News 08:00

BULLETIN 1 August 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The US announces new levies for dozens of countries, while South Africa remains at 30-percent
# The GOOD Party says the repo rate cut is a welcome relief for consumers
# And AfriForum says the court’s decision on Tshwane’s cleansing levy is a victory for residents

# US president Donald Trump has signed an executive order modifying tariff rates for over 60 countries, as the new rates on imported goods take effect today. The duties range as high as 41-percent for Syria and 40-percent for Laos and Myanmar. Canada’s tariff rate has risen from 25 to 35-percent. The rate for South Africa remains unchanged at 30-percent. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt says the revised rates include a drop in tariffs on goods from Israel, India, and Lesotho:

# The GOOD Party says the decision by the South African Reserve Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee to reduce the repo rate by 25 basis points is a welcome but modest relief for indebted consumers. The prime lending rate for commercial banks decreases to 10.50-percent. GOOD’s secretary general, Brett Herron, says the country remains trapped in an economic stagnation cycle, with persistently high unemployment and unacceptably high levels of poverty:

# The National Gambling Board’s chief strategic advisor, Caroline Kongwa, has resigned after a forensic audit flagged performance bonuses and international travel as irregular expenditure. According to Ground Up, Kongwa, who earned 3.4-million-rand last year, stepped down earlier this month. In addition, the organisation has been without a board for eleven years, prompting whistleblower concerns over poor governance. Trade Minister Parks Tau says legal advice is being sought following the audit findings. A process to appoint a new board is reportedly underway.

# AfriForum says the ruling by the Pretoria High Court on the City of Tshwane’s new cleansing levy is a major victory for residents. The court has declared the mandatory monthly levy of 194-rand-37-cent, which was set to be imposed on nearly 260-thousand households and businesses, as unlawful and invalid. AfriForum’s Arno Roodt says this levy was nothing more than a fundraising ploy aimed at covering up years of poor planning and mismanagement:

# Cricket: Left-arm spinners Keshav Maharaj and Nonkululeko Mlaba were named men’s and women’s players of the year at the Cricket South Africa awards held in Johannesburg last night. Captain Temba Bavuma, who led the Proteas to their maiden World Test Championship title, won Test player of the year and fans’ player of the year. Now-retired Heinrich Klaasen was awarded the ODI player of the year, with Anrich Nortje winning the T20 player of the year. Annerie Dercksen was named women’s ODI player of the year.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-22-cents and the euro at 20-rand-80-cents. One British pound costs 24-rand-4-cents and Bitcoin trades at 115-thousand-994-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-292-dollars-73-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 71-dollars-61-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….