News 08:00

BULLETIN 31 March 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# The DA says president Ramaphosa must extend the investigation into the National Skills Fund
# Motorsport: Francesco Bagnaia wins the USA MotoGP
# And Richard Chamberlain has died at 90

# The DA says it is disappointed that president Cyril Ramaphosa failed to initiate a full investigation into the National Skills Fund. The Special Investigating Unit has been authorised to probe allegations of corruption and maladministration in the affairs of the NSF. The investigation will focus on procurement and contracting for the implementation of skills development programmes and training projects. The DA’s, Desiree van der Walt, says the limitation of the SIU investigation to only certain NSF projects is weak:

# Parliament’s portfolio committee on Police has expressed serious concerns about the state of many police stations in the country. The committee conducted oversight visits to the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal last week. Some of the issues committee members encountered include officials being exposed to contemptible working conditions, cells not being operational, shortage of staff. The committee is calling for SAPS management and the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure to do more to create conducive working conditions, that will improve the morale of officers.

# The MK Party in Gauteng says it will join comrade Bonginkosi Khanyile’s 14-hour “Where Is My Vote?” walk from Pretoria to the Constitutional Court today. He will be submitting a memorandum regarding the 2024 election results. The MK Party’s spokesperson, Abel Tau, claims that their votes were rigged and the election results were falsified. He says the judiciary and the courts, as one of the three arms of the state, have a role in defending, upholding, and deepening democracy:

# Motorsport: Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia won the MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas, his first victory of the season. The Italian took over the lead of the race after six-time world champion Marc Márquez crashed on lap nine and retired due to extensive damage on his bike. Gresini Racing’s Álex Márquez finished second, moving him to the top of the riders’ championship, with Fabio Di Giannantonio of VR46 Racing finishing third. Bagnaia admitted that luck played a large part in his win:

# The financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-40-cents and the euro at 19-rand-94-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-85-cents and Bitcoin trades at 81-thousand-752-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-108-dollars-20-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 72-dollars-31-cents a barrel.

# And finally, three-time Golden Globe winner, Richard Chamberlain, who came to prominence in the 1960s medical series, Dr Kildare, has passed away at the age of 90. He died in Hawaii following complications after a stroke. Chamberlain earned the title “king of the mini-series” for his leading roles in Shogun and The Thorn Birds. He enjoyed brief success as a recording artist and used his vocal abilities most notably in the 1993 Broadway revival of My Fair Lady. Chamberlain’s longtime partner, Martin Rabbett called him an amazing and loving soul.

Stay tuned for more news………….