News 08:00

BULLETIN 2 December 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Road crashes cost the economy 205-billion-rand per year
# The Auditor-General says government officials continue to profit from state contracts
# And president Biden pardons his son Hunter

# Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy says last year, road crashes cost the economy 205-billion-rand, translating into a 2.74-percent of gross domestic product. She launched the department’s festive season road safety campaign in Pretoria yesterday. So far, ten-thousand-154 people have died on the country’s roads this year. Creecy says the campaign is based on four pillars that include responsible driving, pedestrian safety, enforcement and education as well as partnerships and collaborations:

# Auditor-General Tsakani Maluleke says government officials and their relatives continue to profit from state contracts. She has revealed that government awarded 173 tenders worth 121-million-rand, to companies owned or managed by relatives of public officials between April 2023 and March 2024. In addition, a total of 84 tenders worth 32-million-rand were awarded to suppliers owned or managed by public officials. Maluleke says government departments are not adhering to the requirements of procurement legislation, leading to contracts being awarded unlawfully.

# The High Court in Pretoria has granted Lawyers for Human Rights an interim order, allowing community members and charitable organisations to provide emergency food and relief to illegal miners still underground in Stilfontein, North West. It is still unclear how many illegal miners remain underground. Lawyers for Human Rights say the court emphasised that this aid must be facilitated without delay, addressing the miners’ critical need for humanitarian assistance. It adds that this interim order highlights the paramount importance of the artisanal miners’ right to life. 

# US president Joe Biden has issued a full and unconditional pardon to his son Hunter, who was facing sentencing this month for two criminal cases. He was found guilty of being an illegal drug user in possession of a gun in June, and pleaded guilty to tax charges in September, becoming the first child of a sitting president to be convicted of a crime. Biden says his son was selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted, calling the cases a miscarriage of justice.

# Motorsport: Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won a dramatic Qatar Grand Prix, ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc and McLaren’s Oscar Piastri. McLaren’s Lando Norris, who started third, got a ten-second stop-and-go penalty, that put the Briton at the back. He recovered to finish tenth. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton finished 12th after receiving two penalties. McLaren has a 21-point lead over Ferrari in the Constructors’ Championship, heading into the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. Verstappen says it was a good race:

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-15-cents and the euro at 19-rand-10-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-3-cents and Bitcoin trades at 97-thousand-496-dollars-23-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-624-dollars-20-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-30-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….