News 08:00

BULLETIN 13 December 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The Supreme Court of Appeal orders Bathabile Dlamini to pay back more than two-million-rand
# Over two-thousand EFF members are ready to elect the party’s new leaders
# And nine are injured following an explosion at Eskom’s Matla Power Station

# The Supreme Court of Appeal has ordered former Social Development minister Bathabile Dlamini to repay over two-million-rand to the South African Social Security Agency. This is for the procurement of private security for herself, her then-spokesperson Lumka Oliphant, and their children in 2013. According to court papers, Dlamini had claimed that she and Oliphant were threatened after Sassa terminated payments to bogus beneficiaries in 2012. In the ruling, Judge David Unterhalter declared the procurement of security services from Durban-based security company Vuco Security illegal.

# The EFF says it is all systems go for its third National People’s Assembly, set to take place at Nasrec, Johannesburg, over the next three days. Some two-thousand-500 members are expected to participate in this year’s conference. The conference will elect new leaders, table political and organisational reports, and re-look at some of its policies. It will also adopt a new five-year programme of action for the party. EFF secretary-general, Marshall Dlamini, says they want to reorganise themselves in communities:

# Eskom says as a precautionary measure, unit five at the Matla Power Station in Mpumalanga has been taken offline, after a transformer explosion yesterday evening. The explosion affected unit six. Initial reports indicated that nine employees were injured, with one in critical condition. Eskom Group Executive for Generation, Bheki Nxumalo, says all emergency protocols were activated and technical teams will continue to assess the situation today. He adds that the suspension of load-shedding remains unchanged.

# Nato Secretary General, Mark Rutte, has called for members to shift to a wartime mindset and increase defence spending against threats from Russia and China. Nato members’ current spending on defence is two-percent of the value of their economies. In 2025, the total military spending of Russia will be seven to eight-percent of gross domestic product. Meanwhile, China is acquiring high-end weapons systems and equipment five to six times faster than the US. Rutte says prioritising defence requires political leadership:

# The Department of Sport, Arts and Culture has advanced five-million-rand to the South African Football Association to ensure players receive their salaries ahead of the festive season. Minister Gayton McKenzie said the advance, deducted from SAFA’s next year grant, ensures players are compensated for their achievements, including Bafana Bafana’s Africa Cup of Nations qualification and Banyana Banyana’s successes. SAFA has agreed to present a financial turnaround plan after facing sponsorship shortfalls and delayed partner payments.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 17-rand-79-cents and the euro at 18-rand-62-cents. One British pound costs 22-rand-54-cents and Bitcoin trades at 99-thousand-596-dollars-4-cents. Gold sells at two-thousand-686-dollars-38-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 73-dollars-33-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….