News 08:00

BULLETIN 4 October 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Mantashe commits to regular updates on mining applications
# The DA calls on Lesufi to present a comprehensive plan for  Emfuleni
# And the Republican Liz Cheney officially endorses Harris

# The minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe has committed to providing quarterly updates on applications for mining, prospecting, and related rights and permits. In March, the backlog of unprocessed applications for mining-related permits was over five-thousand. About 75-percent of the mining permits backlog was attributable to Mpumalanga. Speaking at the Joburg Mining Indaba yesterday, Mantashe said providing quarterly updates on applications to ensure greater transparency:

# The Presidential Climate Commission sees just energy transition as a key moment in South African history. Speaking at the Windaba 2024 Conference, PCC employment strategy head, Devan Pillay, said just energy transition aims to reverse the country’s economic decline by skilling workers across sectors, and ensuring local-level implementation. Meanwhile, the National Business Initiative’s Abigail Khuluse stressed the importance of aligning skills with the transition to a low-carbon economy.

# The DA in Gauteng demands that premier Panyaza Lesufi and MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Jacob Mamabolo, present a workable plan to improve Emfuleni Municipality’s finances. This is despite the municipality reaching an agreement with Eskom regarding its outstanding debt, which totals over eight-billion-rand. The DA’s, Solly Msimanga, says residents should not bear the consequences of unresolved financial issues and inadequate service delivery:

# Former Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney says she will vote for vice president and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris in November. Cheney was the third highest-ranking Republican in the House before she was ousted for voting to impeach former president Donald Trump. She was one of two Republicans who served on the House January 6 select committee that investigated the insurrection on Capitol Hill. Cheney says Trump is a threat to democracy:

# Tennis: Three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka is through to the second round of the Shanghai Masters. He defeated Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 7-6, 7-6, to set up a clash with 28th seed Flavio Cobolli of Italy, who he will play for the first time. Former top-ten Italian Matteo Berrettini beat Australian Christopher O’Connell, 7-6, 7-6, to set up a second-round meeting with Denmark’s Holger Rune. There were also wins for Belgium’s David Goffin and Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanović.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-44-cents and the euro at 19-rand-23-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-90-cents and Bitcoin trades at 60-thousand-947-dollars-70-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-662-dollars-92-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 77-dollars-54-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….