News 08:00

BULLETIN 7 November 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Daniel Silke says Trump’s win will test the African Growth and Opportunity Act
# Contingency plans are in place to ensure the matric exams continue amid weather challenges
# And the City of Johannesburg denies claims of bankruptcy

# US president-elect Donald Trump’s win will test relations with South Africa regarding the African Growth and Opportunity Act commitments. This is according to political analyst Daniel Silke. South Africa is the largest beneficiary of AGOA, a programme that provides eligible sub-Saharan African countries with duty-free access to the US market. Silke says Trump’s win will test whether AGOA will be predicated on the US extracting diplomatic leverage or whether the strategic advantage of providing access to markets remains a predominant motivation:

Meanwhile, Solidarity is calling on Trump to maintain the good trade relations South Africa has built up with the USA. The fate of the AGOA under the Trump administration is uncertain, with at least 13-thousand South African jobs that depend on duty-free access to the US market. Solidarity has also warned the government of national unity to be cautious not to jeopardise economic ties and trade benefits with the USA, through hasty policy decisions and statements.

# The Department of Basic Education has activated contingency plans to ensure the smooth continuation of National Senior Certificate exams despite recent weather disruptions. Heavy rains, storms, and flooding in parts of Limpopo, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu-Natal, and the Eastern Cape affected exam access, prompting the department to arrange alternative venues and reschedule exams. Minister Siviwe Gwarube praised the resilience of affected learners and the swift actions of teachers and officials to maintain exam schedules: 

# The City of Johannesburg has strongly denied reports that it is financially insolvent. According to reports, poor revenue collection has seen the metro plunge from a 1.2-billion-rand surplus in 2022 to being 300-million-rand in the red at the end of the 2023 financial year. Moody’s Rating Agency gave the metro a junk status credit rating in December last year. The metro’s, Virgil James, says its solvency ratio remains within the safe bounds set by the National Treasury:

# Tennis: China’s Olympic gold medallist Qinwen Zheng is through to the semifinals of the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The 22-year-old defeated Italy’s Jasmine Paolini, 6-1, 6-1. Zheng is the youngest player to make the semifinals at the WTA Finals in her first appearance since Petra Kvitova in 2011. Meanwhile, already eliminated Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina stunned world number one Aryna Sabalenka, 6-4, 3-6, 6-1. Despite the defeat, the Belarusian still finishes the round-robin stage as the group winner.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-65-cents and the euro at 18-rand-95-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-73-cents and Bitcoin trades at 75-thousand-473-dollars-8-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-663-dollars-20-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 74-dollars-99-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….