane’s water system remains under pressure amid high consumption levels
# And tennis: Novak Djokovic keeps his bid to qualify for the ATP Finals on course

# President Cyril Ramaphosa has condemned violence, looting and attacks on businesses amid the recent anti-illegal immigration protests in KwaZulu-Natal. He addressed the Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s 170th Annual Gala Dinner in eThekwini yesterday. In April 2024, he established the Presidential eThekwini Working Group in partnership with the Chamber to address challenges including crime, water supply interruptions, ageing infrastructure, declining tourism and port inefficiencies. Ramaphosa says economic prosperity depends on social stability, as businesses cannot flourish where there is violence, intimidation and lawlessness:

# Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says no preferred bidders have been appointed under the first bid window of South Africa’s Gas Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme. This comes as none satisfied the mandatory functional criteria to provide the gas-supply assurances required by the tender. The programme sought to procure two-thousand megawatts of gas-fired electricity generation. Ramokgopa has emphasised that government is not abandoning its gas-to-power objectives, saying it is necessary to address the infrastructure, commercial and institutional conditions required to translate market interest into viable and deliverable projects.

# The City of Tshwane says its overall water system remains under pressure due to high consumption levels in some areas including Ga-Rankuwa, Akasia, Brakfontein and Pretoria. The excessive water usage has compelled the metro to implement supply restrictions on high-consuming reservoirs to assist with stabilising the upstream systems. The metro’s spokesperson, Selby Bokaba, says that following water supply restrictions on identified reservoirs, some have reflected slight improvements, while others remain persistently low:

# The US Federal Reserve has decided to hold interest rates steady at a range of 3.75-percent to four-percent ahead of the midterm elections, after raising rates in September for the first time since 2023. September’s rate hike infuriated president Donald Trump, who said interest rates in the country should be one-percent or less. Fed chairperson Kevin Warsh says politics played no role in the decision, adding that policymakers will closely assess geopolitical developments and higher oil prices before they meet again in December:

# Tennis: Twenty-four-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic has kept alive his chances of qualifying for the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin, after a hard-fought victory at the Swiss Indoors in Basel. The 39-year-old Serbian defeated Frenchman Ugo Humbert, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to make the round of 16 in his first appearance at the tournament since 2011. The victory ensured Djokovic, who is eleventh in the race to Turin, remains in the hunt for a record 19th appearance at the ATP Finals, for which only the year’s top eight players qualify.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-62-cents and the euro at 18-rand-53-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-14-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 79-thousand-736-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-37-dollars-78-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 115-dollars-13-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….