News 08:00

BULLETIN 1 April 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Simelane denies she was paid 700-thousand-rand by an Eskom contractor
# Marine Le Pen says her conviction is a denial of democracy
# And rugby: Shimlas, Tuks, Maties and Ikeys are through to the Varsity Cup semifinals

# Minister of Human Settlements, Thembi Simelane, has dismissed claims that she participated in dubious activities during her tenure as an employee of Vitrovian, an Eskom contractor. According to News24, she was allegedly paid 700-thousand-rand to provide community liaison services for Vitrovian, aimed at quelling protests at the Kusile power plant. The company reportedly inflated charges and billed Eskom for work done by ghost employees. Simelane’s spokesperson, Tsekiso Machile, says these claims are a desperate attempt to draw the minister’s name in controversies for sensationalisation:

# The ANC Youth League has condemned what it describes as misleading information regarding an unpaid bill. According to reports, a delegation led by ANCYL president Collen Malatji allegedly failed to pay a more than 800-thousand-rand bill following a party presentation, which ended in a wine and dine session at the Little Tuscany Boutique Hotel in Sandton, Johannesburg. The ANCYL says the bill in question did not arise from a party but stems from three separate meetings held at the establishment. It adds that it will ensure the bill is settled.

# The GOOD Party says the City of Cape Town has introduced a cleaning tariff separate from property rates being paid by residents, which is unacceptable. Statistics South Africa’s residential property price index released in 2023 determined that since 2010, residential property prices have grown by 141-percent in the metro. GOOD’s, Anton Louw, says the new cleaning tariff has been ring-fenced out of property rates, but there has been no reduction to residents’ property rates:

# French far-right leader, Marine Le Pen, who was found guilty of embezzlement of European funds, says her conviction is a denial of democracy. A Paris court barred her from running for office for five years and handed her a four-year prison sentence with two years suspended, and a fine. Speaking to French TV channel TF1, Le Pen called the verdict a violation of the rule of law, saying she would appeal it. She has vowed to keep pursuing what she admittedly called the narrow path to the presidency in 2027.

# Rugby: Defending champions University of the Free State-Shimlas are through to the semifinals of the Varsity Cup following their 48-35 victory against the already-qualified University of Pretoria-Tuks. The University of Stellenbosch-Maties handed the University of Witwatersrand a 49-7 thumping to secure a home semifinal, while the University of Cape Town-Ikeys defeated the University of Johannesburg 49-31 to make the playoffs. North West University-Eagles secured a convincing 117-19 victory against Central University of Technology-Ixias, but it wasn’t enough to earn a semifinal spot.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 18-rand-28-cents and the euro at 19-rand-78-cents. One British pound costs 23-rand-63-cents and Bitcoin trades at 83-thousand-202-dollars. Gold sells at three-thousand-144-dollars-66-cents a fine ounce and Brent crude oil is quoted at 74-dollars-77-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….