News 08:00

BULLETIN 8 July 8 am

Good morning. I am……..

In this bulletin:

# Minister Macpherson says 63-billion-rand worth of projects were disrupted by the construction mafia
# March and March has adopted a plan of action for the next three months
# And, the ANC says the Public Protector’s report on Cape Town exposes years of political propaganda

# Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Dean Macpherson, says there has been measurable progress in clamping down on extortion and intimidation in the construction industry. The industry estimates that 180 public infrastructure projects worth 63-billion-rand have been delayed as a result of extortion, intimidation, or violence. KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng, and the Eastern Cape have been identified as hotspots for construction mafia activity. Macpherson says consequence management has also been strengthened, with 52 contractors blacklisted since September 2025:

# Anti-immigration civic group March and March’s national executive committee has adopted a three-month action plan that includes further demonstrations, pickets, and blitz operations in key economic centres across South Africa. Tensions against illegal immigrants in the country have been escalating over the past few months. The movement says it wants to work with various stakeholders and political parties to participate in a National Dialogue on the causes of irregular migration, its impacts, and possible solutions. March and March says it also wants to educate citizens about aiding, abetting, and harbouring illegal immigrants.

# The ANC in the Greater Johannesburg Region says the Public Protector’s report on governance and service delivery failures in the City of Cape Town tears apart the carefully manufactured myth that the DA governs better. Public Protector Advocate Kholeka Gcaleka has found that the metro has failed to provide basic municipal services to residents of Langa and Khayelitsha, saying it amounts to maladministration and improper prejudice. ANC spokesperson, Mantombi Nkosi, says the report exposes the reality behind years of political propaganda:

# President, Volodymyr Zelensky has renewed his call for Ukraine to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, saying his country has become a source of extraordinary defensive capability for the alliance. He addressed the annual NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, yesterday. Ukraine’s aspiration to become a member of NATO is a challenge, with countries including the US and Hungary opposed to allowing a country at war with Russia to join the alliance. Zelensky stated that Ukraine will offer so much to NATO:

# Tennis: Seven-time champion Novak Djokovic outlasted Felix Auger-Aliassime in the longest quarterfinal in Wimbledon history to make the semifinals for the 15th time. In a five-hour-and-15-minute quarterfinal clash, the Serb defeated the Canadian, 7-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-7, 7-6. Djokovic will face Italian defending champion Jannik Sinner, who beat Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff, 7-5, 7-6, 6-3. In the women’s draw, American Coco Gauff is through to her first Wimbledon semifinal after defeating compatriot Jessica Pegula, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Gauff will face Karolina Muchova after the Czech beat Japan’s Naomi Osaka, 7-6, 6-4.

# And the financial indicators: The dollar trades at 16-rand-26-cents and the euro at 18-rand-56-cents. One British pound costs 21-rand-71-cents, and Bitcoin trades at 62-thousand-915-dollars. Gold sells at four-thousand-128-dollars-22-cents a fine ounce, and Brent crude oil is quoted at 75-dollars-92-cents a barrel.

Stay tuned for more news………….